Two University of Florida engineering professors have been recognized among the nation’s top early-career researchers for their contributions to national defense and security.
Farimah Farahmandi, Ph.D., Walden C. Rhines Endowed Professor for Hardware Security, and Md Jahidul Islam, Ph.D., Yangbin Wang Rising Star Endowed Assistant Professor, in UF’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), received the 2026 Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research (ONR).
The highly competitive program supports early-career scientists and engineers whose research shows exceptional promise for advancing naval capabilities. This year, just 23 researchers nationwide were selected, each receiving approximately $750,000 over three years to support defense-relevant research in areas such as artificial intelligence, autonomy and cybersecurity.