Mike O’Neal, Ph.D.

Mike O’Neal is the Academic Director of Computer Science, Cyber Engineering, and Electrical Engineering at Louisiana Tech University. He is a full Professor of Computer Science and holds the Larson Endowed Professorship. Mike has over three decades of experience in the field of higher education, co-founded two high tech startups, served as the PI / Co-PI on numerous projects, and has fifteen US patents to his name. Dr. O’Neal received his BS (Magna Cum Laude, 1982) and MS (1984) from Louisiana Tech University, and his Ph.D. (1989) from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. In the 1999 to 2001 timeframe Mike was Co-Founder and CTO of OneNetNow.com, a community-based web portal focused on the urban community, which was acquired by EarthLink in 2001. From 2001 to 2012 Mike was Co-Founder and CTO of Network Foundation Technologies, a company focused on distributed broadcast technologies. Dr. O’Neal’s academic research interests include artificial intelligence and machine learning, computer science education, behavioral biometrics, and distributed online broadcast technologies.

Education:

• Ph.D. Computer Science, University of Louisiana, 1989
• M.S. Computer Science, Louisiana Tech University, 1984
• B.S. (Magna Cum Laude) Computer Science, Louisiana Tech University, 1982

Experience:

• Louisiana Tech University
• Academic Director of Computer Science, Cyber Engineering, and Electrical Engineering, July 2024 – present
• Interim Academic Director of Computer Science, Cyber Engineering, and Electrical Engineering, July 2021 – June 2024
• Full Professor,Computer Science, 2009 – present
• Program Chair, Computer Science, 1996 – 1999, 2002 – 2007
• Associate Professor, Computer Science, 1993 – 2009
• Assistant Professor, Comptuer Science, 1987 – 1993
• Network Foundation Technologies
• Founder & Chief Scientist, Dec. 2000 – 2012
• EarthLink
• Consultant, June 2001 – May 2002
• Staff Engineer, Feb. 2001 – June 2001
• OneNetNow.com
• Co-Founder, May 1999
• Chief Technology Officer, May 1999 – Feb. 2001
• The Yucaipa Company
• Consultant, 1999 – 2005

Awards:

• Louisiana Tech University, College of Engineering and Science, Larson Endowed Chair, 2006 – present
• Louisiana Tech University, College of Engineering and Science, Research & Economic Impact Award, 2019
• Louisiana Tech University, College of Engineering and Science, Distinguished Alumnus Award, Computer Science, 2018
• U.S. Small Business Administration,Tibbetts Award, presented to Network Foundation Technologies, LLC, in recognition of outstanding contributions to the SBIR Program, 2011
• Louisiana Technology Council, Governor's Technology Awards, Company of the Year awarded to Network Foundation Technologies, LLC, 2009
• State of Louisiana, Fellow of Excellence Award in Undergraduate Computer Science Education, 1998 – 1999
• Louisiana Tech University, College of Engineering and Science, Ben T. Bogard Endowed Chair, 1998 – 1999
• Louisiana Tech University, College of Engineering and Science, Outstanding Achievement Award in Instruction, 1994 – 1995

Research Interests:

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Developing Courseware and Innovative Approaches for Computer Science Education
• Behavioral Biometrics based Active Authentication
• Distributed Online Broadcast Technologies

Teaching Interests:

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Computer Graphics
• Theory of Computing
• Social, Legal, and Ethical Implications of Computing and Communications Technologies

