People

Dr. Pablo Rivas serves as the Executive Director for the Central Texas Cyber Range and is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Baylor University. With over a decade of industry experience as a software engineer before transitioning to academia, Dr. Rivas specializes in the intersection of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. His research focuses on developing adversarially robust machine learning models for cyber defense, including the detection of DDoS attacks and testing neural-based block ciphers trained adversarially. An active contributor to the field, he frequently publishes in top machine learning and cybersecurity conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, ACL, and ICAI. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, ACM, and SIAM, and actively participates in the IEEE Standards Association, contributing to the development of AI ethics standards in the P7000 series. At Baylor University, Dr. Rivas teaches courses in machine learning and deep learning with applications in cybersecurity, natural language processing, and computer vision. He is a deep learning evangelist, machine learning ethicist, and a proponent of democratizing artificial intelligence. His commitment to inclusivity is evident through his advocacy as an ally for women in technology. Previously, Dr. Rivas worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and held academic positions at Marist College in New York, equipping him with a holistic perspective on the challenges and solutions within the cybersecurity industry.

Dr. Erika Leal serves as the Director of Research and Development for the Central Texas Cyber Range and is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Baylor University. Her research specializes in cybersecurity, focusing on hardware-assisted software security analysis, malware analysis, and high-performance computing security. Combining the power of hardware features and machine learning, Dr. Leal studies obfuscated malware to advance cyber defense mechanisms. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science with a specialization in Software and Systems Security from Tulane University and the University of Texas at Arlington under the guidance of Dr. Jiang Ming, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science with a minor in Business Administration from Texas Wesleyan University. At Baylor University, she teaches courses  in cybersecurity and is actively involved with the Cyber@Baylor club, coaching their competitive teams to nurture the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.

Dr. Jeremy McCormick is an Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. He serves as the Head of the McLennan Cyber Defense Center and the Director of Training for the Central Texas Cyber Range. McCormick has worked in the information technology industry since 1996 in a variety of roles including Technician, Network Engineer, Web and Software Developer, Director of Technology, and IT Consultant. He holds a Master of Science in Cybersecurity Technology from the University of Maryland and a Doctor of Information Technology in Information Assurance and Cybersecurity from Capella University.