Research

Illinois ARCS addresses its mission to drive scientific and economic impacts on the cyber and physical infrastructures of our communities by providing a framework embedded with technologies and empirical evaluations. 

Research Areas

Trustworthy and Secure Cyber-Plexus for Digital Communities

The following four thrusts support one another and interact to produce modular and scalable solutions. Models developed in one thrust will be thoroughly tested in another, then integrated in additional thrusts to inform and improve other approaches.

1. Cyber-plexus protection
This thrust focuses on developing AI and authentication technologies for cyber-security and defending against AI attacks. Researchers in this thrust focus on anomaly detection, impact assessment and mitigation, data analysis-based solutions for system fault prediction, real-time data analytics and more. 

2. Trust assurance
Researchers in this area design and implement policies for assuring network service properties by automating policy generation that can adapt beyond individual industrial control systems to encompass large-scale and diverse digital infrastructures. 

3. Cyber-plexus system analysis
In this thrust, we develop techniques and models to predict cyber-plexus response and evolution. One method in this area uses digital twins to improve and simulate technologies at scale. 

4. Evaluation
We develop evaluation methods for usability, integration, and resiliency of new technologies in realistic settings of digital communities. These steps enable commercial translation and support methodological, practical engineering. 

Precision Fermentation and Sustainability (PreFerS)

A niche focused on converting alternative feedstocks, sugars, and inedible parts of crops into safe, sustainable, and nutritious foods through the precision fermentation process.