Faculty

Dr. Michael King 

Dr. Michael King joined the Florida Institute of Technology’s Harris Institute for Assured Information as a Research Scientist in 2015 and holds a joint appointment as an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Sciences with an emphasis on cybersecurity. 

Before joining academia, Dr. King served for more than 10 years as a scientific research/program management professional in the United States Intelligence Community. While in government, Dr. King created, directed, and managed research portfolios covering a broad range of topics related to biometrics and identity including advanced exploitation algorithm development, advanced sensors and acquisition systems, and computational imaging. He crafted and led the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity’s (IARPA) Biometric Exploitation Science and Technology (BEST) Program to transition technology deliverables successfully to several Government organizations.

Recognized as an expert in biometrics and identity intelligence, he has been invited to brief the Director of National Intelligence, Congressional staffers and science advisers, Defense Science Board, and Intelligence Science Board. He also served as Intelligence Community Department Lead to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Biometrics and Identity Management (2005 – 2012).

Dr. King received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 2001 and has research interests in the areas of biometrics, cyber identity, and machine learning.

Dr. Xavier Merino 

Graduate Students

Kushal Vangara | Ph.D. Candidate

Kushal Vangara is a Ph.D. candidate at the Florida Institute of Technology. He received his Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, India, in 2014 and his M.S. degree in Information Assurance and Cybersecurity from the Florida Institute of Technology, in 2018. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in computer science at Florida Tech. His research interests include biometrics, computer vision, data science, and deep learning. In his free time, he loves to fly his drone, explore the beach, and play with his cat, Silver.

Praveen Kumar Pandian Shanmuganathan | M.S. (Fall 2016) | Ph.D. Student

Praveen Kumar is currently a part-time Ph.D. student at the Florida Institute of Technology while working as a full-time Research Scientist for a leading healthcare company. He received his Bachelor's from Anna University in India (2012) and his Masters's from the Florida Institute of Technology (2016). His Ph.D. is focused in Biometrics, Computer Vision, and Deep Neural Networks. He holds several published and pending patents for cutting-edge innovation in the area of Computer Vision and 3D reconstruction. 

Gabriella Pangelinan | Ph.D. Student  

Gabriella Pangelinan is a Ph.D. student at the Florida Institute of Technology. She received her Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Swarthmore College in 2019 and worked in IT consulting for 2 years. Gabriella is particularly interested in the issue of demographic bias in technology and hopes to help bring about equal recognition accuracy for all. In her spare time, she can be found paddleboarding in Turkey Creek and looking for alligators!

Audison Beaubrun, Ph.D. | Ph.D. Student

Joyce Anderson Annan | Ph.D. Student  

Joyce Anderson Annan is pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science at the Florida Institute of Technology. She works as a graduate research assistant at the L3Harris Institute for Assured Information Identity Laboratory under Dr. Michael King's supervision. Joyce completed her undergraduate degree in Information Technology at the University of Ghana and her master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. Before moving to Florida, she worked for various startups as a data analyst at Ladents Consulting Limited and as a software engineer at Persol systems limited. Joyce enjoys traveling, swimming, and practicing yoga in her free time.  

Undergraduate Students

Samuel Langborgh | B.S. Student

Identity Lab Alumni

Ahsi Lo | M.S. (Spring 2023)

Muskan Jain | M.S. (Spring 2023)

Paloma Vela Achu | M.S. (Spring 2022)

Jonathan Dejesus Torres | M.S. (Fall 2021)

Brandon Ledford | M.S. (Fall 2021)

Innocente Gbekevi | M.S. (Summer 2021)

Krishnapriya Kokkatal Sugathan | Ph.D. (Spring 2021)

Aishwarya Adikesavalu | M.S. (Spring 2021)

Kay Michel | Ph.D. (Spring 2020) 

Dmitri Piquero | M.S. (Spring 2020) 

Rosalin Dash | M.S. (Summer 2020) 

Giordano Benitez Torres | M.S.  (Fall 2019) 

Katarina Borovina | M.S. (Fall 2019) 

Prasad Garapati | M.S.  (Fall 2018)