About

First Name Pronunciation: Praw-Séan-th (the th is mostly silent when used in sentences)

Middle Name Pronunciation: Red-Dee (not as Ready!) 

Last Name Pronounciation: Boo-see Red-Dee Gaa-Ree 

Students can conveniently call him Dr. Reddy, Prof. Reddy, Dr. R, or Dr. BusiReddyGari 

Dr. Prashanth BusiReddyGari joined the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science professoriate in 2020 as a Visiting Assistant Professor and in 2021 became an Assistant Professor. He is committed to excellence in the cybersecurity field and his faculty role expands to directing the Cyber Defense Education Center, coordinating the B.S. in Cybersecurity degree program, and advising the ACM Student Chapter

After receiving his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering with majors in Cybersecurity & Cryptography from Oklahoma State University at Stillwater, Reddy accepted the Web Security Engineer position at OSU's Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence. There, he developed websites and related database management systems for several degree programs. The research algorithms he developed in his dissertation were used to strengthen ITLE's web security. ITLE facilitated Reddy's penchant for high-quality teaching. There, he honed his pedagogical skills, means to integrate state-of-the-art instructional technology into courses, ways to create deep learning experiences for the audience, and techniques to foster student persistence in learning the subject matter. After bagging teaching and cybersecurity work experience at ITLE, Reddy worked as a Systems Security Engineer for Code Acuity before transitioning to UNCP to teach cybersecurity concentration courses along with CS and IT general pathway program courses. As part of UNCP's efforts to become a Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) through the National Security Agency (NSA), Reddy is spearheading the accreditation application process. A set of his course offerings have been successfully validated by the NSA and a committee of National CAE-CD academic peers during the BS in IT, Cybersecurity track program of study validation phase. Between 2021-22, Reddy helped the CS department start its B.S. in Cybersecurity degree program and later accepted its Coordinator position. As the lead for the Cyber Defense Education Center, he promotes the center's visibility and reputation within the institution and community at large with a strategic vision through professional development academies, cybersecurity academic integration, student clubs, and outreach partnerships.

Reddy’s research focus is on applied cryptography and security analysis of cyber-physical systems. His interests comprise the broad area of systems security, Internet-of-Things, networks, cloud & 5G infrastructure, blockchain technology, and post-quantum cryptography. Some of his current research projects are 1) Lightweight Stream Cipher Design, 2) Key Assignment Schemes using Authenticated Fully Homomorphic Encryption, 3) Hashing Modes of Arbitrary Functions, and 4) Internet-of-Vehicles Security Analysis.

Reddy serves on several UNCP Conduct Hearing and Appeal Boards that focus on cases related to academic honor code violations, grade appeals, sexual misconduct, misconduct on campus, and misconduct involving student organizations. He also serves on the 2021-2023 Faculty Awards Committee. And time-to-time he serves on departmental faculty search committees.