Assistant Professor

Department: Computer Science

Dr. Aritran Piplai is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). His research focuses on understanding how evolving data can inform the design of intelligent systems that are robust, adaptive, and generalizable within the dynamic landscape of cybersecurity. As cyber threats continuously change in form, scale, and intent, developing AI systems that can learn, reason, and generalize beyond static training data is critical. My work explores how AI, particularly large language models (LLMs), neuro-symbolic reasoning, and reinforcement learning, can contribute to building such systems. In this context, I study how LLMs can be adapted and aligned for cybersecurity applications, such as automated threat detection, cyber reasoning, and defense strategy generation. Another important direction of my research involves neuro-symbolic approaches that combine the statistical strengths of deep learning with the logical rigor of symbolic reasoning, enabling models to not only detect anomalies but also explain their reasoning processes in human-interpretable terms. I also investigate the use of reinforcement learning for developing adaptive defense mechanisms that evolve through interaction with simulated or real cyber environments, allowing security policies to improve over time. By integrating these approaches, my long-term vision is to advance the foundations of intelligent, trustworthy, and explainable AI systems capable of responding effectively. This involves bridging the gap between machine learning, human reasoning, and real-world constraints to create systems that can anticipate, adapt to, and mitigate threats in an ever-changing digital ecosystem.

Keywords of Expertise: Large Language Models, Generative Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Health.