Patents

• United States Patent #9,614,750, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Divisional of Core 2.5”), Mike O’Neal, Joel Francis, Tara Johnson, Ben Stroud, Landon Wright, Network Foundation Technologies, filed November 2014, issued April 2017.
• United States Patent #8,892,770, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Continuation of Core 2.5”), Mike O’Neal, Joel Francis, Tara Johnson, Ben Stroud, Landon Wright, Network Foundation Technologies, filed January 2012, issued November 2014.
• United States Patent #8,873,432, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Continuation of Divisional #2 of Reconfiguration”), Mike O’Neal and John Talton, Network Foundation Technologies, filed July 2010, issued October 2014.
• United States Patent #8,266,318, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Divisional #1 of Divisional #1 of Base Case”), Mike O’Neal and Joshua Kleinpeter, Network Foundation Technologies, filed February 2009, issued September 2012.
• United States Patent #8,219,659, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Continuation of Vtree”), Mike O’Neal and John Talton, Network Foundation Technologies, filed December 2009, issued July 2012.
• United States Patent #8,103,750, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Core 2.5”), Mike O’Neal, Joel Francis, Tara Johnson, Ben Stroud, Landon Wright, Network Foundation Technologies, filed September 2009, issued January 2012.
• United States Patent #7,925,726, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Divisional #2 of Reconfiguration”), Mike O’Neal and John Talton, Network Foundation Technologies, filed January 2008, issued April 2011.
• United States Patent #7,895,324, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Continuation of Start up”), Mike O’Neal and John Talton, Network Foundation Technologies, filed May 2009, issued February 2011.
• United States Patent #7,843,855, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Alpha-Beta Extension”), Mike O’Neal, Network Foundation Technologies, filed May 2007, issued November 2010.
• United States Patent #7,818,407, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Divisional #1 of Reconfiguration”), Mike O’Neal and John Talton, Network Foundation Technologies, filed January 2008, issued October 2010.
• United States Patent #7,664,840, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Vtree”), Mike O’Neal and John Talton, Network Foundation Technologies, filed July 2005, issued February 2010.
• United States Patent #7,543,074, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Divisional #1 of Base Case”), Mike O’Neal and Joshua Kleinpeter, Network Foundation Technologies, filed September 2005, issued June 2009.
• United States Patent #7,536,472, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Start up”), Mike O’Neal and John Talton, Network Foundation Technologies, filed July 2005, issued May, 2009.
• United States Patent #7,512,676, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Reconfiguration”), Mike O’Neal and John Talton, Network Foundation Technologies, filed July 2005, issued March 2009.
• United States Patent #7,035,933, “System for Distributing Content Data Over a Computer Network and Method of Arranging Nodes for Distribution of Data Over a Computer Network” (internal name: “Base Case”), Mike O’Neal and Joshua Kleinpeter, Network Foundation Technologies, filed September 2001, issued April 2006.

Publications:

Books & Journal Articles:

• “DISPERSE: A Decentralized Architecture for Content Replication Resilient to Node Failures”, Anand Santhanakrishnan, Ding Ding, Paolo Gasti, Mike O’Neal, Mauro Conti, and Kiran Balagani, IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 201-212, March 2020.
• “The Impact of Application Context on Privacy and Performance of Keystroke Authentication Systems”, Kiran Balagani, Paolo Gasti, Aaron Elliott, Azriel Richardson, and Mike O’Neal, Journal of Computer Security, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 543-556, July 2018.
• The Science of Computing: An Introduction, Mike O’Neal, 1995 – 2016, published “in house” at Louisiana Tech University. Various editions of this manuscript were used continuously at Louisiana Tech for nearly two decades as the primary text for CSC 100. Since 2016, significant portions of the text have been incorporated into the teaching materials of CSC 130, CSC 131, and CSC 132, Louisiana Tech’s freshman introduction to computing sequence.
• “Introductory Level Computer Science Courseware”, Jeremy Hill and Mike O’Neal, The Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, Vol. 20, No. 6, pp 31-39, Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges, April 2005.
• “Restructuring Computing Programs to Meet Employment Challenges”, Mike O’Neal, Computer, Vol. 37, No. 11, pp 29-34, IEEE Computer Society, November 2004.
• “Complexity Measures for Rule-Based Programs,” Mike O’Neal and William R. Edwards, Jr., IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 5, October 1994.
• “Comprehending Rule-Based Programs: A Graph-Oriented Approach,” Mike O’Neal and William R. Edwards, Jr., International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, Vol. 39, No. 1, Pages 147-175, July 1993.

