International Spotlight: Artiom Baloian

Which program/department are you in?

I am a Staff Associate at the Internet Real-Time Lab (IRT) in the Computer Science Department.

What is your primary area of study or research? 

Cybersecurity & Network Security.

Which country (or countries) do you come from?

Republic of Georgia, Armenia and France.

How long have you been in the U.S.?

Two years and three months.

Is there anything you’d like to share about your research or projects?

I work primarily on the RADICS project, short for "Rapid Attack Detection, Isolation and Characterization Systems”, with Jan Janak, under guidance of Professor Henning Schulzrinne, in the Internet Real-Time Laboratory.

The RADICS research project is aimed at ensuring critical infrastructures, like power grids, can recover in a timely manner from large-scale blackout (for example, natural disaster or cyber attacks). Our job is to develop tools to detect network attacks and to restore secure communications in emergency situations.

Recently, the project tested and it was successful. The project is still under development.

What do you like best about living in the U.S.?

The U.S., especially NYC, is very international and multicultural. In NYC, it is easy to get integrated into the American way of life, though it is different from state to state. After living in the U.S. for about one year you feel like you were born here.

What is the hardest thing about living here?

I used to live in Europe. Comparing it to the U.S., it is hard to manage traveling -- maybe because the U.S. is so big. It takes time to travel from one place to another and the U.S. has a lot of beautiful places to visit. I especially like national parks, so I am trying to find the time. There are also plenty of interesting activities in NYC.

What do you know now that you wish you knew before coming here?

It may sound funny, but when I arrived at NYC for the first time my laptop and phone’s batteries were dead. I did not know that the U. S. power plugs and sockets are different from Europe! It was around 10 PM so I had to wait until next day morning to go and buy new plugins.

Are you (or do you know) an international student, scholar, or alumni?

We’re looking to spotlight stories of academic or professional work, leadership, or personal adjustment to life at Columbia and NY in particular and the U.S. in general.

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