Tamirat Abegaz, Ph.D.

Abegaz received his PhD from Clemson University in 2014. He has worked as a lead instructor for the GenCyber summer program since 2016. Currently, he is the curriculum lead for cybersecurity education. As a researcher, he has explored and developed non-traditional and emergent methods of user interactions, which include the use of multi-modal interfaces, and emotional design elements. His PhD work revolves around emotional designs to improve web search experience for older adults. He also worked on the tradeoffs between safety, usability, and security. His research interests include but not limited to digital forensics, threat hunting, cybersecurity education, user experience (UX) development, genetic engineering, and biometric systems. He is GIAC Certified Forensics Analyst (GCFA), GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Security+, Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), and a Certified Scum Master (SCM). He has successfully published numerous articles in cybersecurity and related fields. He has several other publication and research projects currently active and in progress. He is an active reviewer of conference papers and journal articles. Prior to joining UNG, Abegaz served in a variety of software development roles for African Union, Commercial, and National Bank of Ethiopia.

• Ph.D., Human-Centered Computing, Clemson University, 2014
• M.S., Computer Science, North Carolina A&T University, 2010
• M.S., Computer Science, Addis Ababa University, 2005
• Post Graduate Diploma, Computer Science, HilCoE College, 2002
• Post Graduate Diploma, Computer Science, HilCoE College, 2002

Moon, T., Abegaz, T., Payne, B., & Salimi, A. (2020). MalAware Defensive: A Game to Train Users to Combat Malware. Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice (JCERP).

Abegaz T.T., Spence D.J. (2019) Impact of Compiler’s Feedback on Coding Performance. In: Yamamoto S., Mori H. (eds) Human Interface and the Management of Information. Visual Information and Knowledge Management.

Abegaz, T., Smatt, C. Oakley. R, Freeman, M (2019). Win or Lose: A Study on the Effects of Video Game Violence, Quarterly Review of Business Disciplines, Journal of International Academy of Business Disciplines 6(1), 79-93. iabdnet.org/QRBD

Sanfilippo, J., Abegaz, T., Payne, B., & Salimi, A. (2019). STRIDE-Based Threat Modeling for MySQL Databases. In Proceedings of the Future Technologies Conference (pp. 368-378). Springer, Cham.

Abegaz, T (2018). Students’ self-report for assessing the perceptions and usage of agile software development practices in academic settings, International Academy of Business Disciplines annual conference, April 2018 *Best Paper Award

Abegaz, T, Payne, B. R. (2018). Securing the Cyber Pipeline: Toward National Strategies for Cyber Workforce Development, International Academy of Business Disciplines annual conference, April 2018

Payne, B.R., Abegaz, T.T., (2018). GenCyberScrum: Improving Cybersecurity Education Outcomes with the Scrum Framework, Journal of Computing Science in Colleges (JCSC). Submitted October 2017.

Payne, B.R., Mazuran, L.I., and Abegaz, T.T. (2018). Voice Hacking: Using Smartphones to Spread Ransomware to Traditional PCs. Journal of Cybersecurity Education Research and Practice (JCERP).

Payne, B., Abegaz, T., Antonia, K. (2016). Building and Implementing a Successful NSA-NSF GenCyber Summer Cyber Academy, Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice (JCERP), 1 (2). (ISSN: 2472-2707) *Nominated for Best Paper Award.

Abegaz, T., Dillon Jr, E. C., & Gilbert, J. E. (2015). Investigating Perceived Usability and Choice Satisfaction of Alternative Search Engine's Presentation for Older Adults, Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 59th Annual Meeting, October 2015

Abegaz, T., Dillon Jr, E. C., & Gilbert, J. E. (2015). Exploring affective reaction during user interaction with colors and shapes, 6th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE), August 2015