GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Adjunct Professor at the Electrical
Dr. Kafi Hassan is a principal technology development strategist at the T-Mobile Advanced and Emerging Technology Department at Reston, VA where he has been working on research and development in new technologies since 2006. From 1995 to 2006, Hr worked as a Member of Technical Staff at Bell Laboratories in Whippany, NJ, doing research and development in network wireless communication systems.He has authored/co-authored 14 issued patents in communication systems. He is the current chair of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) Northern Virginia chapter.
His education background includes a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York City and BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dr. Hassan is an Adjunct Professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at George Mason University at Fairfax, Virginia where he has been teaching graduate and undergraduate courses since 2007.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Member of the GMU
Dr. Ray Williams has been an adjunct member of the GMU faculty since 2008 and was a guest lecturer for several years before that. He holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from Mary Washington College and a Master Degree in Computer Science from Marymount University. He is employed as a Chief Systems Engineer with SAIC in Chantilly, Va where he supports government customers in cloud computing initiatives, telecommunications, satellite communications and numerous specialty engineering disciplines. He is also an experienced proposal manager and leverages that knowledge as part of classes that he teaches to help students become more marketable. He is married to his wife Catherine and they have three grandchildren that they are always happy to talk about, and he is passionate about sailing and cycling.
Dr. Eppley is an Adjunct Professor in the Computer Forensics program within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has been a software engineer, systems engineer, network architect, cybersecurity practitioner, researcher, and educator for over 35 years. During that time, he has led teams and performed network and system vulnerability and penetration tests, conducted systems and network architecture and engineering, led cyber incident response teams, conducted digital forensics investigations, and taught university courses in cybersecurity, digital forensics, and network forensics. Dr. Eppley currently works as a consultant for the National Cancer Institute leading a team of cybersecurity analysts and engineers performing security operations.
Job Titles:
- Network Solutions Architect
Prof. Graham Sheppard is a Network Solutions Architect with 20+ years of experience working in networking/security including mulitple CCIEs. He has worked with various technology companies over the years, including America Online (AOL), Cisco Systems, and currently with Palo Alto Networks.
Prof. Sheppard has taught at George Mason University since 2008.
Prof. John Larkin leads an innovative team of intelligence analysts and network security experts in developing cyber threat indicators, warnings, and predictive analysis to protect global information infrastructure against external and internal threat.
He has 26 years of experience in the technology industry and has extensive expertise in working with government and private sector entities. He has consulted and developed guidance to ensure systems reliability and accessibility and to prevent and defend against unauthorized access to networks, application systems, and data.
Prof. Larkin received his Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology Security Management and his Master's of Science in IT Management from George Mason University. He is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Chief Information Officer (CIO), and Project Management Professional (PMP).
Job Titles:
- Principal at GlobeNet LLC
Narendra Mangra is the Principal at GlobeNet LLC and provides advisory and consulting services across mobile and fixed broadband telecommunications, public safety, agriculture, transportation, and health care ecosystems. He is a frequently invited speaker, panelist and organizer for conferences and webinars. His diverse experience spans strategy development, smart city roadmap development, spectrum management, mobile network planning and system deployments, business & operational support systems, international roaming, program management, and education. He has developed a transdisciplinary framework that is the basis for several strategic activities.
Narendra also leads several IEEE initiatives on technology roadmap development, smart cities standards development, industry connections, and Young Professionals (YP) engagement. These initiatives aim to systematically extend the reach and depth of agriculture, public safety, telehealth, smart cities, and rural development using a transdisciplinary approach. His current interests include comprehensive transdisciplinary framework development, 5G and future networks, smart communities, and related ecosystems.
Prof. Dragan Hrnjez has been part of the Telecommunication program within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering since 2007. He has over 25 years of experience in areas of engineering, modeling and simulation, network optimization, and analytical analysis of information systems and applications.
Dragan promoted innovation, technology evolution and adoption for private, public, and nonprofit sectors. He has been involved in the transition from circuit-switched to packet-switched networks, migration of data centers into cloud-based solutions and emergence/growth of data, voice, and video services in the digital arena.
Dragan holds a master's degree from Virginia Tech and is currently working as a Principal Consultant for Riverbed Technology.
Job Titles:
- Security Engineer and Incident Manager
Prof. Michael Robinson is a Security Engineer and Incident Manager at Google, where he manages the response to security and privacy incidents. He specializes in computer forensics, mobile device forensics, and intrusion analysis. Prior to joining Google, he was a senior cyber threat analyst and digital forensic examiner for a large international company. He was a computer and cell phone forensic analyst working with various agencies in the U.S. Intelligence Community. He was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Department of Defense's Business Transformation Agency. As the CIO he oversaw all IT and Information Assurance operations for the agency, including forensic examinations of computers and mobile devices.
Prof. Robinson was the Program Coordinator and Adjunct Professor for Stevenson University's Master of Science in Cyber Forensics, where he was the recipient of the Rose Dawson Award for outstanding adjunct faculty member of the year.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor in the TCOM Department at the Volgenau School of Information Technology
Prof. Scott Tran has been an adjunct professor in the TCOM Department at the Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering, George Mason University since 2004. At George Mason, he teaches graduate courses on Internet Protocols, Voice Over IP and Advanced Routing Protocols.
Prof. Wei Wu is a proud graduate of the GMU Telecommunications MS program. He has been a faculty member since 2004. He has worked with various technology companies over the years, including America Online (AOL), Cisco Systems, and currently with VMware. His specialties have always been in the areas of networking and security and is currently working with various Cloud and software defined technologies.
Prof. Wu has multiple industry certifications, including CCIEs in Routing and Switching and Data Center, CISSP, CWNE, and VCP-NV.