Team

Clemente Izurieta

Dr. Izurieta is a full professor in the Computer Science department at Montana State University. Born in Santiago, Chile, his research interests include empirical software engineering, design and architecture of software systems, design patterns, the measurement of software quality and ecological modelling. Dr. Izurieta has approximately 16 years experience working for various R&D labs at Hewlett Packard and Intel Corporation. When not teaching, Clem and his wife (Sharlyn) can be found in the local trails, running, hiking or snow shoeing!

Ann Marie Reinhold

Dr. Ann Marie Reinhold is an assistant professor in the Gianforte School of Computing, co-director of the Software Engineering and Cybersecurity Lab (SECL) at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT USA, and a Joint Appointment with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She specializes in the development and application of computational methods to understand the mechanisms underpinning pressing environmental, societal, and cybersecurity problems. Reinhold completed her B.A. at the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating summa cum laude in 2004. She earned her M.S. from Duke University in 2008 and Ph.D. from Montana State University in 2014. Her postdoctoral training and ongoing research employ a pan-disciplinary approach to data science.

Brock J. LaMeres, Ph.D., PE

https://www.montana.edu/blameres/

Dr. LaMeres is a full professor in the Electrical & Computer Engineering department at Montana State University.  A Montana native, his research interests include fault tolerant computing and cybersecurity measures implemented at the hardware/firmware level.  For the past 17 years, Dr. LaMeres has been maturing edge computers for critical applications.  In 2024 a culmination of his work (RadPC) will travel to the surface of the moon to aid in building the future lunar ecosystem.  Prior to MSU, Dr. LaMeres worked for Hewlett Packard for 8 years as a hardware design engineer where he developed test equipment for the computer industry. 

Bradley Whitaker

Dr. Bradley Whitaker is an associate professor in the Electrical & Computer Engineering department at MSU. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from Brigham Young University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focuses on signal processing and machine learning—​particularly in areas with constraints on training data, including imbalanced datasets, incomplete datasets, and unlabeled datasets. His research has applications in cybersecurity, remote sensing, autonomous navigation, and healthcare.

Tomas Gedeon

Derek Reimanis

Dr. Derek Reimanis is a professional researcher with the Gianforte School of Computing at Montana State University. Derek received his PhD from the same institution, focusing on software quality assurance, software design, and technical debt. Within recent years, Derek has honed his focus to the application of software quality assurance in the cybersecurity domain, bolstering the cyber defense posture of the nation. Derek has eight years of experience in industry working as a quality assurance analyst and a lead engineer, working with technologies in software testing and the cloud. Derek enjoys all mountain-related activities, including mountain biking, backpacking, skiing, and mountaineering.

Kaveen G. Liyanage

Kaveen G. Liyanage is postdoctoral researcher in the Software Engineering and Cybersecurity Laboratory. He graduated with a BS in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in 2013 and received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Montana State University in 2024. His research focuses on digital signal processing, sparse representation, and machine learning. 

Ryan Cummings

Ryan is a project engineer in the Software Engineering and Cybersecurity Laboratory. He has a varied professional background including jobs as diverse as opera and trucking. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Montana State University in 2020 and has worked in industry focusing mainly on software quality, deployment, and delivery. He is thrilled to return to MSU in a professional capacity and loves working with researchers and students. In the lab, he focuses on testing and delivering critical software. Outside of work, Ryan enjoys being in the mountains, playing board games, writing music, and studying economics.

Suzie Hockel

Suzie Hockel is the program manager on one of Dr. Izurieta's grants. She is an MSU graduate in Elementary Education with a Technology Enhancement. She assists in managing aspects relating to the organization of projects. Being born and raised in Bozeman provides a depth of understanding of the area. Her experience on campus as well as other venues in town provides a connection to the many resources available. When she is not working, she loves being outdoors primarily gardening, hiking, camping and enjoying nature!

Grant Nelson

Grant Nelson is a Ph.D. student of Computer Science in the Gianforte School of Computing, Montana State University (MSU), Bozeman, Montana, 59717, USA, and a senior software engineer at Workiva, Ames, Iowa, 50010, USA. His research interests include technical debt, programming paradigms, and quality assurance. Nelson received his M.S. in computer science from MSU.

