New Trends in Informatics Research Conference

Download the Program Timetable.

Thursday, April 23, 2026

Friday, April 24, 2026

AI as the New Interface of Quantum Computing​

AI is emerging as the natural interface that bridges human intent and the growing complexity of quantum computing. As quantum hardware and software stacks advance, AI systems, powered by foundation models, natural‑language programming and autonomous code generation, can translate high‑level problems and algorithms into optimized circuits and guide us in orchestrating hybrid quantum–classical workflows. 

By lifting the abstraction layer, AI makes quantum development more accessible, accelerates research, and enables new forms of algorithmic discovery. In this talk, the keynote speaker will show how AI transforms quantum computing from a domain accessible only to specialists into a platform that anyone can meaningfully interact with.​

Ismael Faro, Vice President, AI Foundations Engineering, IBM Research

Ismael Faro is Vice President of AI Foundation Engineering and AI for Quantum at IBM Research and a Distinguished Engineer. He was the principal architect of the first public quantum cloud platform, IBM Quantum Experience, and a key contributor to the open-source framework, Qiskit. 

He leads the development of Quantum + AI software and services that integrate novel research as well as open-source initiatives for AI and quantum computing. His recent work focuses on leveraging AI to optimize the quantum software stack and agentic computing. He has also co-founded startups in AI, edge computing and distributed computing, with a priority in enhancing user experience through technological innovation.

The Future Is Now: Emerging Challenges and Making Sense of Disaster​

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks. That tragic event brought to light many lessons, including how we, as citizens and responders, make sense of disasters as they are unfolding and base our responses on that sense-making. 

In 2026, however, making sense of disaster brings new challenges not previously accounted for. AI is a tremendous tool that brings the promise of disaster management improvements. But what challenges face those responding to disasters as AI develops faster than we can develop policies and cultural practices around it? What’s more, these challenges are not matters that are on the horizon. That future is now, as these are issues communities face today.​

Dr. Tricia Wachtendorf, Director, Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware

Dr. Tricia Wachtendorf is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Delaware and Director of the world-renowned Disaster Research Center – the oldest center in the world focused on the social science aspects of disaster. Over the past two decades, her research has focused on multi-organizational coordination before, during, and after disasters, transnational crises, and social vulnerability to disaster events. Dr. Wachtendorf has engaged in quick response field work after such events as the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, the tsunamis affecting India, Sri Lanka (2004) and Japan (2011), Hurricanes Katrina (2005), Sandy (2012), as well as the earthquakes in China (2008) and Haiti (2010).​

A Quantitative, ATT&CK-Driven Framework for Cybersecurity Risk Assessment in Power Generation Operational Technology
Mubarak Hussein, Philip Akekudaga
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Advancing Automated CTF Solving: Optimizing Infrastructure and Model Architecture in the D-CIPHER Multi-Agent Framework
Tyler Merves, Joseph Escobar, Michael Conaway, Hakan Otal, Unal Tatar
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Disaster Management: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)
Oyeronke Toyin Ogunbayo
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Automated Vendor Evaluation
Jovin Percoco, Bryson Fritz, Charlie Samuel, Christian Tartaglia
Marist University, USA

Beyond the Alert - Analyzing University After-Care Communication in Swatting Incident Response
Suzanne Sonpon
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Can AI Ever Forget Us? The Data Privacy Dilemma of Large Language Models
Brianna Bace, Mikail Demir, Unal Tatar
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Climate Adjusted Social Vulnerability Index: A Hybrid Framework for Risk Assessment in NY, USA
Prabin Sharma, DeeDee Bennett Gayle
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

CourseForge: The Interactive Learning Management System to Detect and Visualize Course Bottlenecks
Nabila Ayman, Md Nour Hossain
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Cyberpoaching Prevention through Secure and Ethical Wildlife Trail Camera Data Management
Samuel Berkovich, Evan Brown, Awais Razaque, Abel Scholl, Hamid Tipu, Dominick Foti
Marist University, USA

Dark Web Digger: Modular Scraping for Dark Web Intel
Samantha Stortz, Owen Stanley, Tyler Richards, Marissa Ratschki, Matt Ingoglia, Dominick Foti
Marist University, USA

Design and Implementation of a Cyber Range for Student Training
Benjamin Brandt, Ryan Clark, Nathaniel Pena, Erick Perez, Dominick Foti
Marist University, USA