Papers Presented at Conferences: (Peer Reviewed)

• “A Mobile Friendly Web-based System for Monitoring Smart Sensors”, Ademola Salawu, Mark Harms, Mike O’Neal, Rastko Selmic, Francisco Maldonado, Stephen Oonk, Proceedings IEEE International Instrumentation & Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC 2018), Houston, Texas, May 14-17, 2018.
• “Effective Internet Education”, Barry L. Kurtz, Dee Parks, and Mike O’Neal, Proceedings Computers and Advanced Technology in Education (CATE 2004), Kauai, Hawaii, August 2004.
• “Developing Educational Materials in Java - A Report from the Front Lines”, Barry L. Kurtz and Mike O’Neal, Proceedings National Education Computing Conference, June 1998.
• “Watson: A Modular Software Environment for Introductory Computer Science Education,” Mike O’Neal and Barry L. Kurtz, Proceedings 26th Annual SIGCSE Technical Symposium (SIGCSE’95), pages 87-91, Nashville, March 2, 1995.
• “Design and Implementation of a Generalized Problem Solving Assistant for Algorithm Development”, Barry L. Kurtz, Unmesh S. Mayekar, and Mike O’Neal, Proceedings 26th Annual SIGCES Technical Symposium (SIGCSE’95), pages 97-101, Nashville, March 2, 1995.
• “A Software Laboratory Environment for Computer-based Problem Solving”, Barry L. Kurtz and Mike O’Neal, Proceedings National Education Computing Conference, June 1994.
• “An Empirical Study of Three Common Software Complexity Measures,” Mike O’Neal, Proceedings Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC-93), Pages 203-207, February 1993.
• “A Semantic Interpreter for a Transportable Command Language Interface, Lisa E. Moore and Mike O’Neal, Proceedings Symposium on Applied Computing, April 1990
• “A Primer on the Design of Experiments for Computer Scientists”, Kevin Paul Dankwardt, Jeffrey Mitchell, and Mike O’Neal, Proceedings ACM South Central Regional Conference, 1987.

Papers / Abstracts / Technical Reports (Not Fully Refereed):

• “Context-Aware Active Authentication using Touch Gestures, Typing Patterns and Body Movement”, Mike O’Neal, Kiran Balagani, Vir Phoha, Andrew Rosenberg, Abdul Serwadda, and Md E. Karim, Louisiana Tech University Technical Report, Defense Technical Information Center, Accession Number: AD1005650, March 2016.
• “Requirements for a General Purpose Engineering Programming Language”, Donald W. Yates, J. William Ray, Jr., and Mike O’Neal, Proceedings ASEE Annual Conference, 1991.
• “A Proposed Method of Enabling Explanation Generation in a Classification Neural Network” (extended abstract), J. M. Lowe and Mike O’Neal, Proceedings ACM South Central Regional Conference, November 1989.
• “Measuring and Controlling Complexity in Rule-based Programs”, Mike O’Neal and William R. Edwards, Jr., Proceedings IASTED International Symposium, Expert Systems Theory and Applications, December 1988.
• “The Effect of Rule-based Solutions on Programmer Comprehension”, Mike O’Neal, Kevin Paul Dankwardt, and Jeffrey Mitchell, Proceeding ACM South Eastern Regional Conference, 1988.

Research Grants: [peer reviewed and competitively awarded unless noted otherwise]

