Rate My Professor Kurt Friday

Kurt Friday is an assistant professor of instruction in the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing at the University of South Florida, where he joined the faculty in 2025. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and an M.S. in Computer Science from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. He also completed doctoral studies in Information Technology and Cyber Security at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Friday’s research focuses on the intersection of cybersecurity, machine learning, and advancements in state-of-the-art hardware. His contributions span hardware-accelerated security, forensics, and machine learning, as well as programmable networks. He explores the creation of cohesive hardware-software ecosystems that are performant and resilient against evolving cyber threats, employing techniques such as adversarial modeling, anomaly detection, malicious behavior classification, side-channel analysis, and network telemetry. Friday has led or contributed to grants in collaboration with partners including Samsung Memory Solutions and the United States Secret Service, focusing on hardware-resident AI defenses, and he serves as co-entrepreneurial lead on National Science Foundation-funded projects addressing zero-day vulnerabilities in electric-vehicle systems and developing AI-powered monitoring mechanisms. At USF, he develops and teaches experiential learning courses such as Cybersecurity Tools for Workforce Readiness and Computing Tools for Workforce Readiness, emphasizing industry-relevant skills through collaborations with industry partners. He has authored or co-authored publications in venues including the European Symposium on Research in Computer Security (ESORICS) and Computers & Security, and he received a Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security (ARES) in 2019. Friday was recognized for outstanding performance during his doctoral studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio and for distinguished scholarly achievement at Florida Atlantic University.