Benz Tran, Ph.D.

I was born in Son La, a northern province of Vietnam, and grew up in Thai Nguyen City, where I completed my primary, secondary and high school education. I earned my bachelor’s degree in 2021 from the University of Enigeering and Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU-UET) in 2001.  After graduation, I worked for two years as a software engineer at Global Technology LLC, developing web-based applications for a variety of organizations and companies. In 2003, I joined the University of Transport and Communications (UTC), where I remained until December 2018. During my tenure at UTC, I held several leadership positions, including Director of the Library and Information Center (4 years), Head of the Student Affairs Office (2.5 years), Deputy Head of the Education and Training Board (5 years), and concurrently served as Secretary of the Youth Union (2 years).

Alongside my administrative roles, I taught a wide range of Computer science and Engineering courses at multiple institutions, including UTC’s Ho Chi Minh City campus (UTC2), the University of Information Technology (UIT), and Lac Hong University. Courses I delivered included Computer Networking, Database Systems, Data Structures and Algorithms, Computer Programming I & II, Advanced Data Structures, Web Programming, and Computer Architecture.

In 2010, I obtained my master’s degree in Software Engineering from the University of Bordeaux 1, France, through an international joint program with VNUHCM – Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Driven by my passion for academia, I began my Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) in January 2019 and completed it in 2023. My dissertation, titled Enhancing Security and Privacy for Voice Assistant Systems, was supervised by Professor Xiaohui Liang. During my doctoral studies, I published six research papers, taught undergraduate courses in Applied Discrete Mathematics, and worked as a research assistant for four semesters at the Mobile Computing and Privacy Lab (MobCP).

Since Fall 2023, I have been honored to serve as a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor at D'Amour College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Assumption University.

I am always open to new research collaborations and academic opportunities. Please feel free to get in touch!