Biography

” Be the CHANGE that you wish to see in the world. ” Mahatma Gandhi


Rozhin Yasaei


Assistant Professor

Cyber Operation, Intelligence, and Technology

College of Applied Science and Technology

The University of Arizona

Rozhin Yasaei is an Assistant Professor in Cyber Operations, Intelligence, and Technology at the College of Applied Science and Technology (CAST) at the University of Arizona. She also contributes her expertise to the CAST Curriculum Committee, playing a role in enhancing the academic curriculum.

Dr. Yasaei earned her Ph.D. in 2023 from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where her  research culminated in the publication of her thesis, titled “Graph Neural Network for Integrated Circuits and Cyber-Physical Systems Security.” Her academic journey commenced with a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from UC Irvine in 2021, following her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in 2018. Her research pursuits revolve around the innovative application of machine learning techniques to cross-layer security, explicitly focusing on Hardware, Embedded Systems, and Cyber-Physical Systems. Dr. Yasaei’s work leverages cutting-edge methodologies like Graph Neural Networks to model these systems, enriching security and design automation.

Rozhin’s dedication to education has earned her recognition, including the prestigious UC Irvine Pedagogical Fellowship in 2021. Following a year of intensive training, she received a Teaching Excellence Certificate and eligibility to teach basic pedagogy to graduate-level teaching assistants. Her excellence in academia was further acknowledged with accolades such as the Rising Stars in EECS Award in 2022, the iREDEFINE Professional Development Award in 2022, the UCI UROP Research Discovery Fellowship in 2022, and the UCI Henry Samueli Endowed Scholarship in 2018. Additionally, she has received several scholarships from various conferences, showcasing her commitment to scholarly advancement.

Beyond her academic achievements, Rozhin is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in STEM fields. She actively participates in and volunteers for panels, workshops, and conferences that align with her vision of promoting inclusivity. Since 2021, she has held the role of President of the UCI chapter of Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), where she has been steadfast in her efforts to increase the involvement of women in this dynamic field. Her commitment to WiCyS has extended to her faculty position at the University of Arizona, where she continues to serve and support the organization’s mission. Her excellence as a mentor has been recognized with a Mentoring Excellence Certificate, and she has been selected by several programs to mentor both undergraduate and graduate students.

Email: ryasaei@uci.edu 
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/rozhin-yasaei/
Github: github.com/RozhinYs


Experiences

” If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses. ” Henry Ford


Education

University of California Irvine

Irvine, California, USA
2018 – 2023

Ph.D. in Computer Engineering

Concentration: Applied Machine Learning for Cross-Layer Hardware/Software Security
GPA: 3.96/4


University of California Irvine

Irvine, California, USA
2018 – 2021

M.Sc. in Computer Engineering

Thesis: Golden chip-Free Hardware Trojan Detection through Side-Channel Analysis using Machine Learning
GPA: 3.96/4


Sharif University of Technology

Tehran, Iran
2014 – 2018

B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering

Concentration: Digital Systems
GPA: 3.6/4


Farzanegan 1 High School

Tehran, Iran
2010 – 2014

Diploma Degree

Concentration: Mathematics & Physics
GPA: 4/4


Career

NASA Frontier Development Lab

Mountain View, California, USA
Summer 2021

Researcher

Full-time
Worked on “Energy Future: The H2 Discovery Engine” challenge -Applied graph neural networks and natural language processing to identify approaches to achieve H2 Energy Earthshot goal.


Edgetensor Company

Dallas, Texas, USA
Summer 2021

Software Intern

Full-time
Worked on the driver monitoring system,
an automotive artificial intelligence application implemented on the edge platforms


RADAQ Company

Tehran, Iran
2016

Embedded Systems Designer

Full-time
Programming
Digital and analog circuit design


Teaching

Farzanegan 5 High School

Tehran, Iran
2015- 2017

Robotics Teacher

Part-time
Teaching C programming, electronics, and digital systems, to high school students
Leader of several student-level robotics teams


University of California Irvine

Irvine, California, USA
2018, 2021

Teaching Assistant

Part-time
Reader for Advanced C Programming course
TA for Introduction to Digital Logic Lab


Sharif University of Technology

Tehran, Iran
2015 – 2017

Teaching Assistant

Part-time
TA for 6 semesters in the courses;
Logic Circuits & Digital Systems
Computer Architecture & Microprocessors