Col. David Smith

Ph.D. in Computer Science, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, June 2009.
Professor and Department Head, Department of Computer and Information Sciences

Col. Smith has twenty-two years university teaching experience combined with twenty-eight years software development experience, fourteen years management, and seventeen years research.  He is responsible for the development and delivery of computer science courses including Programming (Java, Scheme, Ruby, Python, C/C++), Data Structures, Web Programming, Database Management Systems, Modern Programming Languages, Software Engineering Practicum, Systems Programming, Computer Profession/Ethics, and Research Seminar. Col. Smith has conducted research is computer science education, web-mining of computer skills market demand, and cyber security grants and contributed to 12th and 13th editions of “Computer Science: An Overview by J. Glenn Brookshear”.  He serves as the  Computer Science Internship Program Coordinator as well as Director, Institute for Cyber Security and Director of Operations, Cyber Security Institute.

Col. Ramoni O. Lasisi

Ph.D. in Computer Science, Utah State University, Logan, UT, May 2013
Professor and Director, Department of Computer and Information Sciences

Col. Lasisi has eleven years university teaching experience at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and 15 years software engineering experience. He has developed and taught courses in the development of computational thinking and problem-solving skills from introductory programming, mobile programming, distributed computing, discrete structures, and data structures, through algorithm design and analysis, to machine learning, and artificial intelligence. His scholarly engagement in artificial intelligence focuses on algorithmic game theory and machine learning. Research addresses issues at the intersection of computer science (artificial intelligence, multiagent systems, & algorithms) and economics (game theory & mechanism design). Over 40 articles in peer-reviewed book chapters, conferences, and journals. He is Director of the VMI DoD Cyber Defense Laboratory.

Col. Imran Ghani

Ph.D. in Business IT (with a focus on Software Engineering/CS), Kookmin University, Seoul, South Korea, August 2010
Professor, Department of Computer and Information Sciences

Col. Ghani has fifteen years university teaching experience combined with five years software development experience, five years management, and nineteen years research.  He focuses on development and delivery of computer science courses including software engineering/architecture, programming (Java, Python, PHP, C/C++), Human-Computer Interaction/UX, web programming/web services APIs, research topics in CIS, computer forensics, and capstone projects. He has conducted research is in Scrum Agile Development and  Semantic Web, and has received funded grants totaling over a half million dollars. Col. Ghani authored a book, “Introduction to PHP Web Services”.  He serves as the Computer Science Internship Program Coordinator and Director of GenCyber Summer Camp 2025.

Dr. Sherif Abdelhamid, Outreach Liaison Officer, 313-F Mallory Hall | 540-464-7185 | abdelhamidse@vmi.edu

Ph.D. in Computer Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 2016
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer and Information Sciences

Dr. Abdelhamid has over 20 years of combined academic, research, and software engineering experience, including more than a decade of university teaching across programming, data structures, web and mobile development, databases, software engineering, and theory of computation. His research focuses on CS education, technology-enhanced learning, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and machine learning. Principal Investigator and Co-PI on numerous funded projects supported by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), 4-VA, Department of Defense (DoD), and US Ignite. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in IEEE, Springer, ACM, and ASEE venues. Dr. Abdelhamid is the developer of several award-winning educational platforms and Founder of Network Sense LLC, a winner of the Virginia Cybersecurity Challenge and the CCI Tech Innovation Award. He was also the recipient of the 2024 IEEE Emerging Tech Award, the 2025 IEEE CCWC Best Paper Award, the IELA best e-learning platform award, and other institutional and outreach recognitions for teaching excellence, innovation, and community engagement.

Mr. Jacob Klein

Bachelors in Computer Science, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, May 2022
Software Engineer & Technical Programs Support, Cyber Defense Laboratory, Virginia Military Institute’s Computer and Information Sciences department.

Jacob Klein graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelors in Computer Science in 2022 before accepting a role with Virginia Military Institute’s Cyber Defense Lab. For the last three years he has been developing websites and apps while mentoring cadets on web development and cybersecurity. Klein also takes cadets around the U.S. for various cyber-related drills, competitions, and training. In the summer, he teaches local high school and middle school students about cybersecurity, basic coding, and internet hygiene both through VMI and AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association). There, Klein serves as the local branch’s webmaster, running their website, data storage, and social media accounts.

Pamela J. Waldron

Executive Secretary Cyber Defense Lab (CyDef Lab), VMI

Pamela Waldron came to work for the Cyber Defense Lab at Virginia Military Institute in December of 2022. Prior to coming to work at VMI, Pamela spent the majority of her life working in Non-profit bookkeeping. She has over 30 years of experience as an Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper. Pamela has a passion for working with young people to assist them with meeting their goals in life. At VMI, she assists with helping our Cyber Captains find certifications and internships that will help to further their career goals. She also assists with submitting orders and processing the paperwork to get them paid. In addition to her work at VMI, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Mike and her three dogs, Harley, Remington, and Beretta.

Dr. Mohamed Azab , Associate Professor, Computer and Information Sciences

Dr. Azab earned his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering in 2013 from The Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech, USA. Supported by multiple external funding and research grants, he holds multiple provisional patents and has contributed to several book chapters, along with numerous publications in archival journals and respected conference proceedings. Dr. Azab is the founder of the Cybersecurity and IoT Lab, which supports the research activities of his Ph.D. and Master's students.

Col. Dimplekumar N. Chalishajar, Ph.D., Professor, Applied Mathematics

Col. Dimple received his Ph. D. from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and University of Baroda, Vadodara, India. He has over 55 research publications, has given over 60 presentations at conferences, is on the Editorial board of 11 journals, and has reviewed 120+ research articles for peer review journals. His research includes control theory and applications through functional analysis. He has taught courses including Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III, Higher Engineering Mathematics (Calculus IV), Calculus for Business I, II, Elementary Statistics I, II, Statistics for Engineers, Business Mathematics I, II, Differential Equations and Applications, Linear Algebra, and Numerical Analysis with Matlab coding.

Dr. Efat Fathalla, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dr. Fathalla earned her Ph.D. in 2024 from Old Dominion University, USA. Her research interests include privacy-preserving technologies, blockchain applications, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cryptography. She has worked on several research projects focusing on security in both the physical and application layers of communication systems. She has authored multiple patents, book chapters, journal publications, and papers presented at esteemed conferences.

Col. David Feinauer, Ph.D., P.E., Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dr. Feinauer is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Military Institute, Campus Representative for the Goldwater Scholarship, Chair of the Institute Honors Committee, and Director of Research for VMI Research Labs. His scholarly work spans several areas including: automation and control theory, system identification, machine learning applications, energy infrastructure resilience, first-year engineering education experiences, engineering design education, incorporating innovation and entrepreneurship in the engineering classroom, and P-12 engineering outreach. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.

Abibat Lasisi, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Computer and Information Sciences

Dr. Lasisi holds a first master’s degree in Computer Science and a second master’s degree in Mathematics from Utah State University. In 2018, she earned a Ph. D. degree in Applied Mathematics from Utah State University where she conducted research in computational and applied mathematics with emphasis on multi-scale analysis using multi-resolution analysis and wavelet basis conditioned on homogenization. Dr. Lasisi teaches Discrete Structures, Data Analytics, Programming, Introduction to Computer Science, and Introduction to Information, Interconnections, Intelligence, and Security.