Shaikhanov, Zhambyl
BRIEF BIO:
I am an Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. My research focuses on a broad spectrum of next-generation (5G+/6G and beyond) wireless. Building on strong theoretical foundations, I design, prototype, and demonstrate in-the-field next-generation wireless systems and architectures with applications in networking, security, and sensing. My research is multi-disciplinary, cutting across electromagnetics, protocols, signal processing, robotics, and end-to-end systems.
I am recruiting motivated and hardworking graduate students interested in working in the areas of next-generation wireless systems, including sensing, security, and networking, to join my group. If you are interested, feel free to contact me.
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
- Physical and Cross-Layer Wireless Security
- Millimeter-wave and Terahertz Networking and Sensing
- Intelligent Surfaces and Devices for Next-Generation Wireless
- Wireless Mobile Systems and Robotics Networks
EDUCATION:
- Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, 2024
- M.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, 2020
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B.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 2015
AWARDS:
- Northrop Grumman Seed Grant, 2025
- Best Paper Runner-Up Award at SPICES, 2024
- Best Demo Award at ACM HotMobile, 2023
- Best Demo Award at ACM WiSec, 2022
- Texas Instruments (TI) Distinguished Fellowship, 2017-2024
- Rice Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Fellowship, 2017
Selected Publications:
- Zhambyl Shaikhanov, Fahid Hassan, Hichem Guerboukha, Daniel M. Mittleman, and Edward W. Knightly, " Metasurface-in-the-Middle Attack: EM Wavefront Manipulation Threats and Countermeasures," in IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, 2026
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Zhambyl Shaikhanov, Mahmoud Al-Madi, Hou-Tong Chen, Chun-Chieh Chang, Sadhvikas Addamane, Daniel M. Mittleman, and Edward W. Knightly, "Spoofing Eavesdroppers with Audio Misinformation," in IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P/Oakland), May 2025.
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Fahid Hassan, Zhambyl Shaikhanov, Jeffrey Lei, Hichem Guerboukha, Hou-Tong Chen, Chun-Chieh Chang, Sadhvikas Addamane, Michael P. Lilly, Daniel M. Mittleman, and Edward W. Knightly, "Downlink Multi-user sub-THz Communication with a Programmable Metasurface," in IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM), 2025
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Natsuki Morand, Ahmed Boubrima, Walid Bechkit, and Zhambyl Shaikhanov, "HeatPulse: Thermal Attacks on Air Pollution Sensors," the 3rd Workshop on Security and Privacy in Connected Embedded Systems, 2024, - Best Paper Candidate -
- Zhambyl Shaikhanov, Mahmoud Al-Madi, Hou-Tong Chen, Chun-Chieh Chang, Sadhvikas Addamane, Daniel M. Mittleman, and Edward W. Knightly, "Audio misinformation encoding via an on-phone sub-terahertz metasurface," OPTICA, August 2024.
- Zhambyl Shaikhanov, Sherif Badran, Hichem Guerboukha, Josep M. Jornet, Daniel M. Mittleman, and Edward W. Knightly, "MetaFly: Wireless Backhaul Interception via Aerial Wavefront Manipulation," in IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P/Oakland), May 2024.
- Zhambyl Shaikhanov, Sherif Badran, Josep M. Jornet, Daniel M. Mittleman, and Edward W. Knightly, "Adversarial Aerial Metasurfaces," in International Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications (ACM HotMobile), February 2023. - Best Demo Award -
- Zhambyl Shaikhanov, Fahid Hassan, Hichem Guerboukha, Daniel M. Mittleman, and Edward W. Knightly, "Metasurface-in-the-Middle Attack: from Theory to Experiment," in ACM Conference on Security and Privacy in Wireless and Mobile Networks (ACM WiSec), May 2022. - Best Demo Award -
- Zhambyl Shaikhanov, Ahmed Boubrima, and Edward W. Knightly, "FALCON: a Networked Drone System for Sensing, Localizing, and Approaching RF Targets," IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 2022.
- *Riccardo Petrolo, *Zhambyl Shaikhanov, Yingyan Lin, and Edward W. Knightly, "ASTRO: a System for Off-Grid Networked Drone Sensing Missions," ACM Transactions on Internet of Things, November 2021.