I am currently a Doctoral Student at The University of Texas at San Antonio, USA. Before this, I was pursuing my Master’s at Wichita State University, where I began exploring the intersection of security, privacy, and safety in everyday technology use. At SPriTELab, my work centers on the experiences of urban pedestrians and other often-overlooked populations, particularly how ubiquitous technologies affect their safety, privacy, and security.
My research is grounded in data collected directly from and by participants, using resource-constrained wearable devices and mobile applications. By focusing on off-the-shelf IoT devices and cyber-physical systems embedded in pedestrian and consumer environments, I collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to contribute to safer and more privacy-respecting urban ecosystems, especially for underrepresented groups in research and design.
As someone deeply passionate about security, privacy (S&P), and multidisciplinary research, my dissertation focuses on identifying and mitigating real-world S&P challenges faced by everyday pedestrians in tech-saturated cities. Over the years, I’ve worked in collaborative research settings, mentored peers, and gained hands-on experience across the full data lifecycle from collection, processing, analysis, to visualization. Currently, my research also investigates how phishing, vishing, and other social engineering threats exploit gaps in digital and linguistic literacy, particularly among marginalized groups.
PhD Student, Computer Science
University of Texas at San Antonio
Texas, USA
vsnisha@ieee.org
nisha.vs@outlook.com