Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Hardware and Embedded Systems Security and Trust (RHEST)

Each REU participant will receive:

• $8,000 (stipend and meal allowance)
• Free housing on UC campus (or housing allowance)
• $300 travel allowance to and from the REU site

• Priority application deadline: March 1, 2024
• Notification of acceptance: March 11, 2024

• 2024 program dates: May 20–July 26, 2024

To apply for this REU site, an applicant must meet the following criteria:

• Must be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident
• Must be an undergraduate student at the time of the REU participation
• Must be majored in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields
• Has a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Students who are from underrepresented groups in computing (including women, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, persons with disabilities) and students who are from academic institutions with limited research opportunities in STEM are strongly encouraged to apply.

Students who are interested in participating this REU site can apply through the NSF Education and Training Application (ETAP) website. (Search keywords: RHEST or University of Cincinnati)

Applicants will need to submit the following documents on ETAP website:

• Resume/CV
• Unoffical Transcript
• One letter recommendation (from faculty)
• Personal statement (describing his/her motivations of applying for this REU Site, research interests, and top-3 research projects he/she is interested in working on)

RHEST hosts 10 undergraduate students for 10 summer weeks each year to work on research projects in the area of hardware and embedded systems security and trust. The security and trust of hardware and embedded systems play increasingly critical roles in building secure, reliable, and trustworthy computing systems, communication networks, and cyberinfrastructures. The students will work closely with faculty mentors, advance their knowledge and hands-on skills in hardware and embedded systems security and trust, and develop professional skills for their future careers in computing.

The REU research projects offered by RHEST cover critical and emerging research problems in hardware and embedded systems security and trust, including side-channel attacks, fault injection attacks, reserve engineering, security validation of third-party intellectual properties, and detections of hardware Trojans. The long-term goal of the research projects is to defend against (or mitigate) attacks, minimize information leakage, and strengthen the security and trust of hardware and embedded systems.

RHEST participants will also have opportunities to interact with and receive feedback from industry partners of CHEST. CHEST (Center for Hardware and Embedded Systems Security and Trust) is a NSF IUCRC (Industry–University Cooperative Research Center) led by EECS Department at UC.