Now entering its eighth year, the Cal Cybersecurity Research Fellowship provides targeted grants of $5,000 to $15,000 to support UC Berkeley scholars — from master’s students to postdocs — in advancing digital security research. An open request for proposals will circulate this fall to sustain this program’s history of supporting high-impact, student-led inquiry.
Launched with the support of UC Berkeley alumnus and cybersecurity expert Tim Mather (’81), the fellowship has become a featured giving opportunity at the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC), allowing supporters to invest directly in student-driven AI security and cyber research. Mather, who has supported over 20 fellows, notes: “You don’t need a massive grant to make a difference. Sometimes a few thousand dollars is enough to unleash a transformative idea.”
The fellowship provides “seed capital” that enables students to pursue high-risk, high-reward projects that traditional, large-scale funding sources often overlook. Recipients have leveraged this support for research on topics such as improving 5G infrastructure security, preventing hacking of self-driving cars, identifying deepfakes, and enhancing privacy protections for marginalized communities.
“Receiving a CLTC grant in my first year of PhD studies was transformative,” says Fellow Sarah Barrington. “The funding allowed me to focus on a range of research projects throughout the year, resulting in multiple published and impactful works at the forefront of digital forensics and online harm prevention.”
Below are four exemplary fellow profiles. A full roster of fellowship recipients is available here.
Fellow Profiles
Sarah Barrington
Focus: AI Forensics
Research Highlights: Developed “identity fingerprints” to detect AI-generated voice and video clones.
Real-World Impact: Her research has been widely utilized in efforts to preserve trust in synthetic media.
Nathan Malkin
Focus: User Privacy
Research Highlights: Developed frameworks for managing privacy risks in “always-on” smart home devices.
Real-World Impact: Led to more equitable privacy controls for technology users.
Caseysimone Ballestas
Focus: Industrial Security
Research Highlights: Investigated how design choices affect the attack surface of “Industry 4.0” factories.
Real-World Impact: Providing insights for securing critical infrastructure.
Changcheng Fan
Focus: AI Security and Censorship
Research Highlights: Built CenGuard to predict and defend against evolving AI-driven censorship.
Real-World Impact: Shifting the field toward proactive security for internet freedom.
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