Marius Iulian Mihailescu, PhD, has worked in academic and industry sectors for more than 15 years. Currently, he is an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science at “Spiru Haret” University, Romania. Also, he has a side job as Project Manager at the Institute for Computers where he is managing projects using different technologies, such as DevOps, Scrum, Agile, C#, Microsoft SQL Server, Syncfusion, ASP.NET, and VUE. At the university he taught several key computer science courses, such as Information Security, Functional Programming, Internet of Things, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, Software Development Methods (Microsoft Azure, Entity Framework, NHibernate, Linq-to-SQL, UX with DevExpress controls, etc.), and Development Web Applications (HTML 5, CSS 3, Bootstrap, JavaScript, AJAX, nodeJS, VUE, Laravel, mRabbit, ASP.NET, PHP). He authored and co-authored more than 30 articles at conference proceedings, 25 articles in journals, and 10 books. For three years he worked as IT Officer at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, where he dealt with IT infrastructure, data security, and satellite communication systems. He received his PhD at University of Bucharest in 2014 with his thesis entitled About Security of Biometrics Authentication Protocols. He holds two MSc degrees, one in Information Security from Military Technical Academy ,,Ferdinand I’’, and the second in Software Engineering, from and University of Bucharest, Romania. Stefania Loredana Nita, PhD, is a Lecturer at Military Technical Academy “Ferdinand I” and a Software Developer and Researcher at the Institute for Computers, both in Bucharest, Romania. Her PhD thesis was on advanced cryptographic schemes using searchable encryption and homomorphic encryption. At the Military Technical Academy ,,Ferdinand I’’ she teaches courses of Formal Languages and Translators and Database Application Development. She has worked more than two years as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Bucharest where she taught courses on subjects such as Advanced Programming Techniques, Simulation Methods, and Operating Systems. Her research activity is in the cryptography field, with a focus on searchable encryption and homomorphic encryption. She is also interested in blockchain, quantum cryptography, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. At the Institute for Computers, she is working on research and development projects that involve cloud computing security, the Internet of Things, and big data. She has authored and co-authored more than 40 papers at conferences and in journals and has co-authored 10 books. She holds an MSc degree in Software Engineering and two BSc degrees, with one in Computer Science and one in Mathematics. Valentina Marascu is currently a Scientific Researcher 3rd degree, in the Low Temperature Plasma Laboratory at the National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics (INFLPR) from Magurele, Romania, and a Lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science at “Spiru Haret” University, Romania. Her educational background involves mathematics, physics, and computer science, with proactive engagement in scientific research and the academic sector. Concerning the research sector, she is engaged in scientific experimental physics research, in the frame of fusion and quantum national and international project directions. She has significant scientific papers, which were published in important ISI journals. Concerning the academic sector, her disciplines are web applications development, functional programming, and computational methods in natural sciences, and she is involved in researching and creating techniques to improve cybersecurity measures, with a specific emphasis on analyzing user behavior to detect and minimize potential risks. Complementary to her academic and scientific research activities, her occupations include teacher for experimental physics laboratories, internships, and training with undergraduates and graduate students; chair at various scientific events; jury member at national and international conferences; member of the organizational committee of international conferences; reviewer for different journals; and guest editor, volunteer, and exhibitor participant at scientific events. Valentin BARNA is currently Full Professor at the Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, Romania. The academic background includes mainly classical mechanics, optics (LASERS, fluorescent materials) and photonics; physics of liquid crystals and LCD/OLED displays (electro-optics, microscopy); polymer physics (thin films, micro/nano structures and systems etc.); nanotechnologies; educational physics. The continuous searching for knowledge and new challenges is a priority, while also focusing on improving the technological and fundamental base of scientific information with novel discoveries and enhanced properties/characteristics of existing results. Prof. BARNA demonstrated that he could put to good use the scientific ideas either individually or by engaging in favorable collaborations with other international research groups (CASE Western Reserve University (USA), University of Calabria (Italy), K.I.T (Germany) etc).
