Rick S. Blum

Prof. Rick S. Blum is the Robert W. Wieseman Endowed Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Lehigh University. He leads the Signal Processing and Communication Research Lab (SPCRL) and previously directed the Integrated Networks for Electricity Cluster and the Energy Systems Engineering Institute. His research focuses on machine learning, statistical decision making, and cybersecurity for IoT, cyber-physical systems, and energy networks. Blum holds a Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania State University.

He is an IEEE Fellow, served as an IEEE AESS Distinguished Lecturer, and received the IEEE Third Millennium Medal and ONR Young Investigator award. His work spans theoretical foundations of machine learning, resilient control systems, and distributed signal processing, with applications to smart grids, radar, and sensor networks. Blum teaches courses on statistical decision making and communication theory. His lab develops algorithms for dynamic state estimation, adversarial attack mitigation, and sparsity-promoting control strategies.

• Education:
  • Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
  • M.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
  • B.S., Electrical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
• Awards:
  • IEEE Fellow
  • IEEE AESS Distinguished Lecturer
  • IEEE Third Millennium Medal
  • ONR Young Investigator

His recent publications address cybersecurity in sensor systems, adversarial resilience in dynamic networks, and data-driven modeling for renewable energy systems. Blum’s research emphasizes practical implementations of theoretical advancements, such as sparse regression filters for photovoltaic systems and eigenspectrum optimization for network vulnerability reduction.