Cong Pu

Dr. Cong Pu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Oklahoma State University (OSU), Stillwater, Oklahoma. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from Texas Tech University and a B.S. in Computer Science and Technology from Zhengzhou University, China. His primary research focuses on network security, data privacy, applied cryptography, wireless networking, and mobile computing. He leads the Security & Networking Lab at OSU and has secured grants from NSF, NSA, and other agencies. His work emphasizes secure IoT and drone networks, privacy-preserving protocols, and AI-driven cybersecurity solutions.

Education

• Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science, Texas Tech University, USA
• B.S. in Computer Science and Technology, Zhengzhou University, China

Research Interests

Dr. Pu's research spans network security, data privacy, applied cryptography, wireless networking, and mobile computing. He specializes in designing lightweight authentication protocols for IoT and drone networks, enhancing privacy in distributed systems, and developing AI-driven cybersecurity frameworks. Recent efforts include blockchain-assisted authentication, fault-tolerant data aggregation, and resource-efficient cryptographic protocols.

Grants & Awards

• NSF SaTC Award ($288,398) for securing Internet of Drones systems (2024)
• NSA Cybersecurity Training Program Grant ($127,128) (2023)
• Best Paper Award at IEEE CCNC 2024
• Listed in Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists (2025)

Advising & Training

He mentors Ph.D., M.S., and undergraduate students in areas like network security and applied cryptography. Offers research assistantships, independent studies, and visiting scholar collaborations. Has developed training programs for K-12 educators in cybersecurity via NSF/OSRHE grants.

Labs & Infrastructure

Leads the Security & Networking Lab, focusing on secure IoT/drones, privacy-preserving systems, and AI-driven security tools. Collaborates on projects involving blockchain, reinforcement learning, and hardware-software co-design for defense mechanisms.