Brian Callahan, Ph.D.

Specialist Professor

Department: Computer Science and Software Engineering

Office: James and Marlene Howard Hall 233

Brian Callahan, Ph.D., joins us from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he served as the graduate program director for and senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, and as the director of the Rensselaer Cybersecurity Collaboratory (RCC). Callahan is recognized for his work at the intersection of cybersecurity, Unix systems, and open-source software. His research spans topics such as reverse engineering, digital forensics, security education, and the use of BSD Unix systems in computer science instruction; areas in which he has published extensively and continues to contribute actively.

Education

Ph.D., Science & Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

MS, Science & Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

MA, Anthropology, Monmouth University

BHA, Music Performance & Anthropology

Research Interests

Quantum Cybersecurity Education
Intersections of Cybersecurity and Generative AI, particularly the limitations of AI
Intersections of Cybersecurity and Quantum computing, privacy and cryptography
Cloud Security
Secure Coding Techniques
Business and Social Cases for Cybersecurity
Toolchain (compiler, assembler, linker) based security mitigations
Digital Humanities, technical stewardship of infrastructure

Books

Book Chapters

Fortun, Mike, Lindsay Poirier, Alli Morgan, Brian Callahan, and Kim Fortun. 2021. “What’s so funny ‘bout PECE, TAF, and Data Sharing?” In Collaborative Anthropology Today: A Collection of Exceptions, edited by Dominic Boyer and George E. Marcus, Pp.115-140. Cornell University Press. DOI:10.7591/cornell/9781501753343.003.0008
Eglash, Ron, William Babbitt, Audrey Bennett, Kathryn Bennett, Brian Callahan, James Davis, John Drazen, et al. 2016. “Culturally Situated Design Tools: Generative Justice as a Foundation for STEM Diversity.” In Moving Students of Color from Consumers to Producers of Technology, edited by Yolanda Rankin and Jakita Thomas, Pp. 132-151. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. DOI:10.4018/978-1-5225-2005-4.ch007

Scholarly Articles

Callahan, Brian Robert*, Sanya Joseph*, Shoshana Sugerman*, Quinn Colognato*, Aanya Mehta, Tanvi Mehta, Emily Goldman, Mary Cotrupi, Ishneet Kaur, Victoria Cai, Gabriel Bezerra, Adam Kaplan, Arielle Revis, Lala Liu, Samuel Leung, Elif Kulahlioglu, Rachel Schneider, Mikah Schueller, Quinn Sharp, and James Porvazik, 2025. “RC 3TF, an Augmented Reality CTF: A case study in improving cybersecurity pedagogy for the undergraduate research laboratory,” Proceedings of the 20th Annual Symposium on Information Assurance (ASIA). University at Albany. Albany, NY. Jun. 3-4, 2025 *Co-First authors

Cheng, Tiffany, Shoshana Sugerman, Colin Farley, and Brian Robert Callahan, 2025. “Quantum Preprocessing for Internet of Things Edge Computing Security Devices,” Proceedings of the 1st IEEE Conference on Secure and Trustworthy CyberInfrastructure for IoT and Microelectronics (SaTC 2025). Wright State University. Dayton, OH. Feb. 25-27, 2025.

Callahan, Brian Robert, 2016. “SocialBSD: A Review of Diversity and Inclusivity Initiatives in the *BSD Community and Imagining Future Pathways,” Proceedings of AsiaBSDCon 2016: 167-176

Callahan, Brian Robert, Keenan Schilp, Quinn Colognato, Emily Goldman, Shoshana Sugerman, Aanya Mehta, Angela Imanuel, Kaitlin Kaii, and Hannah Rose, Forthcoming. “Multidisciplinary Quantum Cybersecurity Research for the Undergraduate Laboratory,” The Journal of The Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (CISSE)

Multimedia

Data Dexterity Results: Answering Renewable Energy Questions and More! Findings and Lessons Learned (Brian Callahan, Kathy Fontaine, Thilanka Munasinghe, Elizabeth Joyner, Ross Bagwell), July 2023 Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Meeting: Opening Doors to Open Science, Burlington, VT, Jul. 18-21, 2023. Poster Presentation.

Solar vs. Wind: Viable Renewable Energy Source (Christos Kreatsoulas, Jingrui Feng, Kazuki Neo, Ryan Carrido, Wendy Yang, Brian Callahan), July 2023 Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Meeting: Opening Doors to Open Science, Burlington, VT, Jul. 18-21, 2023. Poster Presentation.

