People

Tempestt Neal

Neal

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

ENB 310 | 813-396-9353

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Biography

Dr. Tempestt Neal is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering department at the University of South Florida and the founder/director of the Cyber Identity and Behavior Research (CIBeR) Lab. Dr. Neal’s research focuses on biometrics and smart sensing for person identification and multidisciplinary applications of human behavior analysis. She also conducts research leading to increased cybersecurity awareness among populations historically excluded in science and engineering. She earned a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Florida in 2018, a M.S. in Computer Science from Clemson University in 2014, and a B.S. in Computer Science from South Carolina State University in 2012. 

Dr. Neal is active in the Biometrics, Identity Science, and Artificial Intelligence communities, serving as the 2019/2020 IEEE Women in Engineering Society Liaison for the IEEE Biometrics Council, Associate Editor for the IEEE Biometrics Council Newsletter, and Guest Editor for the MDPI Electronics Special Issue on Recent Advances in Biometric Security in IoT Based on Machine Learning, among others. She was a 2021-2022 recipient of the Florida Education Fund Junior Faculty Fellowship Award, University of Florida Delores Auzenne Dissertation Award, and National Science Foundation (NSF) CyberCorps Scholarship for Service Fellowship. Her research has been funded by multiple agencies, including an NSF CAREER award that supports the development of inclusive and accessible cybersecurity systems.

Research Interests

Biometrics; Applied Smart Sensing; Applied Artificial Intelligence; Inclusive Cybersecurity; Human-Centered Computing

Teaching Interests

Biometrics; Object-Oriented Programming; Data Structures

Education

PhD in Computer Engineering, University of Florida (2018)
MS in Computer Science, Clemson University (2014)
BS in Computer Science, South Carolina State University (2012)

Honors and Awards

  • NSF CAREER Award (2023)
  • Florida Education Fund Junior Faculty Fellow (2021-2022)
  • Delores Auzenne Dissertation Award (2018)
  • NSF CyberCorps Scholarship for Service Award (2017)

Key Activities

  • Reviewer for IEEE Transactions on Biometrics, Behavior, and Identity Science
  • Reviewer for IEEE International Conference on Identity, Security, and Behavior Analysis
  • Reviewer for the IEEE/IAPR International Joint Conference on Biometrics
  • Organizer, First Workshop on Interdisciplinary Applications of Biometrics and Identity Science (InterID 2023) at IEEE FG 2023