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Center Overview

The CHEST Center is funded by a combination of National Science Foundation grants and memberships by industry and non-profit institutions. CHEST coordinates university-based research with partner needs to advance knowledge of security, assurance, and trust for electronic hardware and embedded systems.

CHEST areas of interest include identification, detection, monitoring, mitigation, and elimination of vulnerabilities that affect hardware and embedded systems. More specifically, CHEST covers all levels of hardware and embedded systems design: system, architectural, board, microprocessor, embedded system, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), and other circuits. Threats to hardware and embedded devices cover a broad range of attack vectors with the integration of design, manufacturing, supply chains, operations, and complex assemblies of hardware, software, and firmware. Vulnerabilities can be introduced at any hardware design level and any stage of the product lifecycle. The NSF CHEST Center addresses security, assurance, and trust across all levels and stages. The Center is inventing and disseminating technologies, practices, and guidelines to stakeholders and educating a next generation of experts.

Universities

  • University of Virginia
  • University of Cincinnati
  • University of Texas, Dallas
  • University of California, Davis
  • University of Connecticut
  • Northeastern University
View Center Website

Center Personnel

Dr. Marty Emmert
CHEST Director, University of Cincinnati
+1 513 556 4358
john.emmert@uc.edu

Dr. Yiorgos Makris
CHEST Site Director, University of Texas at Dallas
+1 972 883 4360
yiorgos.makris@utdallas.edu

Dr. Houman Homayoun
CHEST Site Director, University of California Davis
+1 530 754 7700
hhomayoun@ucdavis.edu

Dr. John Chandy
CHEST Site Director, University of Connecticut
+1 860 486 3622
john.chandy@uconn.edu

Dr. Yunsi Fei
CHEST Site Director, Northeastern University
+1 617 373 3004
yfei@ece.neu.edu

Dr. Jim Lambert
CHEST Site Director, University of Virginia
+1 972 883 4360
jhl6d@virginia.edu

Research Focus

Embedded Systems Security and Trust including: hardware assurance, counterfeit detection, integrated circuit authentication, anti-reverse engineering and anti-tampering, secure communication protocols, formal verification, secure processor architectures, vulnerability analysis, infrastructure safety and resilience, and secure systems engineering.

Awards

The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the Center author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.