Shree Ram Abayankar Balaji

I'm a Ph.D. student at the University of North Dakota researching cybersecurity for industrial control systems, smart grids, and cyber-physical systems.

My dissertation focuses on distributed energy resource communications, characterizing how protocols like IEC 61850 and Modbus/SunSpec fail under adversarial conditions, and designing edge-deployed detection that holds up on hardware-in-the-loop testbeds.

From summer 2025 through August 2026, I worked as a Research Aide (ESIA Division) at Argonne National Laboratory, supporting U.S. Department of Energy projects on grid security and reliability.

Outside the lab, I organize hands-on cybersecurity events and work to widen access to security education. I'm always glad to hear from people working on adjacent problems.