Kasra Ahmadi

Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
University of South Florida

Office: ENB 323, 3820 USF Alumni Drive , Tampa, FL, 33620

Email: ahmadi1 [at] usf [dot] edu

Linkedin / Github / Youtube / Google Scholar / Resume

I am fourth-year PhD candidate in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida under the supervision of Dr. Mehran Mozaffari Kermani and co-supervisor of Dr. Rouzbeh Behnia.

My research focuses on Privacy in Federated Learning and Security in Post-Quantum Cryptography. Specifically, I develop techniques to enhance the privacy of federated learning models using differential privacy while maintaining model performance. Additionally, I design error detection schemes to mitigate fault attacks on post-quantum cryptographic algorithms such as Kyber and Dilithium, ensuring their robustness against adversarial threats.
Beyond academia, I have extensive experience in the industry as a Software Engineer, Technical Team Lead, and Data Scientist. My work bridges the gap between cutting-edge research and real-world applications, aiming to create secure and efficient computing systems.

Experience

Research Assistant

University of South Florida, Tampa, US

Researching algorithm level error detection schemes for Number Theoretic Transform (NTT) utilized in Kyber and Dilithium, NIST selected Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) schemes.

Researching, simulating, and implementing algorithm-level error detection schemes for classical cryptosystems such as the Montgomery Ladder and Window method for ECSM.

Researching fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) using Federated Learning, while ensuring privacy protection through the implementation of differential privacy (DP).

Performance assessment of Post-Quantum Cryptography schemes on FPGAs, ARM, and Embedded Linux.

Teaching assistant of graduated Cryptography, Operating Systems, Network Lab, and System Design Lab.

Work under National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant #1801488;

Jan 2022 - Present

Technical Team Lead, Intern

Transparency Wise, St.Petersburg, US

Managed a team of 3 software engineers and 2 designers to develop a recommender system for nutrient recommendations tailored to various growth stages of corn and soybeans to achieve high yield farming practices.

Implemented an event-driven architecture utilizing Lambda functions, Step Functions, Event Bridge, SES, and API Gateway to promote loose coupling and scalability. Additionally, leveraged AWS Glue as ETL tool for processing laboratory reports to support the recommender model.

May 2024 - August 2024

Data Scientist

Paar Lift, Tehran, IR

Analyzed optimal floor levels for elevators at specific times to reduce passenger wait times using machine learning, such as Logistic Regression and KNN. Utilized data-driven approaches to enhance elevator efficiency and passenger experience.

Establishing a connection between Raspberry Pi embedded boards and elevators through the CAN bus protocol for the real-time data transfer of elevators to a Linux-powered IoT.

Building ETL pipelines by using Apache airflow to extract, ingest, and load elevator traffic data to an OLAP storage.

Performing Data visualization, big data analytics, and statistical modeling on elevators traffic data.

Our team decreased hotels passengers’ waiting time by 27%, equating to a time savings of 11 seconds per passenger.

January 2019 - April 2020

Technical Team Lead

Dodong, Isfahan, IR

Managed a team of 4 software engineers to launch of a realtor platform. Performed as Backend and Devops engineer to build backend utilizing Node.js, MongoDB, MySql, and Nginx.

Task assigning and project management using agile framework, scrum, and Jira.

