Assistant Professor

Department: Computer Science

Dr. Sajedul Talukder is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the director of the Security and Privacy Enhanced Machine Learning Lab (SUPREME Lab). His research focuses on security and privacy in online systems, AI/ML, online social networks, cyber-physical and distributed systems, critical infrastructure security, and AI for social good. Dr. Talukder has secured significant funding from leading federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Cyber Florida, and the Florida Center for Cybersecurity. Notable awards include a $500,000 U.S. NRC grant for AI-driven cybersecurity in U.S. nuclear plants, a NSF CISE CRII Award under the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program for AI-based defense against sockpuppet attacks in social networks, and a $99,000 IMEC Award from NIST for cybersecurity integration in industrial IoT environments. He has authored over one hundred (100+) peer-reviewed publications in leading venues such as ACM TSC, Nature Scientific Reports, ANS Transactions, ASONAM, ACM SAC, ICWSM, ICMLA, PoPETS, ACM CHI, ACM HyperText, ACM WebSci, COMPSAC, IEEE DSC, and my research has received media attention from many news outlets including prominent national and international outlets such as NBC, KFOX, CBS, KMOV TV, and Sage Methods. He is an active member of IEEE and ACM. Before joining UTEP, Dr. Talukder held faculty positions at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Pennsylvania Western University (PennWest), where he received several teaching and research awards including PennWest's Scholar of the Year in 2020 and SIU's University-Level Early Career Faculty Excellence Award in 2022 and 2024. At UTEP, he received the Student Choice High Impact and Innovative Teaching (HIIT) Award (2025) for excellence in teaching and student engagement. He has mentored over 40 students and serves on national panels, editorial boards and program committees for numerous venues including leading journals and conferences.

Other Affiliations: Director, Security and Privacy Enhanced Machine Learning Lab (SUPREME Lab)

Keywords of Expertise: Security & Privacy, Machine Learning, AI for Social Good, Social Networks, Cyber-Physical Systems.