Does TikTok Usage Influence Users’ Attitudes toward China?
Derick Chungcheh Ma
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Do We Have Your Attention? Tracking Eye Movements and Assessing Viewer Preferences During Television Weather Warnings
Caroline Rafizadeh, Michael Michaud, Heather Sheridan, Jeannette Sutton, Gregory Cox
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

δ-STEAL: LLM Stealing Attack with Local Differential Privacy
Van Kieu Dang, Phung Lai
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
NhatHai Phan, Abdallah Khreishah
New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA
Yelong Shen
Microsoft, USA
Ruoming Jin
Kent State University, USA

Federated Learning in Cybersecurity: Integrating FDNA and Time-Series Analytics with Federated Learning to Understand and Prevent Attacks
Mizanur Rahman, Arka Prabha Das
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

From Black Box to Insight: Explainable AI for Extreme Event Preparedness
Kiana Vu, Ismet Selcuk Ozer, Phung Lai, Zheng Wu
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
Thilanka Munashinghe
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA
Jennifer Wei
NASA, USA

From Landlines to LLMs: Advancements in Technology and Methodology in Survey Research
Travis Montana Brodbeck
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

How Does Quality of Life (QoL) Affect Attractiveness of Cities and Internal Migration in Turkey?
Ismet Selcuk Ozer
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
Umut Turk
Abdullah Gul University, Türkiye

Let ChatGPT Help You Find a Job: Examining the Motivation Behind Job-Seekers’ Use of AI
Siling Long
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

LLM Sycophancy: Causes, Implications, Mitigation
Zico Abhi Dey
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Mac Malware Detection
Wael Shahadeh, Alexander Cianfoni, Zachary Outman, Ralph Wakim, Dominick Foti
Marist University, USA

Multi-Agent AI for Chest Radiography: A Sequential Segmentation and LLM-Driven Consultative Tool for Medical Training
Furkan Kurt, Abdulhamit Subasi
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Neurodiversity-Aware Personalized Curriculum Adaptation Using Large Language Models
Yujung Hwang, Sanjay Goel
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Governing AI in Libraries
Kaity Hsiu
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Relevancy Scoring Determined through Automated Vulnerability Prioritization
Cameron Achorn, Caitlin Bartman, Max Debin, Marcus Regan, Dominick Foti
Marist University, USA

Responsible Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Healthcare: A Comprehensive Review of Clinical, Ethical and Governance Implications
Melany Rumman
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Securing Second Sales: An Analysis of the Content of Manufacturers and Platforms on Privacy in the Secondary Market for Smart Home IoT Devices
Mildred Adwubi Bonsu
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Technology Adoption in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Ragini Rani
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

The Information World of Actual-Play TRPG: An Exploratory Thematic Analysis
Angela Hackstadt
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Toward a Data-Driven Understanding of Disagreement within Science
Dakota Murray
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

UAS-Delivered versus Human-Placed Training Aids: Impacts on Detection K9 Training and Performance
Katherine Anne Baronowski, Eric Best
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Validate Your Authority: Benchmarking LLMs on Multi-Label Precedent Treatment Classification
M. Mikail Demir
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Where and When Do Ospreys Decide? Spatial Analysis of North American Fall Migration
Olivia R. BenAoumeur, Kimberly A. Cornell
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Hallucinations in Generative AI

Panelists: 

Dr. Nour Alhussien​, Department of Cybersecurity, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA​

Dr. Alessandra Buccella​, Department of Philosophy, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Dr. George Berg​​, Department of Cybersecurity, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Moderator: 

Dr. Kimberly A. Cornell​, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Stakeholder Engagement in Emergency Management​

Panelists: 

Dr. Jeannette Sutton​​, Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Dr. Matthew Crayne​, Department of Management, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Dr. Tricia Wachtendorf​, Department of Sociology, University of Delaware

Dr. Elyse Zavar​, Department of Emergency Management and Disaster Science, University of North Texas

Moderator: 

Dr. Samantha Penta​​, Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA​

Academic and Industrial Success Post-PhD​

Panelists: 

Brett Orzechowski​, Research & Innovators Startup Exchange, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Kelly Reardon, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Dr. Catherine Dumas, Department of Cybersecurity, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Moderator:

Dr. Dakota Murray​, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Retrospective of Ben-Ami Lipetz​

Panelist: 

