Mengfei Ren

Mengfei Ren

Assistant Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

The University of Alabama in Huntsville

About Me

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. I received my Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from The University of Texas at Arlington. Prior to commencing my doctoral studies at UT Arlington, I also worked in industry for several years as a software engineer.

My present academic focus revolves around the intersection of Software Engineering and Cybersecurity. Specifically, I am dedicated to creating comprehensive security testing tools that leverage advanced software engineering methodologies. These tools aim to enhance the security analysis of IoT ecosystems, modern compilers and ad-hoc ecosystems.

I am continuously seeking proactive Ph.D. candidates interested in advancing research in Software Testing and IoT Security. Prospective candidates should possess a strong foundation in computer science or cybersecurity, with a focus on software testing, operating systems, and proficient programming skills. If this opportunity aligns with your interests, please reach out to me. See current openings in here.

Interests
  • Fuzz Testing
  • Software Testing & Security
  • IoT Secuirty
Education

  • PhD in Computer Science, 2023

    Unviersity of Texas at Arlington

  • MSc in Computer Science, 2013

    Unviersity of Texas at Arlington

  • BSc in Computer Science and Technology, 2011

    China University of Petroleum

News

  • [2024-06-07] I have been selected for the award of 2023/24 UAH New Faculty Research Program.
  • [2024-01-11] Our ESORICS paper is now published. Welcome to check details from this link.
  • [2023-09-25] Our paper "Intelligent Zigbee Protocol Fuzzing via Constraint-Field Dependency Inference" has been accepted and presented in ESORICS 2023. The official link will be available soon.
  • [2023-08-08] I'm happy to share that I have joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Alabama in Huntsville as an Assistant Professor.
  • [2023-07-10] I have successfully defended my Ph.D dissertation "Fuzz Testing of Zigbee Protocol Implementations".

Recent Publications

See All Publications »
Mengfei Ren, Xiaolei Ren, Huadong Feng, Jiang Ming, Yu Lei (2022). Security Analysis of Zigbee Protocol Implementation via Device-Agnostic Fuzzing. In ACM Journal Digital Threats Research and Practice (DTRAP).

Cite DOI

Honors & Awards

  • UAH New Faculty Research Program, 2024

Teaching

Courses at University of Alabama in Huntsville

  • CPE 212: Fundamental of Software Engineering
  • CPE 645: Computer Network Security

Courses at University of Texas at Arlington

  • CSE 4380/5380 Lab: Information Secuirty I

Services

Technical Program Committee

  • [SoutheastCon] IEEE SourtheastCon: 2024
  • [JSS] The Journal of Systems & Software

External Reviewers

  • [USENIX Sec] USENIX Security Symposium: 2021 - 2023
  • [ASE] IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering: 2020
  • [CCS] ACM Conference on Computer and Communication Secuirty: 2019 - 2020
  • [ICICS] International Conference on Information and Communication Secuirty: 2019 - 2021
  • [TDSC] IEEE Journal of Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing: 2020
  • [TSE] IEEE Journal of Transactions on Software Engineering: 2022

Contact

  • mengfei[dot]ren[at]uah[dot]edu
  • Engineering Building Room 217-D, 301 Spartkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35899
  • Tuesday and Thursday 10:00 - 11:00 AM and email for appointment