A Higher Education

Marian Zaki, PhD

College of Science and Engineering
Engineering
  • Assistant Professor of Computer Science
  • Program Coordinator, Computer Science (BS)

Education

  • PhD in Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh
  • MS in Computer & Information Sciences, Ain Shams University, Egypt
  • BS in Computer Science, Ain Shams University, Egypt

Courses Taught at HCU

  • Introduction to Computer Programming (COSC 1351)
  • Intermediate Computer Programming (COSC 1352)
  • Data Structures (COSC 2351)
  • Advanced Data Structures and Algorithms (COSC 2354)
  • Computer Architecture (COSC 3341)

Teaching Focus

  • Problem and Project Based Learning, PBL educational approach in core Computer Science courses along with specialization in security and privacy of networks.

Research Interests and Publications

  • Research interests lie at the intersection of computer security, privacy, and distributed systems. I’m interested in studying and analyzing how security measures can be enforced in distributed systems while maintaining a balance across Privacy, Precision and Performance (3P’s)

Publications:

  • “Effective Access Control in Shared-Operator Multi-tenant Data Stream Management Systems,” Marian Zaki, Adam J. Lee, Panos K. Chrysanthis, Data and Applications Security and Privacy XXXIV, DBSec 2020, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 12122. Springer, Cham.
  • “Balancing Performance, Accuracy, and Precision for Secure Cloud Transactions,” Marian K. Iskander, Dave Wilkinson, Tucker Trainor, Adam J. Lee, and Panos Chrysanthis, IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems (TPDS), February 2014.
  • “Confidentiality-Preserving and Fault-Tolerant InNetwork Aggregation for Collaborative WSNs,” Marian K. Iskander, Adam J. Lee, and Daniel Mossé, in Proceedings of the 8th IEEE International Conference on Collaborative Computing: Networking, Applications and Worksharing (CollaborateCom), October 2012.
  • “Enforcing Policy and Data Consistency of Cloud Transactions,” Marian K. Iskander, Dave W. Wilkinson, Adam J. Lee, and Panos K. Chrysanthis, in Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Security and Privacy in Cloud Computing (ICDCS-SPCC), June 2011. 
  • “Privacy and Robustness for Data Aggregation in Wireless Sensor Networks,” Marian K. Iskander, Adam J. Lee, and Daniel Mossé, 17th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, CCS Poster Session, October 2010.
  • “A Content-Aware Block Placement Algorithm for Reducing PRAM Storage Bit Writes,” Brian Wongchaowart, Marian K. Iskander, and Sangyeun Cho, 26th IEEE Symposium on Massive Storage Systems and Technologies, May 2010.
  • “MANAGE1: New Stream Cipher for Data Encryption in CDMA Wireless Networks”, Marian K. Iskander, Nabil Hamdy, Tarek A. El Megeed, and Ahmed M. Hamad, IEEE International Conference on Computer Engineering & Systems (ICCES’06), November 2006.

Committee Services/Offices Held

  • COSE Recruiting and Retention committee member (since Fall 2019)
  • Institutional Review Board (IRB) committee member (since Spring 2020)
  • COSE Research Committee member (since Fall 2020)

Awards and Honors

  • Prestigious Mellon Fellowship for 2012 – 2013 academic year awarded by the School of Science and Arts, University of Pittsburgh, for showing excellent potential in conducting research.
  • Runner-up for the 2011 Orrin E. & Margaret M. Taulbee Award for Excellence, Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh. [Recognizes teaching excellence, strong research interests, and marked interest in pursuing an academic career; only one awardee and one runner-up per year.]
  • TA Mentor Award for achieving the honor of being the mentor of the teaching assistants for the academic year 2011-2012, Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh [only one awardee per year].
  • Best Graduate Poster Award for 2011 and runner-up for 2012, Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh.
  • Scientific Excellence Award from Faculty of Computer & Information Sciences, Academic years 1999/2000 & 2000/2001, Ain Shams University, Egypt.

Previous Academic/Professional Positions

  • Adjunct Faculty in Computer Science and Engineering Technology, University of Houston Downtown, September 2015 – December 2018.
  • Graduate Research Assistant in Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh, May 2011 – April 2012.
  • Teaching Assistant and mentor in Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh, January 2010 – April 2011

Additional Information

  • National CyberWatch Center, member (2019 – present)
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), member (2019 – present)
  • Women in Engineering, member (2020 – present)
  • Active member of Sugar Creek Baptist Church (sugar land campus). Creek Kids 2nd grade volunteers leaders.
  • Active member of the Arabic Church of Houston.
  • Wife and mother of two daughters.