Dr. Brian Nussbaum​​, Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA​

Anomaly Detection with Biomimicry Algorithms
R.B.
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Art as a Medium for Developing Children’s Digital Safety Awareness: An Interdisciplinary Study on Cybersecurity and OSINT within the Kids Biennale Indonesia
Anggira Putri, Indrawan Mulia
Kids Biennale Indonesia Foundation, Indonesia

Bayesian Modeling for Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
Courtney Knight
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Beyond Accurate Predictions: Certifying Robust Explanations in PiLiD Models
Rubyat Tasnuva Hasan
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Biometric Monitoring and Workplace Interventions to Reduce Fatigue and Burnout in First Responders
Christopher J. O'Connor
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Building Trust in Explainable AI based Automated Road Safety Systems
Monjurul Prodhan
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Can Fuzzy Labels of Social Media Bots Influence Trust Perceptions of Social Media Content?
Thomas Waters
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Canine Noseprinting via Local Feature Matching
Adam Kaplan
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Data-Driven Analysis of Network Intrusion Datasets to Strengthen Cybersecurity
Hector Castillo
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Design of an Immersive Virtual Reality Application for Public Speaking Education among Senior High School Adolescents in Jakarta
Malik Abdul Aziz Amri
Jejak Warisan Nuswantara, Indonesia

Enhancing Telecom Governance through Predictive Analytics: An Analysis of FCC Consumer Complaint Data
Nisha Gautam
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Understanding Quantum Algorithms and Post-Quantum Cryptography
Benjamin Earl
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

In the Era of AI and Information Technology: Data Analytics Unveils Corruption’s Impact on Poverty in Africa
Ogochukwu Gloria Nwachukwu
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA

Intrusion Detection and Safety Implications of DoS and Spoofing Attacks in Self-Driving IoV Ecosystems
Megawati Wood
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Life, Machine Learning, and the Search for Habitability: Predicting Biosignature Fluxes for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
Vasuda Trehan
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Proactive Mitigation of Cognitive Security Risks Using Multimodal Physiological and Environmental Data
Nazia Tabassum Natasha, Sheikh Rabiul Islam
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

SPECTRA: A Bayesian Machine Learning Framework for Modeling and Predicting Exoplanetary Atmospheric Absorption Spectra
Vasuda Trehan
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Smart Shield: Detecting Phishing with Machine Learning
Amna Saleem
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Cybersecurity Tools and Workplace Surveillance: Cascading Risks to Privacy and Psychological Well-Being
Rebecca Bondzie
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Tension Between Neoliberal Education and Traditional Knowledge in Indonesia
Sarah Tamimi
University of Georgia, USA

The Evolution of ADHD Diagnostics: From Traditional CPTs to Multimodal and VR-Based Assessments
Ezgi Sevval Yakisan
Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Health, Türkiye

Unifying Large Language Models (LLMs) and Knowledge Graphs (KGs) for Explainable Security Compliance Automation
Tugce Unlu
University at Albany, State University of New York, USA

Unveiling Shadow AI: Exploring Employee Behavior Under Ambiguous AI Policies
Samiratu Shaibu
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA

Building a Chatbot with RAG from Scratch: A Hands-On Guide to Retrieval-Augmented Generation, Evaluation, and Hallucination Prevention with LLMs​

This workshop is a hands-on demo showing how to build an Agentic RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) pipeline. The session will start with how to set up a local large language model and build a simple chatbot. 

The main part of the workshop will focus on building agents that can ask questions to a given document. The workshop will show how this agent-based system works to pull information from the text. It will use tools like CrewAI, LangChain, and Gradio to build the application. 

Participants will see a full workflow from start to finish. The goal is for attendees to understand the basic steps of creating an agentic system for document analysis.​

• Required: Laptop​
• Presenter: Hakan Tugrul Otal (PhD Student​, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, UAlbany, USA)​

Intro to Cloud Pen Testing​

This workshop simulates a reality in which a recently acquired company has forgotten infrastructure that still interacts with modern cloud identity systems. Through hands-on open source intelligence (OSINT) and reconnaissance activities, participants will uncover how overlooked assets persist and how easily attackers can exploit them. 

The exercise environment consists of two Microsoft Entra tenants representing a parent organization and its newly acquired subsidiary. The parent tenant exposes a public facing account creation portal where participants register and receive access to a SharePoint site seeded with credentials discoverable through OSINT. 