May 2017 - Dec 2019

Education

University of South Florida, US

PhD in Computer Science

GPA: 3.93/4

Jan 2022 - Now

Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran

MSc in Information Technology Engineering

Sep 2018 - Jul 2021

Isfahan University of Technology, Iran

BSc in Computer Science

Sep 2012 - Jul 2017

Publications

An Interactive Framework for Implementing Privacy-Preserving Federated Learning: Experiments on Large Language Models
Kasra Ahmadi, Rouzbeh Behnia, Reza Ebrahimi, Mehran Mozaffari Kermani, Jeremiah Birrell, Jason Pacheco, Attila A. Yavuz
In 2025 IEEE Security and Privacy Workshops (SPW), San Francisco, CA, USA.
[Preprint] Efficient Algorithm Level Error Detection for Number-Theoretic Transform Assessed on FPGAs
Kasra Ahmadi, Saeed Aghapour, Mehran Mozaffari Kermani, Reza Azarderakhsh
arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.01215
PUF-Kyber: Design of a PUF-Based Kyber Architecture Benchmarked on Diverse ARM Processors
Saeed Aghapour, Kasra Ahmadi,Mila Anastasova, Mehran Mozaffari Kermani, Reza Azarderakhsh
IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, 2024.
Efficient Error Detection Schemes for ECSM Window Method Benchmarked on FPGAs
Kasra Ahmadi, Saeed Aghapour, Mehran Mozaffari Kermani, Reza Azarderakhsh
IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) System, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 592-596, March 2024.
PUF-Dilithium: Design of a PUF-Based Dilithium Architecture Benchmarked on ARM Processors
Saeed Aghapour, Kasra Ahmadi, Mehran Mozaffari Kermani, Mila Anastasova, Reza Azarderakhsh
ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems, vol 24, No. 2.
Efficient Error Detection Cryptographic Architectures Benchmarked on FPGAs for Montgomery Ladder
Kasra Ahmadi, Saeed Aghapour, Mehran Mozaffari Kermani, Reza Azarderakhsh
IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) System, early access, 2024.
A P2P File Sharing Market Based on Blockchain and IPFS with Dispute Resolution Mechanism
Kasra Ahmadi, Molud Esmaili, Siavash Khorsandi
IEEE International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Internet of Things (AIBThings), Mount Pleasant, MI, pp. 1-5, 2023.
[Preprint] Error Detection Schemes for τ NAF Conversion within Koblitz Curves Benchmarked on Various ARM Processors
Kasra Ahmadi, Saeed Aghapour, Mehran Mozaffari Kermani, Reza Azarderakhsh
TechRxiv
[Preprint] Efficient Fault Detection Architectures for Modular Exponentiation Targeting Cryptographic Applications Benchmarked on FPGAs Saeed Aghapour, Kasra Ahmadi, Mehran Mozaffari Kermani, Reza Azarderakhsh
arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.18033
[Preprint] Envisioning the future of cyber security in post-quantum era: A survey on pq standardization, applications, challenges and opportunities
Saleh Darzi, Kasra Ahmadi, Saeed Aghapour, Attila Altay Yavuz, Mehran Mozaffari Kermani
arXiv:2310.12037, 2023

Certifications

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate, Dec 2023
Deep Neural Networks with PyTorch, Oct 2024
Intro to Federated Learning, Oct 2024
Artificial Intelligence Privacy and Convenience, Aug 2024
Federated Fine-tuning of LLMs with Private Data, Aug 2024
ETL and Data Pipelines with Shell, Airflow and Kafka, Jan 2024
Divide and Conquer, Sorting and Searching, and Randomized Algorithms, Oct 2023

Projects

AI Integrated Elevator
- Analyzed optimal floor levels for elevators at specific times to reduce passenger wait times using machine learning techniques, such as Logistic Regression and KNN. Utilized data-driven approaches to enhance elevator efficiency and passenger experience.
- Establishing a connection between Raspberry Pi embedded boards and elevators through the CAN bus protocol for the real-time data transfer of elevators to a Linux-powered IoT. Building ETL pipelines by using Apache airflow to extract, ingest, and load elevator traffic data to an OLAP storage.
- Performing Data visualization, big data analytics and statistical modeling on elevators traffic data.
- We decreased hotels passengers’ waiting time by 27%, equating to a time savings of 11 seconds per passenger.
File Sharing Market Based on Ethereum Network
- Deployed a web3 application for a file-sharing marketplace, leveraging the IPFS and Ethereum smart contracts.
- Implemented a decentralized dispute resolution mechanism to effectively address conflicts between users within the marketplace.View project.
Secure Microchip Microcontrollers Remote Programmer Application
- Developed and designed a QT/QML application for Paar Lift Company along with a server API using Node.js to enable secure programming of Microchip microcontrollers.
- Hex files were stored securely on the server using AES256 encryption, and a robust authentication process was implemented to ensure access to these files.
GPS Tracker Module
- Utilized STM32 and Arduino for the hardware implementation. Additionally, Node.js was employed for the server API.
- One of our challenges in this project was to control the power consumption of ESP8266 module to increase battery life of the embedded system.

Android Java based Game
- Designed and developed an online Android game (Footxam) by using Java and it's API with Node.js.

Services

Conducted peer review for 15 manuscripts from “Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems”, “IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers”, and “IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems”.
Mentor of Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, Summer 2023, USF NSF award.
TA, Graduate Operating System, Spring 2023, USF.
TA, Cryptographic Hardware, Fall 2022 and 2023, USF.
TA, System Design Lab, Spring 2023 and 2024, USF.
TA, Computer Organization, Spring 2022 and 2024, USF.