Ernesto Ortiz

Ernesto Ortiz is a third year Ph.D. student at the Gianforte School of Computing. He is passionate about Computer Science and is enthusiastic about research. He believes that in the next few decades, scientists and engineers will continue to deliver amazing new technologies that will make life better and will take knowledge through astonish leaps and make magnificent discoveries. He is excited to be able to participate in that process. His research focuses on eBPF technology. When he is not working, he likes to watch sports, go to the movies, read good books, and eat good food.

Yvette Hastings

Yvette is a Ph.D. student in the Gianforte School of Computing at Montana State University, Bozeman, MT. Her Ph.D. research focuses on modeling biogeochemical processes in the soil. Yvette received her M.Sc. at the University of Utah, where she researched soil microbial community responses to precipitation events in experimental green infrastructure bioswales within semi-arid environments. This work also included looking at the evolution of soil microbial communities before and after green infrastructure installation and how their evolution influences water and soil quality over time. During her M.Sc. work at the University of Utah, Yvette found a passion for data science and visualization. Other research interests are in GIS, hydrology, and ecology to find solutions to protect and preserve water resources.

Assoumer Redempta Manzi Muneza

Redempta is a computer science PhD student in the Gianforte School of Computing at Montana State University under Dr. Ann Marie Reinhold. Redempta’s current work focuses on the implementation of data science approaches to improve the analysis of cybersecurity threats in software systems. Her research interests are software security, security risk assessment, and machine learning. Redempta also holds a master’s degree in computer science from Boise State University where she worked on application machine learning and natural language processing to improve technologies for children such as search engines. Out of school, Redempta loves nature, music, and storytelling.

Emma Sheppard

Emma is a graduate student working towards a PhD in Computer Science under Dr. Ann Marie Reinhold. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics and a minor in Chemistry from Gonzaga University in 2023. After a summer internship with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, she discovered a passion for research in national security applications. She joined the team with research experience in numerical methods for ODEs, CT radiography, and spectral data analysis for geographic sourcing and authentication. Outside of school, Emma loves spending time with her dogs, horseback riding, thrifting, and hopes to learn to ski during her time at MSU.

Zach Wadhams

Zach is a Ph.D. student under Drs. Clemente Izurieta and Ann Marie Reinhold. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science in 2022. Zach started working in the SECL lab in the spring of 2023 and earned his M.S. in Cybersecurity in the fall of 2024. His research in Hierarchical Software Quality Assurance (HSQA) and Static Application Security Testing (SAST) has him collaborating with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, with a focus on national security and critical infrastructure. When not in the lab Zach enjoys cooking, exploring, and traveling with his family. 

Garrett Perkins

Garrett graduated from Montana State with a BS in Computer Engineering and a BA in Modern Languages and Literature. After working for a Cyber Security firm local to Bozeman he decided to pursue an MS in Cyber Security under Dr. Clemente Izurieta and Dr. Brock LaMeres. His interests include penetration testing, malware analysis, and digital forensics. Aside from school, Garrett enjoys spending time outside. In the winter he can be found climbing ice in Hyalite Canyon and skiing at Bridger Bowl, and in the summer he passes his time climbing rock and mountaineering.

Brittany Boles

Brittany is a second-year cyber security master's student working under Dr. Ann Marie Reinhold. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Montana State University in May 2021. She will be researching in the Software Engineering Lab starting in Fall 2023. Besides academic pursuits, Brittany enjoys rock climbing, painting, backpacking, fly fishing, and dancing. 

Madie Munro

Madie is a second year MS in Computer Science student working under Dr. Ann Marie Reinhold. She received her BS in Computer Science at Montana State University in Spring 2023, and she also pursued a Minor in Statistics. She is passionate about using data science as a tool to solve human-based problems in Cybersecurity and beyond. Other interests include machine learning, regression analysis, mixed effects modeling, and software engineering. Her current thesis project is focused on using natural language processing and large language models to create effective and personalized risk communication messages warning about insider threats. When Madie is not working in the Cybersecurity Lab, you can find her participating in MSU's French Horn Ensemble. She also likes to camp, hike and snowshoe, play video games, and enjoy Star Wars content.

Christine Johnson

Christine is a current graduate student at MSU pursuing an MS in Cybersecurity under Dr. Clemente Izurieta. She received her undergraduate degree in Computer Science with minors in Computer Engineering and China Studies in spring of 2021 from MSU. Her research focuses on cybersecurity within the realm of process control systems. Beyond work, she's passionate about self-improvement, whether it be learning something new or improving on a current knowledge or ability.

