DR MALKA N. HALGAMUGE

Google Scholar Citations = 3650 with h-index = 33, i10-index = 82, Research Gate Score = 2870, SciVal Field-Weighted Citation Impact = 1.46 (2019 to > 2025)

1. M. N. Halgamuge, "Malicious Data Traceability and Throughput Optimization using Blockchain (IOTA Smart Contracts) for Next Generation Internet of Vehicles", IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, July 2024 [SJR Q1, IF = 6.8].

2. T. Susnjak, T.R. McIntosh, A.L.C. Barczak, N.H. Reyes, T. Liu, P. Watters, M. N. Halgamuge, "Over the Edge of Chaos? Excess Complexity as a Roadblock to Artificial General Intelligence", arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.03652, July 2024.

3. T. R. McIntosh, T. Susnjak, T. Liu, P. Watters, D. Xu, D. Liu, R. Nowrozy, M. N. Halgamuge, "From COBIT to ISO 42001: Evaluating Cybersecurity Frameworks for Opportunities, Risks, and Regulatory Compliance in Commercializing Large Language Models" Computer & Security, June 2024 [SJR Q1 Ranked Journal, IF = 4.8]

4. T. R. McIntosh, T. Susnjak, T. Liu, P. Watters, A. Ng, M. N. Halgamuge, "A Game-Theoretic Approach to Containing Artificial General Intelligence: Insights from Highly Autonomous Aggressive Malware", DOI: 10.1109/TAI.2024.3394392, IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence, April 2024 [SJR Q1 Ranked Journal, IF = 7.25]

5. T. R. McIntosh, T. Susnjak, T. Liu, P. Watters, M. N. Halgamuge, "The Inadequacy of Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback - Radicalizing Large Language Models via Semantic Vulnerabilities", IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems, March 2024. [SJR Q1 Ranked Journal, IF = 5]

6. M. N. Halgamuge, "Leveraging Deep Learning to Strengthen the Cyber-Resilience of Renewable Energy Supply Chains: A Survey", IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, February 2024. [SJR Q1 Ranked Journal IF = 35.6]

7. T. R. McIntosh, T. Liu, T. Susnjak, P. Watters, A. Ng, and M. N. Halgamuge, "Inadequacies of Large Language Model Benchmarks in the Era of Generative Artificial Intelligence", ArXiv preprint, arXiv:2402.09880, February 2024.

8. T. R. McIntosh, T. Liu, T. Susnjak, P. Watters, A. Ng, and M. N. Halgamuge, "A Culturally Sensitive Test to Evaluate Nuanced GPT Hallucination", IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence, Volume 1, November 2023 [SJR Q1 Ranked Journal, IF = 7.25]

9. M. N. Halgamuge, G, K. Munasinghe, and M. Zukerman, "Time Estimation for a New Block Generation in Blockchain-Enabled Internet of Things", IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, Volume 21, Number 1, pp 535-557, 2024  [SJR Q1 Ranked Journal, IF = 5.79]

10. T. R. McIntosh, T. Liu, T. Susnjak, P. Watters, A. Ng, and M. N. Halgamuge, "From Google Gemini to OpenAI Q* (Q-Star): A Survey of Reshaping the Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Landscape", ArXiv preprint arXiv:2312.10868, December 2023.

OVERVIEW 

Dr Malka N. Halgamuge is a Senior Lecturer in Cybersecurity at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Prior to this, she worked as a Senior Lecturer in Cybersecurity and the department's Course Coordinator for Micro-credential Subjects (Cybersecurity Short Courses) at La Trobe University. She also worked as the Program Manager for the Australian Government's Cyber Security Skills Partnership Innovation Fund ($4.7m investment) with the Pro Vice-Chancellor and her Industry Engagement team, SCEMS, and industry partners (Wiley, CISCO, GHD, Optus, Quantum Victoria, Practera, War on Wasted Talent) to develop micro-credential short-courses and students' work-based learning placements (industry) to uplift Australia's cyber security capability. 

From 2007-2021, Malka worked as a researcher at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at The University of Melbourne, Australia. She obtained her PhD in the same department. 

