Pai-Yen Chen receives UIC’s Proof of Concept award
Pai-Yen Chen receives UIC’s Proof of Concept award
UIC Innovation awarded Professor Pai-Yen Chen a Phase I Proof of Concept award for his efforts to secure wireless devices using quantum physics. His project, Non-Hermitian Cryptographic Primitives for Internet-of-Things Security, was one of a dozen projects selected for this academic year.
Since 2012, UIC Innovation has provided Proof of Concept Funding to enable the formation of startup companies, attract venture and angel funding, and advance applications for federal research funding from the Small Business Innovation Research program and Small Business Technology Transfer program.
Chen will receive $50,000 over six months to further develop his technology towards commercialization, and guidance from UIC’s Office of Technology Management on the development process.
Internet-of-things devices collect and transmit data, including sensitive information such as location, health, and finances, via near-field communications (NFC) and radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. We increasingly use these devices in everyday life: items such as smartphones, key fobs, and doorbell cameras all fall into this category. These devices and their communication are protected by encrypted keys stored inside memory chips. However, these encrypted keys are limited in size and vulnerable to attack. Artificial intelligence provides easier ways to hack and clone these security systems using machine learning.
Chen developed a method inspired by quantum physics to protect these communications, creating a random and unique digital fingerprint for each device to provide an unbreakable encryption system. In a quantum state, precise measurement is impossible, and a range of measurements exist as a result. Exceptional points within these quantum states are points where the uncertainty is at its peak. Using these points, a secure signal can be established. Each piece of hardware is unique due to small variations in the manufacturing process, so each RFID device produces its own unique digital fingerprint.
Chen and his team conducted thousands of simulations and could not find two identical digital fingerprints. Their method passed National Institute of Standards and Technology randomness tests and machine-learning attacks. The technology is low-cost and versatile.
Additional UIC honors
Earlier in 2024, Chen received the UIC Researcher of the Year Award from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR), in their 2023-24 UIC Research and Scholarship Annual Award competition. Chen was named the Rising Star in the Natural Sciences and Engineering category.
He was also named a 2024-2025 University Scholar. The Office of the President sponsors the University Scholars program and provides a three-year award to faculty members who “have demonstrated superior performance in scholarly activities in both research and teaching and who show great promise for future achievements. In 2021, he received a UIC College of Engineering Faculty Research Award.