In fall 2023, University of Bridgeport’s Dr. Khaled Elleithy was listed as one of the world’s top 2% career-long cited scientists in all fields. This distinction was based on more than 400 research papers published in national and international journals or presented at conferences, with more than 5500 Google Scholar citations. Those articles and presentations include research in topics such as microstrip antenna design, steganography, quantum cryptography, data fusion in WSNs, and applications of artificial intelligence. His research group in Mobile and Wireless Communications won over forty awards for research papers and posters at the state and national levels.
While his accomplishments may be vast and distinguished, Dr. Elleithy is not a scholar working alone in an ivory tower. For thirty years, he has created and taught classes to UB’s Engineering students, receiving a Distinguished Professor of the Year award in 2005. He has also undertaken numerous administrative roles, including as Ph.D. program director, online MS program advisor, associate vice president for graduate studies and research, and his current role as Dean of the College of Engineering, Business, and Education. It is no exaggeration to say that he is one of the driving forces behind UB engineering’s many successes, expanding and advancing the BS, MS, and Ph.D. programs, managing accreditation and licensures, and developing innovative, cutting-edge programs in biomedical engineering, mechatronics, robotics, and technology management.
However, Dr. Elleithy sees these research, administrative, and teaching roles as necessarily interconnected. “I have been working with our Ph.D. students since the program started in 2006,” he says. “I’m a strong believer that research has an impact on the education that we are providing our students.”
Elleithy earned his first MS in Computer Science and Automatic Control from the University of Alexandria in Egypt, before coming to the United States to receive another MS and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Center for Advanced Computer Studies at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. “My Ph.D. was in formal verification of computer architecture and very large-scale integration chips,” says Elleithy. “At that time, there were many efforts and investments from big companies like Intel and Motorola to spend in this direction. This is a very involved process, and it is very time consuming.”
As the field of computer science developed over time, Elleithy changed his interests to network security and wireless and mobile technology. He developed one of the first courses in wireless communications and network security, and since then, thousands of UB students have taken that course. “There is a very strong connection between research and current technology and that is what we are trying really to teach our students,” says Elleithy.
Always looking to adopt the technology of the future, Elleithy pushed early on for his students to focus on the emerging technologies surrounding artificial intelligence. “Some of the techniques and algorithms envisioning artificial intelligence go back to the early 90s or even before, but the technology couldn’t support them,” explains Elleithy. “But around 2010, students began to work with me on artificial intelligence detection or classification techniques. Today, we continue using artificial intelligence technology to solve real-world problems.”
Elleithy also encourages his students to participate in societies and programs outside of UB. One of those programs is the Grand Challenges Scholars, recognized by the National Academy of Engineering and implemented by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). In addition to major course requirements, each student must show competencies in the areas of research, multidisciplinary solutions, entrepreneurship, cultural issues, and social consciousness. “This is where ASEE sees the future of education for engineers,” Elleithy says. “Engineering is evolving, and the only way to keep up is through engagement with research.”
Julie Demers is the director of instruction-based and sponsored research, and works with Dr. Elleithy on various projects, including the UB RISE event held every spring. Through poster presentations and lectures, the day celebrates and promotes the incredible research being done across all disciplines by UB students, faculty, and staff. “Dean Elleithy has incredible academic knowledge of his area, and he translates what he understands into ways that benefit the students,” says Demers. “He’s a very humble person, but he’s reaching a global audience. He always has this way of saying, ‘we need to be there, and so let’s work together to make sure we get there.’”
In addition to UB RISE, Demers credits Dr. Elleithy for securing funding to give UB students more opportunities to gain knowledge and skills in trending technology related fields. She has assisted Dr. Elleithy in implementing three Cyber Security certificate programs. For those initiative, Dr. Elleithy serves as the principal investigator on two Tech Talent Accelerator Grants that allow up to 60 students to be “future-ready” in cybersecurity, ethical hacking, and network security careers. Further, Demers noted that Dr. Elleithy taps into the extensive network of industry advisory board members in the Schools of Engineering, Ernest C. Trefz School of Business, and the Innovation Center to secure seed funding that will support student and faculty researcher activities.
Dr. Elliethy believes that a combination of research, collaboration, and hard work can set students apart and create avenues for success. UB engineering students from all programs, BS to Ph.D., participate in collaborative research projects, from building antennas for cell phones in 2007 through a 2.4 million dollar-funded project, to building an artificial intelligence system that detects epileptic seizures today.
“Sometimes the students think that I am tough. I try really to push them to do good work,” says Elleithy. “They might feel the tension and the pressure, but that is helpful for them.” That pressure led UB’s engineering Ph.D. students to be some of the first to write dissertations on the practical applications of quantum computing. One of those graduates, Muneer Alshowkan, is working today at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on a $250 million dollar funded project in quantum channels. “In some universities, there is little encouragement to do research,” says Alshowkan. “But everyone at UB is doing research, even in the early stages when there is no pressure to publish yet.”
A makerspace on the 6th floor of Wahlstrom Library and an artificial intelligence laboratory are two other recent additions to the many engineering resources available on campus for UB’s Engineering students. Dr. Elleithy played a significant role in establishing these spaces on campus. In the near future, Elleithy hopes to add a sustainable energy laboratory and an interdisciplinary collaborative laboratory that includes six different technologies in a shared open space, including artificial intelligence, robotics, Industry 4.0, and green technologies. “Connecting these technologies together would be unique to UB,” he says. “It will provide many opportunities for research to Ph.D. students.”
Muhammad Aljamal arrived at UB in 2021 as a Ph.D. student in Computer Science & Engineering, and now serves as the president of UB Robotics Club and as a member of AIAA & Honor Society. “Dr. Elleithy’s vision is to support students in terms of resources. He is always talking to companies, looking for grants, and trying to upgrade everything,” he says. “There are many improvements since I started here and many more projects in the pipeline.”
“In 1943, the president of IBM, Thomas Watson, said he imagined a world that will have maybe five computers,” Elleithy chuckles. “Technology is always changing very fast, which is why it is important to have strong research programs in education. Whatever content you were teaching five years ago, is totally different today. At UB, we keep upgrading and updating our instruction to reflect new areas to provide quality education, preparing our students for the jobs of the future.”
Learn more about UB’s School of Engineering today!