Abdur Rahman Bin Shahid, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Director, Secure and Trustworthy Intelligent Systems (SHIELD) Lab

School of Computing, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Ph.D. Computer Science from Florida International University
M.S. Computer Science from Florida International University

Research Interests: Cybersecurity, Language Models, Generative AI, Cyber-Physical Systems, AI Forensics.

Bio: I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Computing at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL. I am the director of the Secure and Trustworthy Intelligent Systems (SHIELD) Lab, where we design, develop, and implement secure, trustworthy, and privacy-enhanced Artiﬁcial intelligence (AI)-driven Intelligent Systems. My research interests lie in the development of secure, privacy-enhanced, and trustworthy cyberspace. Specifically, my focus is on federated learning, adversarial machine learning, privacy-preserving machine learning, cybersecurity, AI forensics, and the Internet of Things. My research in these areas has led to successful funding and awards, and I am committed to advancing our understanding and implementation of secure and privacy-enhancing technologies.

In addition to my research, I have extensive teaching experience across various computing fields, including Computer Science, Computer and Information Systems, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Science. I am passionate about building the capacity to support the recruitment, retention, and graduation of academically talented low-income, underrepresented, and minority students. I believe that by providing access and opportunities to these students, we can help address the lack of diversity and equity in tech, academia, and industry.

Grants

PI, Acquisition of High-Performance AI Server to Support cutting-edge research and interdisciplinary education in secure, trustworthy, and responsible artificial intelligence, OVCR, SIUC, 2025
Co-PI, CIS Cyber Scholars Program, National Science Foundation (NSF)
PI, Development of a Smart Robot Testbed for Internet of Mobile Things (IoMT) Security, Privacy, and Scalability Research, Faculty Enrichment Fund, Robert Morris University

Awards

Summer Research Faculty Award, Robert Morris University
Dissertation Year Fellowship, Florida International University
SCIS Best Graduate Student in Research, Florida International University
Best Poster Award (Runner-Up), Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges, (CCSC:Northeast), 2021.

Teaching

Southern Illinois University (Fall 2023 - )

Digital Forensics (Fall 2023, Fall 2024)
Cyber-Physical Systems (Spring 2024, Spring 2025)
Security in Cyber-Physical Systems (Spring 2025)
Ethical Hacking (Fall 2024)

Robert Morris University (Fall 2021 - Summer 2023)

Advanced Java
Data Mining Applications
Foundations of Cybersecurity
Advanced System Analysis & Design
Intro to Web Development
Operating Systems
Network Management and Administration
Data Integration of Analytics

Concord University (Spring 2020 - Spring 2021)

Computer Networking
Introduction to Computer Security
Introduction to Intelligent Systems
Human Centered Design
Parallel and Distributed Systems
Introduction to Simulation and Modeling
Operating Systems
Analysis of Algorithms

Strategic Program Development and Leadership Experience

Capacity Building
- Co-principal investigator (co-PI) for the NSF CIS Cyber Scholars Program grant, supporting recruitment, retention, and graduation of talented low-income, underrepresented, and minority students in computer science.

Interdisciplinary AI & Robotics B.S. Program Development
- Led the creation of a B.S. in Computer Science program at RMU focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics. This program prepares future professionals to enter these rapidly growing fields and launched in Fall 2023.

Secure and Trustworthy Intelligent Systems (SHIELD) Lab

SIU School of Computing

EGRA-409D
1230 Lincoln Dr, Carbondale, IL 62901