Sometimes a master’s thesis turns into something much bigger – like a U.S. patent.
That’s what happened for Tennessee Tech computer science Ph.D. student Bradley Northern, whose research laid the groundwork for a new cybersecurity innovation now recognized by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Northern, along with fellow Ph.D. students Trey Burks and Marlana Hatcher and faculty advisors Michael Rogers, Ph.D., and Denis Ulybyshev, Ph.D., (formerly of Tennessee Tech), filed for the patent in January 2023 and received approval in September.
“Our invention focuses on vulnerability and risk management in cybersecurity, particularly in modifying a user’s system based on publicly known vulnerabilities,” Northern said.