• Principal investigator, “Applying Machine Learning to Educational Material / Course Development”. Funded by BetaFlix, Inc. Project activation date: January 15, 2024. Project duration 10.5 months. Funded for $134,000. [Research]
• Principal investigator - university partner component, DoD AF X21.s CSO:FA8750-22-C-0185, “Orbital Prime STTR Phase 1 - Project Selene”. Submitted by Ziuli Holdings, LLC dba Minerva319 with Louisiana Tech University as the university partner. Project activation date: August 24, 2022. Project duration 5 months. Funded for $250,000 (La. Tech portion $75,000). [Research]
• Principal investigator - university partner component, DoD AF X21.s CSO:FX21S-TCS01-0399, “Orbital Prime STTR Phase 1 - Satellite Training / Operations Suite”. Submitted by Traction Jedi Technologies, LLC with Louisiana Tech University as the university partner. Project activation date: June 1, 2022. Project duration 6 months. Funded for $250,000 (La. Tech portion $75,000). [Research]
• Co-principal investigator, (Jean Gourd, PI), Air Force Rapid Innovation Fund, “A Modernized Framework for Air Force Supply Chain Management Incorporating Mobile Devices”. Submitted by 1Prospect Technologies with Louisiana Tech and CenturyLink as subcontractors. Project activation date: June 4, 2018. Project duration: 24 months. Funded for $3M (La. Tech portion $1.28M). [Research] Note: I authored a substantial portion of the proposal that led to this award.
• Principal investigator, CenturyLink, “SKUA: Secure Keystroke-based User Authentication”. Project activation date: June 1, 2017. Project duration: 15 months. Funded for $156,076. [Research] (Research contract, not competitively awarded)
• Co-principal investigator, (Rastko Selmic, PI), NASA STTR Phase II / American GNC Corporation, “Integrated Monitoring Awareness Environment (IM-Aware)”. Project activation date: October 1, 2016. Project duration: 24 months. Funded for $183,000. [Research]
• Principal investigator, CIC - Cyber Innovation Center / CADENSE - Center for Assurance, Deterrence, Escalation, and Nonproliferation Science and Education, “Design of a DIME-based Conflict Visualization and Modeling Tool”. Project activation date: June 1, 2016. Project duration: 3 months. Funded for $13,630. [Research] (Research contract, not competitively awarded)
• Co-principal investigator, (Vir V. Phoha, PI; additional Co-PIs: Kiran Balagani (NYIT), Andrew Rosenberg (CUNY), Abdul Serwadda (Louisiana Tech), and Craig Spohn (Cyber Innovation Center)), DARPA, “Context-Aware Active Authentication using Touch Gestures, Typing Patterns and Body Movement”. Project activation date: September 27, 2013. Project duration: 21 months. Funded for $2,027,167. [Research] Note: I wrote a substantial portion of the original project proposal and in September 2014 took over this project as principal investigator when PI Phoha relocated from Louisiana Tech University to Syracuse University.
• Principal investigator, Louisiana Board of Regents, “Integrating Robotics into the Computer Science Curriculum”. Project activation date: June 2012. Project duration: 12 months. Funded for $70,000. [Infrastructure]
• Principal investigator, National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), “SBIR Phase II (i6): Implementation, Testing and Refinement of a Hybrid Distributed / Traditional System for Broadcasting Live and Pre-Recorded Content to Large Online Audiences - Research Experience for Undergraduates”. Project activation date: November 2011. Project duration: 4 months. Funded for $100,000. [Research]
• Principal investigator, National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), “SBIR Phase II-REU: Implementation, Testing and Refinement of a Hybrid Distributed / Traditional System for Broadcasting Live and Pre-Recorded Content to Large Online Audiences - Research Experience for Undergraduates”. Project activation date: June 2010. Project duration: 6 months. Funded for $16,000. [Research]
• Principal investigator, National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), “SBIR Phase IIB: Implementation, Testing and Refinement of a Hybrid Distributed / Traditional System for Broadcasting Live and Pre-Recorded Content to Large Online Audiences”. Proposal Approved: August 2009. Project activation date: Oct 2009. Project duration: 24 months. Funded for $500,000. [Research]
• Principal investigator, National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), “SBIR Phase II-REU: Implementation, Testing and Refinement of a Hybrid Distributed / Traditional System for Broadcasting Live and Pre-Recorded Content to Large Online Audiences - Research Experience for Undergraduates”. Project activation date: June 2008. Project duration: 6 months. Funded for $12,000. [Research]
• Principal investigator, National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), “SBIR Phase II: Implementation, Testing and Refinement of a Hybrid Distributed / Traditional System for Broadcasting Live and Pre-Recorded Content to Large Online Audiences”. Project activation date: February 2008. Project duration: 24 months. Funded for $500,000. [Research]
• Principal investigator, National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), “SBIR Phase IB: Implementation, Testing and Refinement of a Hybrid Distributed / Traditional System for Broadcasting Live and Pre-Recorded Content to Large Online Audiences”. Project activation date: July 2007. Project duration: 6 months. Funded for $50,000. [Research]
• Principal investigator, National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), “SBIR Phase I: Implementation, Testing and Refinement of a Hybrid Distributed / Traditional System for Broadcasting Live and Pre-Recorded Content to Large Online Audiences”. Project activation date: January 2007. Project duration: 12 months. Funded for $100,000. [Research]
• Co-principal investigator (Barry L. Kurtz, PI), National Science Foundation, “Effective Internet Education for Everyone”. Project activation date: September 1999. Project duration: 4 years. Funded for $300,000. [Research]
• Principal investigator, Navy Information Technology Center Educational Grants Program, “Expanding Student Access to Window’s PCs and Unix Workstations”. Project activation date: April 1999. Funded for $41,100. [Infrastructure]
• Principal investigator, Louisiana Education Quality Support Fund, “Infrastructure Support for Computer Science Research and Instruction”. Project Activation date: June 1997. Funded for $66,000. [Infrastructure]
• Principal investigator, Louisiana Education Quality Support Fund research project: “A Software Development and Maintenance Environment for Rule-based Programming.” Project activation date: June 1, 1995. Project duration: 3 years. Funded for $76,853. [Research]
• Principal investigator, Louisiana Education Quality Support Fund enhancement project: “Computer-based Classroom / Laboratories for Computer Science Research and Instruction.” Project activation date: June 1995. Funded for $150,000 [Infrastructure]
• Co-principal investigator (Barry L. Kurtz, PI), National Science Foundation, CISE Directorate, Office of Cross-Disciplinary Activities: “Integrating Research Results from Parallel and Distributed Computing into the Undergraduate Computer Science Curriculum.” Project activation date: September 1994. Project duration: 3 years. Funded for $238,339. [Research]
• Principal investigators Barry L. Kurtz and Mike O’Neal, National Science Foundation, Undergraduate Curriculum and Course Development Program: “An Interdisciplinary, Laboratory-Oriented Course for Computer-Based Problem Solving.” Project activation date: May 1993. Project duration: 15 months. Funded for $101,833. [Research]
• Principal investigator, Louisiana Education Quality Support Fund enhancement project: “Enhancements to the Computing Resources of the Department of Computer Science at Louisiana Tech University.” Project activation date: September 1991. Funded for $125,000. [Infrastructure]
• Principal investigator, Louisiana Education Quality Support Fund enhancement project: “A Network of Sun Workstations.” Project activation date: September 1988. Funded for $149,070. [Infrastructure]

