Prior to joining Montclair State University, Dr. Samanthula worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Cyber Center department and as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Purdue University - West Lafayette. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Missouri University of Science and Technology. His research interests span across applied cryptography, personal privacy and data security, primarily in the fields of social networks, cloud computing, sensor networks, and smart grids.