June 1, 2026
University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information Associate Professor Dr. Balaji Palanisamy recently received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award, a merit-based grant enabling American faculty, administrators, and professionals to pursue teaching, research, and professional projects abroad. Supported by the Iceland-U.S. Fulbright Commission, the prestigious award permits Dr. Palanisamy to visit Reykjavik University in Iceland, where he will conduct a 5-month long research project on detecting security vulnerabilities in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Platforms.
In collaboration with faculty at Reykjavik University, Dr. Palanisamy will analyze common attack patterns in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) systems—blockchain-based financial platforms enabling users to borrow, lend, trade, and transfer digital assets without traditional financial intermediaries. With an emphasis on the topic of Blockchains and Decentralized Finance Technology, the research aims to develop Machine Learning-based solutions that analyze specific attack patterns, determining if funds exit these platforms in an unauthorized manner.
Additionally, during the visit, Dr. Palanisamy plans to both lead seminars and teach graduate courses on Information Security and Privacy at the Reykjavik University as well as in other local universities in Iceland.
Congratulations to Dr. Palanisamy and we wish him a successful visit to Iceland!