cybersecurity

Two Lakehead Researchers Receive CFI Infrastructure Funding

Projects Will Drive Innovation in Advanced Technologies

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has awarded Lakehead University $210,234 to support two research projects through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF). The Faculty of Engineering’s Dr. Amir Ameli and Dr. Yushi Zhou will lead advancements in power grid cybersecurity and in integrated-circuit technologies for edge artificial intelligence (AI) systems with these infrastructure grants.

“Lakehead University is strengthening our reputation as a leading institution for advanced technology development,” says Vice-President, Research and Innovation Dr. Langis Roy. “These innovations are especially vital in Ontario where resource sectors like mining, forestry, and agriculture increasingly rely on resilient advanced technologies in remote, power-constrained environments.”

Protecting Canada’s Power Grids from Cyber Attacks

Amir Ameli Headshot Dr. Amir Ameli, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Barrie STEM Hub, is investigating how to protect Canada’s power grids from cyberattacks. His CFI JELF grant of $121,543 will build a “cyber-physical testbed” —a utility-grade replica of a power grid. Combining hardware, software, and real-time simulators, the testbed will allow researchers to test cyber defense systems against realistic, simulated attacks without risking actual blackouts.

“Current protection systems are vulnerable to attacks that could cause false trips or large-scale outages,” Dr. Ameli says. “Our goal is to develop smart devices that can block attacks in real time while maintaining speed, accuracy, and reliability—a key challenge for Canada’s future power grids.”

Dr. Ameli’s research, led out of Lakehead’s Barrie STEM Hub, will be the first of its kind in central Ontario, supporting collaborative research, student training, and industry testing while advancing national expertise in energy security.

Powering the Next Generation of Smart Chips

As AI becomes part of everyday life, from smartwatches to medical wearables, the tiny microchips powering these devices are being pushed to do more under strict power and energy constraints.

Yushi Zhou Headshot Dr. Yushi Zhou, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, will dedicate $88,691 in CFI JELF funding to advance new power-management technologies for system-on-chips (SoCs), with applications in edge AI and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Dr. Zhou’s team is developing new architectures for low-dropout voltage regulators that can be integrated directly into SoC design to speed up response times when power demands spike, supporting more energy-efficient power management.

“Efficient power management is critical as more functions are integrated into a single chip,” Dr. Zhou says. “This new infrastructure will provide hands-on experience for Lakehead University students in integrated-circuit design, prototyping, and testing, which are currently very limited in northern Ontario.”

By equipping researchers with specialized tools and infrastructure, CFI investments play a critical role in driving technological innovation and expanding Lakehead’s research capabilities.

These research projects support numerous United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal #7: Affordable and Clean Energy, Goal #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and Goal #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Keywords:

cybersecurity

Artificial Intelligence

Lakehead University Canada Foundation for Innovation's John R. Evans Leaders Fund

Barrie STEM Hub

Research In Action: Developing resiliency against cyber-attacks

By: Kari Klassen

Amir Ameli, Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering department, is an early career researcher at Lakehead University, and is already demonstrating a building capacity in his field that will apply to our local economy, society and beyond.

With the ever-expanding need for more energy to run the systems of our world, cybersecurity becomes an increasingly important concern.

“Cyber-attacks against power systems are growing in their number and complexity,” Ameli said. “Given that power grids are among the most critical infrastructure that societies highly depend on, many attackers have focused their attention on these grids. Targeting power systems can result in severe consequences, such as instability of the grid, or a blackout.”

High-profile cyber-attacks, such as the 2015 BlackEnergy trojan that left about half the homes in Ukraine’s Ivano-Frankivsk region (a population of 1.4 million) without power, show an urgent need for greater vigilance and protection.

“What (the cyber-attackers) do is slowly propagate into the system and gain information about at what point and at what direction they could create the maximum damage,” Ameli said. “It’s the stealthy nature of the cyber-attacks that is the most important challenge, since it makes it difficult for us, as power engineers, to detect cyber-attacks.”

While there are several layers involved in protecting power systems against cyber-attacks, Ameli’s area of research focuses on securing the cyber layer using the physical attributes of the system.

“My research builds the last line of defense to protect the system against those cyber-attacks that have already entered the system from the cyber layer, and tries to detect and mitigate them in the physical layer,” he explained. “What we do is different, but in line with what network security experts do to make power systems resilient to cyber-attacks.”

Ameli was awarded a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grant valued at $152,500 for his research project and he’s hopeful that several other grant proposals to different funding agencies will award him similar success.

“Immediately after I was hired, I started writing my NSERC DG proposal, which was my first funding proposal ever,” Ameli said. “Luckily it was accepted with very positive peer-review comments.”

Ameli’s research has also received attention locally. Lakehead and the City of Orillia have solidified a partnership that will see Ameli lead a team to determine the feasibility of Orillia becoming a cybersecurity industry hub. The City of Orillia has earmarked $25,000 toward the project, and a $25,000 NSERC Alliance Grant has also been secured.

“To use my expertise in a way that will benefit the economic development of our community is very satisfying,” he said.

Currently in the process of hiring students to assist him on his projects, Ameli has hired two master’s and one PhD student, and is planning on hiring several more master’s and PhD students.

“There are always open positions in my group for motivated and qualified students who have a background in power system cyber-security and protection. Such students are always welcome to contact me.”

Keywords:

cybersecurity

power systems