Call for PhD Dissertation Competition

IEEE International Symposium on Hardware Oriented Security and Trust (HOST) invites soon-to-be Ph.D. graduates and recent Ph.D. graduates to participate in the competitive Ph.D. Dissertation Contest. The aim is to select dissertations that advance the state of the art in the field of hardware-oriented security and trust. The objective is to evaluate the quality of the research carried out during the Ph.D. program.

Area of Research

• AI and Hardware Security
  • eg., AI for hardware security enforcement or finding hardware vulnerabilities, hardware security for AI models, new security principles for trustworthy AI
• Computer-aided Design (CAD) for Hardware Security Verification
  • eg., design-time verification, testing, and metrics for hardware security across the lifecycle.
• Hardware Security Primitives
  • eg., PUFs, TRNGs, cryptography, post-quantum cryptography, hardware meters.
• Hardware Attack and Defense
  • eg., hardware Trojans, fault injection, side-channels, hardware reverse engineering, hardware obfuscation.
• Architecture Security
  • eg., architectural side-channels, trusted execution environment, FPGA, and reconfigurable fabric security.
• System Security
  • eg., SoC/IP security, CPS/IoT security, sensor network security, smart grid security, cloud security, secure boot, attestation and device provisioning, provenance, hardware–software co-design for security, trusted update mechanisms.
• Chiplet, Packaging, and Heterogeneous Integration Security
  • eg., advanced packaging security, chiplet/interposer trust, die-to-die interfaces, 2.5D/3D integration.
• Emerging Security and Privacy Threats and Solutions
  • eg., privacy-enhancing architecture, blockchain, quantum platforms, cryptocurrency security, and hardware/system security topics.
• Hot Topics in Hardware Security
  • eg., hardware-oriented quantum security, advanced packaging security, chiplet security, AI for hardware security, and security of AI chips.

Eligibility

Those who will defend their Ph.D. dissertation by May 31, 2028, as well as all Ph.D. alumni who graduated on or after May 30, 2026, are eligible to participate in the competition. Those whose graduation or defense dates fall slightly outside this eligibility window are welcome to contact the session chairs for further information.

Competition Process

To ensure the fairness of the process, the competition will follow a double-blind review process. First, participants must submit a three-page PDF file comprising a one-page cover letter and a two-page extended abstract. The extended abstract will be reviewed in a double-blind manner. Then the selected contestants will give an oral presentation with a poster at HOST 2027. The winner will be selected immediately after the competition and announced during the reception event. Selected finalists must register for HOST 2027 and attend the conference in person to present their dissertation work. Failure to present in person may result in disqualification from the competition.