About CYPHR

Located in Georgia’s growing tech hub, the Center for Cyber Physical Realms (CYPHR) at Kennesaw State University aims to address the critical need for integrating cyber-physical systems with extended reality (XR) technologies, generating high-tech jobs, fostering regional economic growth, and establishing KSU as a critical player in technological advancement.
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Leadership

sylvia bhattacharya

Dr. Sylvia Bhattacharya

Scientific Director

Dr. Sylvia Bhattacharya is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Technology and Scientific Director of the Center for Cyber-Physical Realms (CYPHR) at Kennesaw State University, where she also directs the Neuro-Interaction Innovation Laboratory. Her research focuses on enhancing artificial intelligence (AI) models by examining human intuitive decision-making in complex scenarios.

Since joining KSU in 2019, Dr. Bhattacharya has secured over $1 million in funding from the U.S. Army to study driver and passenger behaviors in combat zones, aiming to improve AI algorithms for battlefield decision-making. She is also dedicated to promoting diversity in computing and engineering, having received Google grants to mentor underrepresented students through the "Computing to Change the World" program.

Dr. Bhattacharya earned her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Florida State University and has served as a Visiting Research Faculty at Google, Mountain View. 

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  • rifatul islam

    Dr. Rifatul Islam

    Dr. Rifatul Islam is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at KSU and Director of HIX-Lab. His research spans XR, multimodal learning, and AI safety, with DARPA and Army Research Lab funding.

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  • yan fang

    Dr. Yan Fang

    Dr. Yan Fang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Fang's research interests include brain-inspired/neuromorphic computing, energy-efficient AI on edge, novel computing systems based on emerging nanodevices, and soft materials.

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  • jeanne law

    Dr. Jeanne Law

    Dr. Jeanne Law is Professor of English, Coordinator of the graduate certificate in AI and Writing Technologies, and Research Track Lead for Trusted & Ethical AI in CYPHR. Her funded research examines how people use generative AI in writing processes, with attention to rhetorical judgment, neurodivergence, and human agency. She created the Rhetorical Prompting Method and Ethical Wheel of Prompting, both open educational resources, which have been tested with more than 12,000 learners worldwide. She has translated her scholarly research for public audiences through publications in The Conversation and The Chronicle of Higher Education. At CYPHR, she leads interdisciplinary work to advance trustworthy, inclusive, and human-centered AI, focusing on human judgement.

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  • Sumit Chakravarty

    Dr. Sumit Chakravarty

    Dr. Chakravarty is an Associate Professor researching signal processing and machine learning for communications, biomedical, and remote sensing. His work spans 5G+, UAV networks, and quantum-inspired radar.

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  • prachi gala headshot

    Dr. Prachi Gala

    Dr. Prachi Gala is an Associate Professor of Marketing at KSU. Her work explores executive behavior, AI adoption, and consumer psychology, with international research fellowships and talks on Generative AI in marketing.

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Reserve Space

Request space at the CYPHR facility to either collect experimental data or host meetings.

The image captures a moment in a virtual reality (VR) demonstration setting. Three individuals are present in a spacious area, equipped with VR headsets.