Participants will map the main tenant and the newly acquired tenant using standard OSINT and enumeration tools, discover the account registration page and the forgotten logon page using subdomain enumeration, and ultimately access the subsidiary’s neglected system using the discovered credentials. 

The point of the workshop is to highlight common mistakes and help participants develop their own reconnaissance process. The session will discuss why constantly taking notes and recursively performing the same tasks can help uncover hidden gems that commonly go unnoticed. 

By working through a realistic acquisition scenario, participants will gain firsthand experience identifying the kinds of misconfigurations and forgotten cloud assets that commonly evade organizational inventories. This 75-minute presenter-led session aligns with Technology and Topical skill-building tracks in penetration testing, OSINT, cybersecurity, and information science.​

• Required: Laptop​
• Presenter: Zachary Keenan (Ocelot Security, USA)​

Machine Learning at the Edge

Edge computing and artificial intelligence represent transformative technologies that enable intelligent decision-making directly on devices without constant cloud connectivity. However, the complexity of machine learning model development has traditionally created barriers for beginners seeking to implement edge AI solutions. 

This one-hour hands-on workshop addresses this challenge by introducing participants to Edge Impulse, a leading platform that democratizes edge AI development through its intuitive no-code and low-code interface.​

The workshop is designed specifically for beginners with basic programming knowledge but no prior machine learning or artificial intelligence experience. This accessibility focus makes edge AI development approachable for students, hobbyists, professionals transitioning into IoT, and anyone interested in creating intelligent embedded systems. 

The session requires only basic computer literacy, an internet connection, a web browser, and an email address for account creation, eliminating traditional barriers such as extensive ML expertise, expensive hardware or complex software installations.​

The workshop follows a structured, hands-on approach that guides participants through the complete edge AI development workflow. 50 Edge Impulse credentials available for interested researchers.​

• Required: Laptop​
• Presenter: R. B. (PhD Studen​, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, UAlbany, USA)​

Format

• Poster elevator pitch: At the beginning of the poster session, explain your research and key findings in one to three minutes on stage.
• Poster interaction: Stand by your poster and engage with conference participants.

Items to bring

• Printed poster (48 inches wide by 36 inches tall)
• Business cards and copies of your CV for networking opportunities
• Handouts or takeaways associated with your research (if applicable)

Provided items

• Poster easels and binder clips
   

Format

• Each talk is 10 minutes, followed by a 20-minute combined Q&A at the end of the session.

Presentation slides

• Please prepare your slides using clear and concise templates.
• Please upload all slides to the designated folder by 11:59 p.m. on April 20, 2026 (Eastern Time). Your slides will be collated on the organizer’s computer before the session.

Provided items

• Remote controls, projectors and necessary connection cables for presentations.
• Microphones for all attendees to hear questions and responses during the Q&A session.

Arrival time 

• Please arrive at least 20 minutes before your scheduled session for final technical checks and setup.
   

Dress code: Business formal or business casual attire is recommended to convey professionalism.

Audience etiquette: Please keep phones and other devices silent during talks. Practice active listening and avoid interrupting other speakers. Engage in respectful interactions, even in moments of disagreement.

Parking: Parking is available right next to the ETEC Building. Please check the “I will need a parking permit” box when registering for the conference, and a free parking permit will be provided if registered prior to March 15, 2025.

Buses

• Option 1: Take CDTA Bus Routes 12 or 190 to UAlbany's Collins Circle. Then, take the Uptown Campus Shuttle Route 2 for one stop to the ETEC Building. View Shuttle Schedules.
• Option 2: Take CDTA Bus Routes 910 or 712 to Harriman West/ETEC Station.

Trains

• Take Amtrak to Albany-Rensselaer Station, then take a taxi or a ride-sharing service to the ETEC Building.

Flights

• Option 1: Fly to JFK International Airport, transfer to Amtrak at Penn Station, then take a taxi or a ride-sharing service to the ETEC Building.
• Option 2: Fly to Albany International Airport, then take a taxi or a ride-sharing service to the ETEC Building.
   

• Participants are responsible for arranging their own accommodation unless receiving a scholarship that includes the hotel. View the map of nearby hotels.

• Light breakfast and lunch will be provided on both days. Please share any food allergies or dietary restrictions during registration by March 15, 2025, and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
• Review additional dining options.