Enabling Data Dexterity Among Students Using a NASA Data Pathfinder (Kathy Fontaine, Thilanka Munasinghe, Brian Callahan, Rick Plotka, Ross Bagwell, Elizabeth Joyner), American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2022, Chicago, IL, Dec. 12-13, 2022. Poster Presentation.

Presentations/Invited Talks

Invited talk on “Your Sneak Peek into Quantum at ISC2 Security Congress 2025 (#2),” (with Christopher G. Pope and Deepak Behal), ISC2 Security Briefings, August 7, 2025.

Invited talk on “Cybersecurity and Quantum for Today’s Estate Planning Professional (working title),” Estate Planning Council of Eastern New York Annual Meeting, May 13, 2025.

Invited lecturing on “The Rensselaer Cybersecurity Collaboratory, Lectures on Tap series,” Rensselaer Alumni Association Hudson Chapter, May 8, 2025.

Invited lecturing on “The Rensselaer Cybersecurity Collaboratory,” ISC2 Central NY Chapter, Utica, NY. Apr. 29, 2025.

Invited talk on “Benefits and Limitations of Generative AI for Cybersecurity Awareness Training,” Sugerman, Shoshana and Brian Callahan. 2025. KB4-CON 2025. Apr. 7-9, 2025.

Invited talk on “Benefits and Limitations of Generative AI for Cybersecurity Awareness Training,” Callahan, Brian and Shoshana Sugerman. 2024. ISC2 Security Congress 2024: Boldly Forward. Las Vegas, NV. Oct. 14-16, 2024.

Invited talk on “RSA in the Quantum Era: A Cryptographic Exploration,” (Keenan Schilp, Emily Goldman, Hannah Rose), ISC2 Central NY Chapter, Utica, NY, Sep. 24, 2024.

Invited talk on “OpenBSD: The backbone of your security since 1996, Redux,” ISC2 Central NY Chapter meeting, Sep. 24, 2024.

Invited talk on “Generative AI for Cybersecurity Awareness Training: Skills, Strategies, and Accountabilities,” Callahan, Brian, Quinn Colognato, and Mary Cotrupi. 2024. BSides St. Pete 2024. Sep. 14, 2024.

Invited talk on “Using Generative AI to enhance cybersecurity awareness training capabilities, redux,” (with Shoshana Sugerman), ISC2 Central New York Chapter, Utica, NY, Jul. 23, 2024.

Invited talk on “Using Generative AI to enhance cybersecurity awareness training capabilities,” Callahan, Brian and Shoshana Sugerman. 2024. 26th Annual New York State Cybersecurity Conference. Jun. 4-5, 2024.

Invited talk on “From zero to the top in 18 months: How to get involved with CTFs, grow your skills, celebrate your successes, and enjoy every moment of it,” Colognato, Quinn and Brian Callahan. 2024. BSides Buffalo 2024. Jun. 1, 2024.

Invited talk on “Building a Targeted, Effective, University Cybersecurity Awareness Training Program–by Your Students!” (ISC)2 Central New York Chapter, Utica, NY, Jun. 20, 2023.

Invited talk on “How to build an AI-powered transcription bot for FM transmissions.” (with Hisen Zhang), QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, Mar. 24-26, 2023.

Invited talk on “Data Dexterity to Tackle Humanitarian Crises: Enabling students with Data Literacy (data dexterity) on How to Effectively Use Earth Observational Data and Other Data Sources to Find Reliable and Effective Solutions for Humanitarian Crises,” (Thilanka Munasinghe, Brian Callahan, Kathy Fontaine, Rick Plotka, William Allen, Eryn Buhat, Tiffany Filawo, James Liu, Zijin Liu, Brianna Lopez, Yasmin Lu, Stone McLaren, Ronna Min, Jialin Yu, Nay Zaw Aung Win, Abraham Sandars) July 2022 Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Meeting: Data for All People: From Generation to Use and Understanding, Pittsburgh, PA, Jul. 19-22, 2022.

Invited talk on “PolyglotBS,” BSDCan 2022, Jun. 3-4, 2022.

Invited talk on “Life Outside the Big 4: The Adventure of D on OpenBSD,” DConf 2021, Nov. 20-21, 2021.

Invited talk on “Stories from Reviving and Extending a University’s Information Security Program,” Seattle GNU/Linux Conference 2021, Nov. 5-6, 2021.

Invited seminar speaker at CU Boulder Technology, Cybersecurity & Policy Seminar Series. CU Boulder, Oct. 25, 2021.

Invited talk on “Design Your Own Communication Protocols,” QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, Aug. 14-15, 2021.

Invited talk on “The Education of Hacking: A Year of Teaching All the Things,” BSidesROC 2021, Rochester, NY. Mar. 20, 2021.