Awards: Malka received the Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship, Incoming Leaders Fellowship from Australia India Institute, Next Step Initiative Fellowship, Australia-China Young Scientist Fellowship, Dyason Fellowship, University of California UCLA Los Angeles, Early Career Researcher Award from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Solander Fellowships, Lund University, Sweden. She received the Vice-Chancellor's Engagement Award and the Vice-Chancellor's Knowledge Transfer Award for her research at The University of Melbourne.

Professional Development: Malka was the Keynote Speaker, Plenary Speaker, Associate Editor, Editorial Board Member, IEEE Senior Member, and Chair of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, Victorian Section, Australia. She was the Program Co-Chair, Track Chair, Publication Chair, Advisory Chair, Publicity Co-Chair, Session Chair, Guest Editor, and a Member of the TPC for 300 international conferences. She has presented 67 invited/guest/public lectures in academia (Oxford & Ohio State University), industry (IBM, KPMG East Africa, AISA), and at 9 IEEE sections. Malka has conducted 18 media interviews, articles, two radio interviews, and a TV interview (ABC News).

Research & Supervision: Malka has been a chief investigator for multiple grants totaling over $1 million. She has co-supervised 4 PhD students to completion at the University of Melbourne and currently 5 PhD students at RMIT University as the principal supervisor. Post-doc Supervision (past: 1 at LaTrobe, 2021-2022; current: 2 at RMIT). Malka has published more than 140 peer-reviewed technical articles (Citations=3650, h-index=33, i10-index=82, Gate RG Score=2864, SciVal Field-Weighted Citation Impact=1.46 (2019 to > 2025)).

EDUCATION

1. PhD (Eng) - Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering, PhD at ARC Special Research Center for Ultra-Broadband Information Networks (CUBIN),  Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Australia; 

PhD Thesis: Performance Evaluation and Enhancement of Mobile and Sensor Networks - No: 1 Ranked University in Australia [THE Ranking, QS World Rankings]

2. MSc (Eng) - Electrical and Computer System Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; 

Master Thesis: Energy Efficient Ad-hoc Wireless Sensor Networks

3. BSc (Eng) - Bachelor of the Science of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka - No: 1 Ranked University in Sri Lanka [THE Ranking, QS World Rankings]

4. Graduate Certificate in University Teaching (GCUT), the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.

EMPLOYMENT

• Senior Lecturer in Cybersecurity (Level C) - Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, Full-time, Continuing, Teaching & Research  (Aug 2022- Present).

  • Subject Coordinator 

Under-Graduate (UG) and Post-Graduate (PG)

• • • 2023, 2024 - (i) Digital Risk Management and Information Security (PG), (ii) CyberSafety Project (UG)

    • 2022 - (i) Information Systems Solutions and Design (UG), (ii) Data Science Strategy Consulting Project, (iii) Machine Learning for Decision Makers, (iv) Shaping Organisations with Artificial Intelligence

  • Subject Lecturer

    • 2023 - Digital Risk Management and Information Security (PG)

    • 2023 - Digital Business Security and Risk Management (UG)

    • 2022 - Information Systems Solutions and Design (UG)

  • Research & Grants

Malka's interdisciplinary research interests focus on utilising emerging technologies (for example, Blockchain, Digital twin technology, Deep learning, Federated learning & Machine learning) for cyber security and privacy (in the application of the Internet of Things (IoT), edge network, renewable energy, and supply chain process). In her research, she employs various techniques such as probabilistic modelling, optimisation, network modelling, algorithm design, machine learning, deep learning, federated learning, and data analysis. Malka has been a chief investigator for multiple grants totaling over $1 million. 

• Senior Lecturer in Cybersecurity (Level C) - Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia Full-time, Teaching & Research (Dec 2021- July 2022).

  • Course Coordinator for micro-credential subjects (43 Cybersecurity Short Courses).

  • Subject Coordinator for 3 cybersecurity subjects: (i) Secure Programming (PG), (ii) Human Factors in Cybersecurity (UG), and (iii) Strategic Communication Issues and Crisis Management (UG)

  • Subject Lecturer for (I) Secure Programming, (ii) Strategic Communication Issues and Crisis Management, (iii) Human Factors in Cybersecurity, (iv) Cyber Algorithms That Changed the Future, (v) Cybersecurity Incident Management

  • Program Manager for the Australian Government's Cyber Security Skills Partnership Innovation Fund ($4.7m investment: $2.3m from AusIndustry and $2.4m from industry partners).

