01
Map security assumptions across sensor, device, firmware, operating environment, and application layers.
Research projects
Experimental Research Project
Nanotechnology & Hardware Security
Hardware Trust at the Edge: From Nanoscale Devices to Security Boundaries
An exploratory research track connecting device-level characteristics, edge computing, and the security assumptions made by software operating above the hardware layer.
Project File
- Lead
- Emerging Technology Research Group
- Period
- 2026 — exploratory
- Status
- Experimental
- Colleges
- College of Nanotechnology · College of Information Security
Research Question
The question organizing the work.
Where do software security models become fragile when trust depends on physical devices, sensors, manufacturing variation, and constrained edge hardware?
Context
Why this problem is worth examining.
Security abstractions often begin after the device has already been assumed trustworthy. Nanotechnology and edge computing complicate that assumption by placing computation closer to physical processes and resource-constrained hardware.
This project is intentionally exploratory: its purpose is to map promising research questions at the boundary between nanoscale devices, sensing, embedded systems, and cybersecurity.
Methodology
How the question becomes testable work.
The methodology is designed to leave behind evidence and reusable artifacts—not only a conclusion.
02
Review representative attack and failure modes where physical-device behavior influences digital trust.
03
Develop small conceptual experiments around device identity, measurement integrity, and constrained verification.
04
Identify questions suitable for future student projects and cross-college collaboration.
Research Outputs
What the project is designed to leave behind.
Research map
Threat-model framework
Experimental briefs
Student project prompts
Next Steps
Where the investigation goes next.
01
Select one device-security question for deeper experimental work.
02
Connect the research map to Nanotechnology coursework as the College develops.
03
Explore intersections with quantum sensing and trusted hardware.
Cross-College Research
The problem determines the boundaries—not the org chart.
This project sits across College of Nanotechnology and College of Information Security. That cross-college structure is intentional: emerging technology problems frequently combine technical, organizational, legal, and human dimensions.
Keywords
Hardware SecurityNanotechnologyEdgeSensors
Research Projects