Invited talk on “Introducing the CW Record Protocol,” Troy Amateur Radio Association, Nov. 17, 2020.

Invited talk on “Middleware, Light Structure, Experimental Systems: Designing the Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography (PECE),” 4S/EASTS Conference. August 2020. (Mike Fortun, Kim Fortun, Tim Schutz, Angela Okune, James Adams, Prerna Srigyan, Lindsay Poirier, Brian Callahan, Brandon Costelloe-Kuehn, Ali Kenner, Aalok Khandekar, Renato Vasconcellos Gomes). August 2020.

Invited talk on “Hypatia Software Organization: A Who, What, Why, and How of Advancing Diversity in Technology,” Defcon 201, Sep. 20, 2019.

Invited talk on “Learning to (Open)BSD Through its Porting System,” vBSDCon 2019, Reston, VA, Sep. 5-7, 2019.

Invited talk on “OpenBSD and You,” Defcon 201, Dec. 21, 2018.

Invited talk on “Making it All Work: The Infrastructures and Limits of (Digital) Collaboration. Institutions and Societies 2018,” SUNY Albany, Albany, NY, Feb 23, 2018.

Invited talk on “Coding Collaboration: Exploring a Definition Through a Transgender Hacker Collective. American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting 2017,” Washington, D.C., Nov. 29-Dec. 3, 2017.

Invited talk on “Leveraging Collaborative Mentorship to Strengthen Your Free Software Community,” (with Lisa Marie Maginnis), Seattle GNU/Linux Conference, Seattle Central University, Seattle, WA, Oct. 6-7, 2017.

Invited talk on “Collaboration as a Multi-Scalar Phenomenon. Northeast Science and Technology Studies Conference 2017,” York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Apr. 22-23, 2017.

Invited talk on “Trans Tech: Ethnography of a Hacker Collective. American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting 2016,” Minneapolis, MN, Nov. 16-20, 2016.

Invited talk on “Towards a Transgender Technoscience. Trans*Studies Conference 2016,” University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, Sep. 7-10, 2016.

Invited talk on “Diverse Be-longings: Trans Hacker Collectives as New Sites of Tech Diversity Understandings. Theorizing the Web 2016,” New York, NY, Apr. 15-16, 2016.

Invitd talk on “Trans Code: Free Software as Model & Critique of Diversity by Transgender Hackers,” (with Lillian Lemmer), LibrePlanet 2016, MIT, Cambridge, MA, Mar. 19-20, 2016.

Invited talk on “SocialBSD: A Review of Diversity and Inclusivity Initiatives in the *BSD Community and Imagining Future Pathways,” AsiaBSDCon 2016, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan, Mar. 10-13, 2016.

Invited talk on “The Trans Tech Network: Using Culture to Challenge Structure and Diversity. Institutions and Societies 2016,” SUNY Albany, Albany, NY, Feb. 26, 2016.

Invited talk on “Pathways to Social Justice in Social Science-Computer Science Collaboration. American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting 2015,” Denver, CO, Nov. 18-22, 2015.

Invited talk on “Devio.us, the Free OpenBSD Shell Provider and Online *BSD User Group: Technical and Social Lessons Learned from Half a Decade of Service,” (with Bryce Chidester), vBSDcon 2015, Reston, VA, Sep. 11-13, 2015.

Invited talk on “Building BUGs: A Broad View of the New York City *BSD User Group,” (with George Rosamond), BSDCan 2015, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, Jun. 10-13, 2015.

Forthcoming

Sugerman, Shoshana, Emily Goldman, Tiffany Cheng, and Brian Callahan, “Applied Quantum Cybersecurity Research for All: Go Beyond the Hype with the Rensselaer Cybersecurity Collaboratory and the Students Doing the Real Work,” Forthcoming. ISC2 Security Congress 2025. Nashville, TN. Oct. 28-30, 2025

Cotrupi, Mary L. and Brian R. Callahan, “Towards Practical Quantum Kernels for Network Intrusion Detection,” Forthcoming. Proceedings of the First AAAI Symposium on Quantum Information & Machine Learning (QIML). AAAI Fall 2025 Symposium, Arlington, VA. Nov. 6-8, 2025

Professional Associations

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Cloud Security Alliances (CSA)
Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)
Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2)
ISACA
Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honor Society (Alpha of NJ Chapter, Monmouth University)
Upsilon Pi Epsilon International Honor Society for the Computing and Information
Disciplines (RPI Chapter)

