Exploring International Collaboration in Cybersecurity

An established researcher and invited public speaker, Sui has published more than 230 scholarly publications covering various interdisciplinary topics and delivered approximately 70 keynote speeches, endowed, or invited guest lectures over the past five years.

Leading the Office of Research and Innovation, Sui reports to Executive Vice President and Provost Julie Ross. He is also a member of the president’s cabinet and council. Also, as chief research and innovation officer, Sui is responsible for supporting and growing Virginia Tech’s research portfolio and chairs the board of Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties.

The Office of Research and Innovation encompasses over 500 employees across research administration that includes institutes and supports strategic research investments and all university researchers. Administratively, Sui works to ensure research is conducted ethically and responsibly, and oversees all sponsored research funding for research, service, and education. He also oversees all of the university’s thematic institutes and affiliated corporations that execute more than a quarter of the university’s sponsored research. Also, Research and Innovation investment institutes support research of faculty across all of the university’s colleges by providing seed funding, space, and unique facilities.

DaSilva is the inaugural Executive Director of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), and the Bradley Professor of Cybersecurity at Virginia Tech's Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

DaSilva previously held the chair of Telecommunications at Trinity College Dublin, where he served as the Director of CONNECT, a national telecommunications research center in Ireland.

He has published two books and more than 300 peer-reviewed articles. He is the recipient of a 2023 Golden Geese Mentoring Award for his commitment to mentoring and excellence in graduate education and a 2024 Dean's Award for Excellence in Service.

He was an IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Lecturer (2015-2018), a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, and is a Fellow of the IEEE, for contributions to cognitive networking and to resource management in wireless networks.

John P. Delaney is the managing director of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI). He joined CCI in June 2020 after retiring from a 30-year career with the United States Army, most recently serving as the Chief of Staff for U.S. Army Cyber Command.

Delaney was a career Field Artillery officer and served in numerous field artillery leadership and staff positions from the tactical to the strategic levels and had three operational deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.  He had the privilege to command at the battery, battalion, and brigade levels and also served as a military fellow at The Washington Institute of Near East Policy where he participated in the study, formulation, recommendation, and implementation of United States foreign and defense policy for the Middle East region. 

He earned a bachelor’s of science in business administration from Elon University, a master of arts in human resource development from Webster University, and a master of science in national security and resource strategy from the National Defense University.

Charlotte Teeling is the Business Manager for Cybersecurity and Software at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), where she supports cyber and software companies as they expand, scale, and invest across Virginia’s innovation economy. Immediately prior to joining VEDP, Charlotte oversaw operations for the global USAID Integrated Natural Resource Management Activity.

With a career spanning the private, public, and philanthropic sectors—and experience working across every level of government—Charlotte brings high‑level analytical insight and strong cross‑cultural skills to her work helping companies identify business solutions and succeed in Virginia as a premier destination for the cybersecurity and software industries.

Charlotte holds a B.A. in Economics and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Virginia. She has also holds a certificate in Global Supply Chain Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Charlotte is a proud Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. 

Prof. Muhittin Gökmen is a senior academic and researcher specializing in computer vision, image processing, and artificial intelligence, with more than four decades of academic, research, and industry experience. He completed his undergraduate studies in Electronics and Communication Engineering at Istanbul Technical University (İ.T.Ü) in 1982, and later received a Ministry of National Education scholarship to pursue graduate studies in the United States. He earned his M.S. (1985) and Ph.D. (1990) degrees in Computer Vision from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also served as a postdoctoral researcher in 1995.

Prof. Gökmen joined İ.T.Ü in 1992 as an Assistant Professor, becoming Associate Professor in 1993 and Full Professor in 1999. He has held several senior administrative roles, including Dean of the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics (2001–2004) and Chair of the Computer Engineering Department. At İ.T.Ü, he founded and directed the Computer Vision and Image Processing Laboratory, the Software Development Center, and the Multimedia Center, contributing significantly to the university’s technological ecosystem.

In 2004, he co-founded Divit – Digital Video and Image Technologies Ltd., the first faculty-initiated company at İTÜ Arı Technopolis. His strong record in university–industry collaboration has been recognized with the TTGV Best Thesis Advisor Award (2012) and the Beetech Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights First Prize (2016).

Prof. Gökmen has been instrumental in shaping MEF University’s engineering education and research landscape. He played a foundational role in establishing the Computer Engineering and Electrical–Electronics Engineering departments in 2014. From 2015 to 2025, he served as Chair of the Computer Engineering Department and Director of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering. Since 2025, he has been serving as Vice Rector for Research, leading the university’s strategic initiatives in AI, advanced computing, and interdisciplinary innovation.

His research interests include computer vision, image and video analysis, AI-driven modeling of human behavior, and intelligent systems. He continues to collaborate with international institutions and industry partners, contributing to the development of next-generation AI technologies and competency frameworks.

Tatsuya Kurosaka is Project Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University. He earned his master's degree from the same university in 1999. After working at Mitsubishi Research Institute, he founded Kuwadate Inc. in 2008, the company providing research and consulting expertise to leading companies including telecommunication operators and the Japanese government. He also served as a government committee member for organizations such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the OECD, supporting the formulation of public policy. In 2024, he was also appointed as a visiting researcher at Georgetown University.