As a shy kid growing up with college professors for parents in Kolkata, India, Dr. Ankur Chattopadhyay discovered a passion for working with computers.
“I liked writing code and understanding the dynamics of how a computer works, how you can make it do a job or task for you,” he said. “Problem-solving, logic and writing came naturally to me. I am glad I chose that career path because it suited me well.”
No kidding. Dr. Chattopadhyay parlayed his knowledge and real-world experience in computer science into a career in academia.
He is now an assistant professor of computer science and cybersecurity, including the online Master of Science (M.S.) in Cybersecurity program, at Northern Kentucky University (NKU).
“What evolved — once I understood the field better and learned more — is the fact of doing good,” he said. “You can contribute, do a lot of good and benefit society by writing useful, specific tools, which is a perfect tie-in with cybersecurity.”
Dr. Chattopadhyay arrived at NKU from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in January 2020, weeks before COVID-19 shut the country down.
“When I consider the pandemic, I am still very new to the area because I haven’t gone out much, although I have had two of my most productive academic years here,” he said. “I have been able to start the GenCyber program at NKU.
“I was working with the federal GenCyber program, where you train high school teachers and students for three years, from UW-Green Bay. I started the program there and brought that to NKU. We are the first to start at GenCyber program in the region.”
Opportunity Knocks
After arriving in the United States in 2005, Dr. Chattopadhyay worked for a global computer consultancy firm in Minnesota and Hawaii.
Dr. Chattopadhyay had not considered following in his parents’ footsteps until he got his first taste of teaching at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
“That graduate fellowship got me to teach different classes in undergrad during my time as a Ph.D. student,” he said. “That set the path where I knew I was not the kind to just do research; I wanted to do teaching plus research.”
While completing a Ph.D. in computer science in 2015, UW-Green Bay offered Dr. Chattopadhyay a tenure-track teaching position.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that at the time,” he said. “I had an offer to come back to the industry for my previous company. I decided to teach.”
Although he has not been at NKU for long, Dr. Chattopadhyay enjoys teaching courses in the online M.S. in Cybersecurity program and working with a full scope of students.
“I am happy that the program is doing well and that we have a good staff. We also have great students. We all bring something unique to this program.”
Cloud Logic
Dr. Chattopadhyay especially enjoys preparing students for careers in cybersecurity, which becomes more of an in-demand field by the minute.
“My background is a Ph.D. in more of a traditional computer science program,” he said. “I was working in privacy, which was a precursor to cybersecurity.
“I don’t have formal training because we didn’t have a Ph.D. in cybersecurity when I went to graduate school. We didn’t have that buzzword. There was that case of doing society good, which has transformed into protecting people through secure systems and design.”
After living a nomadic lifestyle for 15 years, Dr. Chattopadhyay is happy to be in Highland Heights for what he hopes will be a long time.
“I am as settled as I ever was here,” he said. “My home is close to campus, and I am enjoying my time at NKU. This is what I signed up for — good balance. “
Dr. Chattopadhyay, an IEEE Future Directions Newsletter in Technology, Policy and Ethics editorial board member, looks forward to making NKU one of the top cybersecurity schools as technology and the world evolve. NKU also offers an online Cybersecurity: Fundamentals in the Cloud program.
Learn more about NKU’s online M.S. in Cybersecurity program.