Awards

School of Science Summer Quantum Undergraduate Research Program grant: Towards scalable network intrusion detection with quantum-enhanced topological data analysis. Mary Cotrupi, Co-PI. $6,700
Board of Trustees Outstanding Teacher Award – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. $10,000
IBM-RPI Future of Computing Research Collaboration (FCRC) Grant: Educating the quantum future: filling the pipeline from middle school to the workforce. Brian Callahan, Lead PI (RPI), Malik Magdon-Ismail, Ali Tajer, PIs (RPI), Sophia Acquisto, Ph.D. student, Co-PI (RPI), Jamie Garcia, Lead PI (IBM), Bradley Holt, PI (IBM) $300,000
Teaching and Learning Collaboratory Seed Grant: The world’s first cybersecurity VR CTF: A joint venture between RCC and RCOS. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Brian Callahan, PI, Wes Turner, Co-PI. $25,000
Office of Undergraduate Education grant: Quantum unveiling research. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Brian Callahan, PI. $6,000
Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) 2022 FUNding Friday Award: Next Generation Tools for Democratizing Data Exploration with NASA Data. Pathfinder. Earth Science Information Partners, Brian Callahan (RPI), PI, Elizabeth R. Joyner (NASA), Thilanka Munasinghe (RPI), Kathy Fontaine, (RPI), Ross Bagwell (NASA), co-PIs. $5,000
Teaching and Learning Collaboratory Seed Grant: The Rensselaer Cybersecurity Collaboratory. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Brian Callahan, PI. $10,000

Additional Information

Sponsored and coached team for the MITRE eCTF 2025 competition. MITRE.
Enrolled 103 students into the National Cyber League Fall 2024 season. Ranked 16th in the nation in NCL Power Rankings.
2015-present Chief Security Office (CSO), PECE: the Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography

Professional Certifications

ISC2

ISC2 Authorized Instructor
ISSMP: Information Systems Security Management Professional
CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional
CCSP: Certified Cloud Security Professional
SSCP: Systems Security Certified Practitioner
CC: Certified in Cybersecurity

ISACA

CISM: Certified Information Security Manager

CompTIA

A+ CE
Cloud Essentials+
Cloud+ CE
CloudNetX CE
CySA+ CE
Data+ CE
DataSys+ CE
ITF+
Linux+ CE
Network+ CE
PenTest+ CE
Project+
Security+ CE
SecurityX CE
Server+
CCAP: CompTIA Cloud Admin Professional (Network+/Cloud+)
CIOS: CompTIA IT Operations Specialist (A+/Network+)
CLNP: CompTIA Linux Network Professional (Network+/Linux+)
CNIP: CompTIA Network Infrastructure Professional (Network+/Server+)
CNSP: CompTIA Network Security Professional (Security+/PenTest+/CySA+)
CNVP: CompTIA Network Vulnerability Assessment Professional (Security+/PenTest+)
CSAE: CompTIA Security Analytics Expert (Security+/CySA+/SecurityX)
CSAP: CompTIA Security Analytics Professional (Security+/CySA+)
CSCP: CompTIA Secure Cloud Professional (Security+/Cloud+)
CSIE: CompTIA Secure Infrastructure Expert (Security+/CySA+/PenTest+/SecurityX)
CSIS: CompTIA Secure Infrastructure Specialist (A+/Network+/Security+)
CSSS: CompTIA Systems Support Specialist (A+/Linux+)

CSA

CCSK: Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge v5
CCSK: Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge v4
CCZT: Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust

Microsoft Certified

AI-102: Azure AI Engineer Associate
AI-900: Azure AI Fundamentals
AZ-900: Azure Fundamentals
DP-900: Azure Data Fundamentals
PL-900: Power Platform Fundamentals
SC-900: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals

Scrum.org

PSFS: Professional Scrum Facilitation Skills
PSM I: Professional Scrum Master I
PSPO I: Professional Scrum Product Owner I

Cato Networks

SASE Expert Level 1
SASE Expert Level 2
SSE Expert

Fortinet

Fortinet Certified Associate Cybersecurity
Fortinet Certified Fundamentals Cybersecurity

Google

Google Cybersecurity Certificate
Google IT Support Certificate

IBM

IBM SkillsBuild Cybersecurity Fundamentals
IBM Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner

Courses

Recently Taught Classes

2025 Fall

Cyber Security – CS 450, SE 450
Fundamentals of Computer Security and Cryptography – CS 518
Introduction to Computer Programming for Data Science I – DS 502
Introduction to Computer Science I – CS 175
Introduction to Problem Solving and Software Development – CS 104

Frequently Taught Classes

Cyber Security (CS 450, SE 450)