Start-up Companies:

• Network Foundation Technologies (NiFTy), incorporated August 2000. I was the founder and Chief Scientist of this company. NiFTy focused on developing technologies for economically broadcasting live video content over the Internet to large audiences at low cost. The company’s IP portfolio includes 15 issued US patients and a number of Canadian and EU patients. I am the lead named inventor on each of NiFTy's patents.
• OneNetNow.com, incorporated in 1999. I was the co-founder (along with Marcus Morton and Yusef Jackson (son of Rev. Jesse Jackson)) of OneNetNow. I also served as the company’s Chief Technology Officer. OneNetNow raised about $4M of investment capital and was focused on bridging the “digital divide”. The company’s primary product was an online community focused web site, similar in many ways to FaceBook. OneNetNow was sold to EarthLink following the dot com crash. (I am quite proud of this fact as the vast majority of dot com companies from this era went bankrupt with nothing of value to show after burning through their start-up capital.) A number of former OneNetNow employees still worked for EarthLink almost a decade after its acquisition.

Consulting:

• The Yucaipa Company, 1999 – 2005. During the 1999 through 2005 timeframe, I routinely evaluated the technical merits of potential high technology investments for Yucaipa, often reporting directly to CEO Ron Burkle (No. 235 on the 2014 Forbes 400 Richest Americans list).