AI Augmented Decision Support for Cyber Resilience of Cyber-Physical-Human Infrastructure

Dr. Anurag K Srivastava, FIEEE

Power Chair Professor,

Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Director, Smart Grid REsiliency and Analytics Lab (SG-REAL)

West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

Senior Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Lab, Richland, WA

Summary: Modern critical infrastructures are cyber-physical-human systems: physical processes governed by networked computation and supervised by human operators. None is more consequential than the electric power grid, on which hospitals, airports, water systems, and emergency services all depend. Rapid digitalization, driven by distributed energy resources, data centers, IoT enabled field devices, and increasingly automated control, has expanded the operational attack surface faster than defensive practice has matured. Achieving cyber resilience in such systems demands more than perimeter defense. It requires threat aware planning, real time analytics that integrates system physics with machine learning, quantitative resilience metrics to guide investment and operational decisions, and operators with the cognitive flexibility to act under uncertainty and degraded information. This talk presents an integrated approach for cyber-resilience; metrics for infrastructure operations; physics informed and AI augmented techniques for anomaly, intrusion, and event detection across computing, networking, and data protocol layers; AI based digital assistants that support operator decisions during cyber disruptions; and a cyber-physical-human testbed for validating resilience strategies. The talk closes with open research problems at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure.

Speaker Bio: Anurag K. Srivastava serves as the Power Chair Professor of the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department at West Virginia University. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at Washington State University and a senior scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Lab. He earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2005. Dr. Srivastava’s research focuses on data-driven algorithms and tools for cyber-resilient electric energy systems. His impactful research projects have resulted in the implementation of tools at utility control centers, supported by over $66M in funding from entities such as the US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, Siemens Corporate Research, Electric Power Research Institute, Schweitzer Engineering Lab, Power System Engineering Research Center, Office of Naval Research, and various National Labs. Over the years, he has held visiting positions at organizations including Réseau de transport d´électricité in France, RWTH Aachen University in Germany, PEAK Reliability Coordinator, Idaho National Laboratory, PJM Interconnection, Schweitzer Engineering Lab (SEL), GE Grid Solutions, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Mississippi State University. He is an IEEE Fellow, recepient of IEEE PES Pete Sauer Educator Award, numbers of best papers award, leading multiple IEEE technical subcommittee/ WGs (Resiliency, Microgrid, voltage stability, distributed optimization), PES/IAS Distinguished Lecturer, and the author of over 450 technical publications, 4 books, and 3 patents.