Farahmandi to lead state cybersecurity institute, expanding research and workforce development
- Farimah Farahmandi, Ph.D., has been named the director of the Florida Institute for Cybersecurity Research.
- She is known for pioneering research in hardware security verification, semiconductor security and AI-driven approaches that protect critical technologies.
- She plans to expand partnerships with industry, government and academia to strengthen cybersecurity research, workforce development and innovation.
The Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering announced today that Farimah Farahmandi, Ph.D., has been named the director of the Florida Institute for Cybersecurity Research, known as FICS.
Farahmandi, the Walden C. Rhines Endowed Professor for Hardware Security, has served as the associate director for FICS since 2022. She has made fundamental contributions in research, commercial and workforce development.
She replaces Kevin Butler, Ph.D. who served as the director for four years and was recently named chair for the University of Florida’s Department of Computer and Science Information and Engineering, known as CISE. During Butler’s tenure, FICS saw tremendous growth including the development of a cybersecurity operations center and research incubator to secure state assets and develop security-operations research in partnership with the state of Florida and UF Information Technology. Butler also oversaw $40 million in research expenditures, developed a small business security initiative and expanded the FICS membership to faculty throughout engineering and beyond.