Curriculum vitae
I study the resilience of network-enabled embedded systems. I design sensor networks that adapt to their environment, and I repurpose technology that is already deployed, from commodity hardware to existing network infrastructure, so it can do more than it was built for without adding hardware.
Education
Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering
Expected April 2027Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
- GPA 3.97 / 4.0
- Advisor: Philip Lundrigan, Network Enhanced Technologies (NET) Lab
B.Sc., Computer Engineering
December 2021Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
- GPA 3.6 / 4.0
- BYU Half Tuition Scholarship (Spring 2019); Dean's List (Winter 2021)
Experience
PhD Researcher, IoT Systems Resilience
2022 – presentNetwork Enhanced Technologies Lab, Brigham Young University
- Lead research student for the lab's IoT resilience work
- Built a covert Wi-Fi side channel that reached a 95% packet reception ratio over a 14,000 km WAN path, validated on six commercial router models (paper under review)
- Audited a jitter-based Wi-Fi subprotocol for replay and sniffing attacks and designed a lightweight message authentication code for it
- Built a 3 TB traffic-camera and air-quality dataset with a Flask and MongoDB platform for machine-learning researchers
- Designed LaMDA, software-only location verification for crowd-sourced sensors (ICCCN 2023)
Cybersecurity Research Intern, Subprotocol Discovery
2025Riverside Research
Research Assistant, Firmware and GUI Development
2019 – 2022Network Enhanced Technologies Lab, Brigham Young University
- Built low-cost air-quality monitors on the Particle platform and managed sensor fleets with over-the-air updates
Publications
If You Build It, Will They Connect? 6 GHz WiFi in a Stadium
2026Ethan Sorensen, Doug Hales, Christopher Kitras, Jamison Lofthouse, Joshua Montierth, Philip Lundrigan. IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN), 2026.
Long-Term Validation of a Consumer- vs. Industrial-Grade Indoor Radon and Air Quality Monitor at a School in Utah
2026John D. Beard, Maren M. Ball, Christopher Kitras, Philip Lundrigan. Sensors, vol. 26, no. 16, article 5230, 2026.
Sustainable Radon Mitigation through Optimized HVAC Scheduling
2025Christopher Kitras, John D. Beard, James D. Johnston, Philip Lundrigan. ACM/IEEE International Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies (CHASE), New York, 2025.
Hidden in Plain Sight: Communicating using Interference
2025Ashton Palacios, Daniel Harman, Christopher Kitras, Elle Kelsey, Mitchell C. Burnett, Willie K. Harrison, Philip Lundrigan. IEEE International Symposium on Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks (DySPAN), 2025.
Utilizing Low-Cost Sensors to Monitor Indoor Air Quality in Mongolian Gers
2023Callum E. Flowerday, Philip Lundrigan, Christopher Kitras, Tu Nguyen, Jaron C. Hansen. Sensors, vol. 23, no. 18, article 7721, 2023.
Location Verification of Crowd-Sourced Sensors
2023Christopher Kitras, Carter Pollan, Kyle Myers, Camille Wirthlin Tischner, Philip Lundrigan. IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN), Honolulu, 2023.
Posters and demos
TCAM: Traffic Camera Air quality Monitoring
2025Christopher Kitras, Carter Pollan, Janie Linford, Philip Lundrigan. Air Quality: Science for Solutions (S4S), 2025.
Radon Mitigation through Optimized HVAC Scheduling
2024Christopher Kitras, Carter Pollan, John Beard, Jim Johnston, Philip Lundrigan. Air Quality: Science for Solutions (S4S), 2024. Best Poster Award
SSS: Building a Seven Segment Sign
2023Christopher Kitras*, Ashton Palacios*, Philip Lundrigan. PyCon US 2023, poster and demo. First Place, BYU IoT Pi Competition
Location Monitoring Framework for Citizen Science Sensors
2023Christopher Kitras, Carter Pollan, Kyle Myers, Philip Lundrigan. Air Quality: Science for Solutions (S4S), 2023. Best Poster Award
Presentations
Sustainable Radon Mitigation through Optimized HVAC Scheduling
2025CHASE 2025, Manhattan, NY
Location Verification of Crowd-Sourced Sensors
2023ICCCN 2023, Honolulu, HI
Teaching
Instructor, ECEN 225 Introduction to Computer Systems Laboratory
Winter 2023Brigham Young University
- Course created by me
Teaching Assistant, ECEN 426 Computer Networks
Fall 2022Brigham Young University
Teaching Assistant, ECEN 220 Fundamentals of Digital Systems
Fall 2019, Winter 2020Brigham Young University
Honors and programs
CyberPOWDER Fellowship, University of Utah
2026Best Poster Award, Air Quality: Science for Solutions (Radon Mitigation through Optimized HVAC Scheduling)
2024Best Poster Award, Air Quality: Science for Solutions (Location Monitoring Framework for Citizen Science Sensors)
2023Colosseum Young Gladiators Workshop, Northeastern University
2023First Place, BYU IoT Pi Competition (Seven Segment Sign)
2022Skills
- Python
- C/C++/CUDA
- Linux/Bash
- Computer Networks
- Systems Engineering
- AVR/ESP
- InfluxDB/Grafana
- SystemVerilog/Verilog
Graduate coursework
- High Performance Computing
- Wireless Networking
- Exploring Software-Defined Radios
- Robotic Vision
- Advanced Digital Systems (FPGA Design)
- Privacy in Computing Systems
- Cybersecurity and Penetration Testing
- Cyber-Physical Systems
- Scientific Computing (HPC on Supercomputers)
- Computational Creativity
- Advanced Computer Networks
- Professional Writing
Leadership and service
- Lead Research Student, IoT Resilience, Network Enhanced Technologies Lab
- President Emeritus and Officer, BYU Linux Club
- Welfare and administrative coordination for a local immigrant congregation
Memberships
- ACM (SIGMOBILE)
- IEEE