Malka worked with the La Trobe University Pro Vice-Chancellor Industry Engagement and her team, School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences and seven industry partners (Wiley, CISCO, GHD, Optus, Quantum Victoria, Practera and War on Wasted Talent) to develop 43 micro-credential short-courses and students' work-based learning placements (industry) to uplift Australia's cyber security capability.

Malka was directly responsible for the project's success and works with all three sub-streams (with different internal and external stakeholders) that contribute to the success of the main project:

• Progress towards 100,000 high school students developing cybersecurity awareness

• Progress towards 210 students' work-based learning placements and undertaken and more women in cyber

• Progress towards 43 cybersecurity micro-credentials short courses.

• Researcher - Research Fellow (Level B.1 - B.6) / Honorary - Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Full time / Part-time / Honorary (Sep 2007- Dec 2021); Honorary until January 2023.

Associated Research Centers:

• • • ARC Special Research Center for Ultra-Broadband Information Networks (CUBIN)

    • Research Network for a Secure Australia (RNSA)

    • Centre for Disaster Management and Public Safety (CDMPS)

    • Center For Neural Engineering (CfNE)

• Lecturer, Division of Communication Engineering, School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, Part-Time (Aug 2011 - Dec 2011).

• OTHER - Professor (Adjunct), Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), India (Nov 2017 - Present).

(i) Research Experience

1. Research Fellow (Level B.1 - B.6) / Research Scientist - (Sep 2007 - Dec 2021) [Full Time / Part Time / Honorary]; Honorary until January 2023.

Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Department of Infrastructure Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.

       Associated Research Centers:

• ARC Special Research Center for Ultra-Broadband Information Networks (CUBIN)

• Research Network for a Secure Australia (RNSA)

• Centre for Disaster Management and Public Safety (CDMPS)

• Center For Neural Engineering (CfNE)

2. Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellow (June – July 2017 & June – July 2018)

• Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

• Research Experience: Optimizing magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) based thermal therapies: Influence of Alternating Magnetic Field

• Fellowship: Chinese Academy of Sciences Presidents International Fellow (2017).

3. Incoming Leaders Fellow - (June - July 2016)

• Australia India Institute (AII), Delhi, India

• Research Experience: Analysis of Large Flood Events in Australia and India

• Fellowship: Incoming Leaders Fellowship (2016).

4. Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Nov 2015).

• Laboratory Experiment: Investigated electromagnetic therapy to treat wound infection by applying alternating (AC) magnetic field (using the animal model - mouse)

• Fellowship: Next Step Initiative Fellowship (2015) and Australia-China Young Scientist Fellowship (2014).

5. Dyason Fellow - (Nov - Dec 2013)

• Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, University of California (UCLA), Los Angeles, USA.

• Research Experience: Investigated extremely low-frequency magnetic Fields from diesel, gasoline and hybrid cars under controlled conditions

• Fellowship: Dyason Fellowship (2013).

6. Electromagnetic Effects Research Laboratory, School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore (Nov - Dec 2011).

• Laboratory Experiment: Investigated sprouting rate of seeds in radio-frequency fields - GSM mobile phone and base station radiation (using seeds - soybean seedlings).

7. Solander Fellow - (Sep - Oct 2008)

• Department of Radiation Physics & Department of Bio-Chemistry, Lund University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden.

• Laboratory Experiment: Investigated biological effect of extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (using cell - plasma membrane)

• Fellowship: Solander Fellowship (2008).

8. Solander Fellow - (Sep - Oct 2007)

• Department of Neurosurgery, Lund University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden.

• Laboratory Experiment: Investigated blood-brain barrier permeability in rats exposed to radio-frequency and extremely low-frequency electromagnetic radiation - GSM mobile phone radiation (using the animal model - rats).

• Fellowship: Solander Fellowship (2007).

