Houman Homayoun

Houman Homayoun is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Davis, College of Engineering. His research spans computer engineering with a focus on hardware security, energy-efficient computing, and heterogeneous architectures. He leads the Accelerated, Secure, and Energy-Efficient Computing Laboratory (ASEEC) and serves as the site director for the NSF IUCRC Center for Hardware and Embedded Systems Security and Trust (CHEST).

His research interests include hardware security and trust, secure microarchitecture, malware detection in IoT networks, side-channel vulnerability analysis, hardware reverse engineering, trojan detection, big data computing, hardware accelerators for machine learning, heterogeneous architecture design, energy-efficient algorithms for big data, and emerging memory technologies. His work bridges computer architecture, cybersecurity, and machine learning.

The recent publications and projects highlight a strong trend in secure and efficient computing systems, particularly in IoT security, cloud security, and hardware-based trust mechanisms. His work integrates machine learning with hardware acceleration and emphasizes real-world applications, as seen in his textbook on applied machine learning and NSF- and DARPA-funded projects.

Scientific Awards:

• Best Paper Nomination from DATE for IoT Security Research

Professor Homayoun has secured significant research funding, including a $1.2M NSF grant for secure cloud systems, and leads major collaborative initiatives like the CHEST center. He mentors students through laboratory research in ASEEC and contributes to curriculum development, notably through his textbook on machine learning applications. His work involves strong industry and government partnerships.

He leads the Accelerated, Secure, and Energy-Efficient Computing Laboratory (ASEEC), which conducts experimental research in hardware security, secure architectures, and energy-efficient computing. He also directs the UC Davis site of the NSF IUCRC Center for Hardware and Embedded Systems Security and Trust (CHEST), fostering interdisciplinary and industry-collaborative research.