Mark Braun

Mark is a graduate student pursuing an MS in Statistics. He received his undergraduate degrees from Montana State in Statistics and Computer Science in the fall of 2023. Mark's academic interests include data science and visualization, statistical modeling of physical processes, and the statistical expression of human behavior. Mark will be working in the lab under Dr. Ann Marie Reinhold & Dr. Tomas Gedeon on forecasting non-homogenous time-series data. Outside of campus, Mark enjoys tennis, hiking, backpacking, and playing video games. 

Brian Schumitz

Brian is a first year cybersecurity master's student working under Dr. Clemente Izurieta. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from Montana State University in May, 2024. His research interests include network traffic analysis, critical infrastructure cybersecurity, and cyber-informed engineering. Outside of the lab, you can hear Brian performing with the Spirit of the West Marching Band. He also likes rock climbing, hiking, pickleball, golf, gaming, and spending time with friends.

Angelo Porcella

Angelo is graduating spring 2025 with a MS in computer science. After graduating with a degree in microbiology in 2019 and working for several years, he wanted to return to school to pursue bioinformatics. Quickly he realized an interest in cyber security and made the pivot. Academic interests include vulnerability discovery and malware sophistication. Outside of school he enjoys hanging out with his two cats, skiing, mountain biking, fishing, and playing board games.

Aidan Keefe

Aidan is pursuing his Bachelor's in computer science from Montana State University. He began working in the SECL lab in 2023. His interests are in cybersecurity, embedded systems, and data science. Outside of the lab, Aidan can be found skiing in the Bridgers, ice climbing in Hyalite Canyon, or kayaking the Gallatin River.

Elliot Roberts

Elliot is an undergraduate student working on his BA in Computer Science with a minor in Music. In 2023 he graduated from Great Falls College MSU with AAS in Network Support & Security. He is planning on pursing an MS in Cybersecurity when he completes his bachelor’s degree. His current cybersecurity knowledge lies primarily in network security and he is hoping to gain a broader understanding during his time as an undergraduate. When he is not sitting behind a computer, Elliot is an active Scouter, loves to cook, and enjoys hiking and climbing. 

Teddy Vander Wall

Teddy is a current undergraduate student at Montana State University studying Computer and Data science. He began with machine learning research the summer of 2024 and has been programming since he was 14 years old. Teddy loves to collaborate on projects, software development, and general problem solving. Outside of the lab, you can find Teddy tinkering with electronics, 3D printing, or reading.

Ethan Gerard

Ethan is an undergraduate student at Montana State University pursuing a degree in Electrical engineering with a minor in Mechatronics. Ethan’s current research focuses on implementing machine learning to improve accuracy when analyzing cybersecurity threats in software systems. Ethan enjoys learning about embedded systems, software engineering, and machine learning. Outside of school, he loves snowboarding, listening to music, and cooking

Blake Shaw

Blake is currently working towards his undergraduate degree in Computer Science and considering pursuing a Masters in Cybersecurity degree. His interests include cybersecurity, software development, and problem solving. When not participating in studies or working in the lab, he likes to fish, ski, hike, camp, go to the gym, and play soccer. 

Brian Fife

Brian is an undergraduate student at MSU working towards a bachelor's degree in computer science. Beginning work in the SECL lab in 2025, he is looking forward to working with the great people in the lab and gaining a better understanding of data science and cybersecurity. Outside of the lab he enjoys video games, rock climbing, and the company of friends here in Gallatin County.

Connor Munson

Connor is an undergraduate student currently pursuing his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science at Montana State University. Originally from Denver, Colorado, he joined the software engineering and cybersecurity lab in the spring of 2025. He is working primarily on cybersecurity projects and plans to continue his education with a Master’s degree after graduating. When he is not working or in class, Connor enjoys staying active. Whether skiing, wakesurfing, or working out at the gym, he enjoys getting out and moving. He also enjoys improving his culinary skills, spending time with friends, and getting lost in a good book. 

Quinn Lue

Quinn is an undergraduate student at Montana State University pursuing degrees in Computer and Data Science with a minor in math. His primary interest is in machine learning, having current and past projects in game theory and audio processing. In his spare time, he enjoys playing basketball and piano, cutting hair, cooking, and weightlifting.