Interdisciplinary researcher interested in using computational modeling and analysis to study national security, urban and online behaviors, and other topics.
I am interested in questions of method, and in the application of computational social models to a wide variety of national security questions (such as counterterrorism and counterinsurgency) as well as decision-making around complex natural resources such as water. My methods interest center on the use of qualitative social theory to inform the structure of computational social models, and the ways in which such models handle qualitative data. This raises questions around the nature of data and the ways in which computational social models convey information to decision-makers.
Dr. Lilian Alessa, University of Idaho President’s Professor of Resilient Landscapes in the Landscape Architecture program, is also Co-Director of the University of Idaho Center for Resilient Communities. She conducts extensive research on human adaptation to environmental change through resilient design at landscape scales. Much of her work is funded by the National Science Foundation, including projects awarded the Arctic Observing Network, Intersections of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS) and the Dynamics of Coupled Natural Human Systems programs. Canadian-born and raised, Alessa received her degrees from the University of British Columbia. She also uses her expertise in social-ecological and technological systems science to develop ways to improve domestic resource security for community well-being, particularly through the incorporation of place-based knowledge. Her work through the Department of Homeland Security’s Center of Excellence, the Arctic Domain Awareness Center, involves developing social-technological methods to monitor and respond to critical environmental changes. Lil is a member of the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education and is on the Science, Technology and Education Advisory Committee for the National Ecological Observing Network (NEON). Professor Alessa also teaches a university landscape architecture capstone course: Resilient Landscapes with Professor Andrew Kliskey. Professor Alessa’s collaborative grant activity with Professor Andrew Kliskey, since coming to the university in 2013, exceeds 7 million USD to date. She has authored over a 100 publications and reports and has led the development of 2 federal climate resilience toolbox assessments, the Arctic Water Resources Vulnerability Index (AWRVI) and the Arctic Adaptation Exchange Portal (AAEP).
Cloud Computing Security, Network Security ,Software Engineering
Mazaher Kianpour is a PhD candidate at NTNU. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering (Software) from the Payame Noor University. He obtained his Master’s degree in Architecture of Computer Systems from Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. He started his PhD in Information Security at NTNU in May 2018. His PhD research lies at the intersection of economics and information security with a socio-technical perspective. He has several years of work experience at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and his professional training includes Computer Networks, Cybersecurity and Risk Management.
My main research interest is modelling of information security, business operations and deterrents in complex ICT ecosystem. I will in particular focus on the complex interaction between various stakeholders and actors in the information security business domain. In order to model and better understand the information security ecosystem, I rely on agent-based simulation and quantitative modelling techniques such as stochastic modelling, discrete event simulations and game theory. Of particular interest is to gain increased understanding on how various security threats and measures influence business operations in the digital ecosystem.
Joseph is an Intelligence Community Postdoc Fellow (ODNI/NCTC) co-located with the faculty of the Department of Computational and Data Sciences at George Mason University. Since his first day of university training at age 15 and having earned his undergraduate degree in Engineering:Physics at age 19, his 15 years of industry experience has been diverse, ranging from industrial engineering to people analytics.
Dr. Shaheen earned his doctorate in Computational Social Science from GMU with a dissertation on economic policy and population-scale data analysis of Internal Revenue Service records. There, he studied all U.S. firms from a biologically-grounded perspective under the guidance of Professor Rob Axtell’s research group.
Following his U.S. State Department-funded assignment with the NATO STRATCOM Centre of Excellence where he conducted large scale analysis and provided policy recommendations in the fight against ISIS/ISIL/Daesh, he has been a guest speaker on issues of Information and \textit{Social Media Warfare}–a term closely associated with his 2015 NATO report–at the Pentagon (J-39 SMA), NATO Defense Against Terrorism COE, National Defense University, OMCC and others.
A life-long scholar, Joe has received training from academic leaders in Social Network Analysis and has been recognized as an honorary Links Center Fellow in 2015 and by GMU’s Teaching Excellence award in 5 consecutive iterations.
He has appeared on CNN HLN, FOX NEWS, NBC News, Entrepreneur Magazine and has been invited to participate in the 2020 (postponed to 2021) Heidelberg Laureate Forum (Heidelberg, Germany) where he will spend time with fellow scholars of the mathematical and computer sciences as well as Fields Medal, Abel Prize, Turing Award, and Nevanlinna prize winners.
In his free time, Joe enjoys a sense of humor and practices portrait, landscape and wildlife photography. Even so - he admits, he has never been able to successfully take one decent photo of himself
Agent-based Modeling
Social Network Analysis
Network Science
Public Policy
Security Policy
Taxation Policy