Palvi Aggarwal

Dr. Palvi Aggarwal is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP). She holds a Ph.D. in Cybersecurity from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, India, and a Master’s in Information Security from Thapar University, India. Prior to UTEP, she was a post-doctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh.

Her research focuses on cybersecurity, human-machine teaming, cognitive modeling, and decision-making in adversarial contexts. Key areas include adversarial decision processes, cognitive biases in cyber attackers, and developing personalized cyber defense strategies. She explores human factors influencing phishing susceptibility, deception games, and the application of instance-based learning theories to cybersecurity challenges.

Dr. Aggarwal’s recent work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, such as using large language models for phishing detection and analyzing transfer student success in computing programs. She is affiliated with UTEP’s Interdisciplinary Research and Education (IDRE) community and contributes to cyber-security education initiatives.

Notable research themes include cognitive modeling for personalized deceptive signaling, the effectiveness of cyber deception strategies, and human-subject experiments in security games. Her publications span topics like network defense, behavioral economics, and AI-driven security analytics.