(ii) Teaching Experience

Subjects - Undergraduate Course

1. Digital Business Security and Risk Management (2023)

2. Information Systems Solutions and Design (2022 – 40%)

3. Strategic Communication Issues and Crisis Management (2022 – 100%)

4. Cyber Algorithms That Changed the Future (2021 – 100%)

5. Human Factors in Cybersecurity (2021 – 100%)

6. Data Science (using R) (2018, 2019 – 100%)

7. Introduction to Information Technology / Computer Systems (2013, 2014 & 2016 - 100%)

8. Introduction to Data Communication (2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 & 2014 - 100%)

9. Server Administration & Maintenance (2008 & 2009 - 100%)

10. Wireless Networks (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2013 - 100%)

Subjects - Postgraduate Course

1. Digital Risk Management and Information Security (2023, 2024 – 100%)

2. Secure Programming (2022, 2021 - 100%)

3. Cybersecurity Incident Management (2021 – 100%)

4. Dark Web (2021 – 100%)

5. Capstone Unit (Emerging Technologies and Innovation) (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 - 100%)

6. Business Intelligence using Big Data (2018, 2019, 2020 – 100%)

7. Project Management Concepts (2019, 2020 – 100%)

8. ICT Services Management (2020 – 100%)

9. Data Mining and Visualisation for Business Intelligence (2019 – 100%)

10. Internet of Things (IoT) (2018 & 2019 - 100%)

11. Information Systems for Business Professionals (2019 – 100%)

12. Advanced Network Security (Cryptography) (2018, 2019 – 100%)

13. Information Security Management (2018, 2019 – 100%)

14. Network Routing and Switching (2018 – 50%)

15. Wireless Networking Concepts (2016 & 2017 - 100%)

16. Computer Organisation and Architecture (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017 - 100%)

17. Computer Networks (2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 & 2014 - 100%)

18. Computer Management and Security (2012 & 2013 - 100%)

19. Internetworking with TCP/IP (2008 - 100%)

(iii) Industry Working Experience

1. Electro Magnetic Radiation (EMR) Consultant, EMR Australia Pty Limited, Sydney (Jan 2014 - Dec 2021).

2. Founder & Director of SenseRadiation Pty Ltd (Jul 2015 – Jul 2018)

3. Algorithm Trading Researcher/Consultant - Part-time, GreenBox Services Pty Limited, Melbourne - Developing algorithms to predict electricity demand (Sep 2013 - Mar 2014).

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

PhD Thesis Examiner

Bioelectromagnetics, Dec 2012.

Journal / Conference Reviewer

IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics & Security, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I, IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence, IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, IEEE Communication Magazine, IEEE Internet of Things Journal, IEEE Communication Letters, Expert Systems With Applications, Bioelectromagnetics, IEEE GLOBECOM, IEEE ICC, IEEE WCNC, IEEE PMIRC, WirelessCom.

Memberships of Professional Societies

1. IEEE Senior Member, Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA

2. Senior Member, The International Society for Applied Computing (ISAC), Hong Kong

3. Member, Australian Information Security Association (AISA), Australia

4. Member, Bioelectromagnetic Society, USA

5. Member, Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE), Japan

6. Member, Networking Networking Women (N2 Women), IEEE Communication Society, USA

7. Member, ARC Research Network in Communications (ACoRN), Australia

8. Volunteered Scientist, "Scientists in Schools" program, Australia

9. Member, Electromagnetic Radiation Safety Committee, The University of Melbourne, Australia (Sep 2013 - Present)

10. Committee Member, University of Melbourne IEEE Student Branch, Australia (2003 June - 2007 June)

RESEARCH INTERESTS

1. Cyber security (in the application of the IoT, edge network, supply chain, power grid & LLM)

2. Blockchain and smart contracts for data/transaction security and interactive environment

3. Internet of Things (IoT), internet of Medical Things (IoMT), power optimization in wireless sensor network

4. Business intelligence using big data, big data with fourth industrial revolution technologies (4IR/FIR)

5. Biological effects of radio-frequency and extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (Bioelectromagnetics)

TEACHING INTERESTS

1. Research Project (Capstone Project)

2. Cybersecurity, Information Security, Network Management

3. Data Science & Business Intelligence using Big Data

4. Internet of Things (IoT)

5. Wireless Networks: Cellular & Data Communication

6. Blockchain

PERSONAL INTERESTS (HOBBIES)

• Created: January 2023 (Initial June 2003)

• Last Modified: May 2024

• Maintained by: Malka N. Halgamuge