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Principal Investigator

  • Headshot image of Professor Kurtis Cantley.

    Kurtis D. Cantley

    Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Dr. Cantley grew up in Kennewick, WA and received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Washington State University in 2005. He was a member of the Honors College at WSU and also received minors in math, physics, and music, spending significant time performing on trumpet with various ensembles including the WSU and Washington-Idaho symphony orchestras. In 2005, Dr. Cantley moved to West Lafayette, IN to attend Purdue University, where he graduated with a master’s degree in ECE in 2007. From there, he moved to Plano, TX to begin his PhD in electrical engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas with funding from the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship. Following graduation from UTD in 2011 with another year or so of post-doctoral work, Dr. Cantley joined the faculty in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boise State University (in August 2013). He is happy to be living in the Pacific Northwest.

    MEC 202B

    Dr. Cantley grew up in Kennewick, WA and received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Washington State University in 2005. He was a member of the Honors College at WSU and also received minors in math, physics, and music, spending significant time performing on trumpet with various ensembles including the WSU and Washington-Idaho symphony orchestras. In 2005, Dr. Cantley moved to West Lafayette, IN to attend Purdue University, where he graduated with a master’s degree in ECE in 2007. From there, he moved to Plano, TX to begin his PhD in electrical engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas with funding from the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship. Following graduation from UTD in 2011 with another year or so of post-doctoral work, Dr. Cantley joined the faculty in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boise State University (in August 2013). He is happy to be living in the Pacific Northwest.

ENDS Lab Members

Graduate Students

Current Graduate Students

Tipu Sultan is a Ph.D. candidate in ECE, focusing on cyber-physical security, grid resilience, and AI-enabled energy systems. He completed his M.S. in Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Information Science and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2020, and his B.S. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from International Islamic University Chittagong in 2017. Outside of his research, Tipu enjoys playing cricket and exploring new technologies. He aims to build a career in academia and contribute to resilient power and energy systems.

Ashraf Shihab is a Ph.D. student in ECE. His research uses evolutionary and neuromorphic engineering principles, built on advanced semiconductor devices, to improve power-grid resilience and cybersecurity. He designs spiking neural networks implemented with nanoscale semiconductor circuits and optimize them with genetic algorithms for low-power, adaptive anomaly detection. By combining evolutionary learning, biologically inspired rules, and efficient neuromorphic hardware, Ashraf is working to create fast, reliable, and energy-efficient systems for secure energy infrastructure.
Mahmudul Kabir Peyal (Ph.D. in ECE)
Luke Hindman is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Boise State University, where he brings over a decade of experience in software and systems engineering to undergraduate and graduate education. His current research in the ENDS Laboratory investigates the capabilities of tiny spiking neural networks, which he terms MicroNets, using hardware-in-the-loop simulation techniques to identify promising candidate architectures for silicon tape-out and fabrication. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from Boise State University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computing at Boise State University.
Elochukwu Onyejegbu is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boise State University. Before joining the university in 2023 to pursue research in the ENDS Lab, he had worked in a number of organizations spanning the IT, finance, and telecommunications industries. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and a Master’s Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Nazarbayev University, Astana.
Sara Sedighi (Ph.D. candidate in ECE)

Former Graduate Students and Alumni

  • Farhana Afrin (PhD ECE 2024), now at Ulkasemi
  • Robert Ivans (PhD ECE 2021), now at Idaho National Laboratory
  • Sumedha Dahl (PhD ECE 2020), now at Micron Technology
  • Sepideh Rastegar (MEng ECE 2017), now at Intel Corporation

Undergraduate Students

Current Students and Interns

  • Sydney Herold (MSMSE)
  • Teresa Vu (ECE)
  • Kellan Carrillo (ECE)

Former Students and Interns

  • Anthony Holmes (ECE)
  • Hyunji Jeong (Spring 2024, Hanyang University)
  • Keegan Nelson (BSEE 2025)
  • Anika Rubocki (Bowdoin College, Maine; Biology/Neuroscience and Computer Science, Summer 2023)
  • Kyle Kramer (BSEE 2021). Kyle completed many different tasks while in the group including electrophysiology and electrical testing, as well as sensor systems for the neural networks and investigating integration of neural networks and industrial control system protocols.
  • Nate Fisher (BSEE 2021). Nate became the guru of embedded systems and PCB design while in the group. He was primarily responsible for spiking neuron circuit design and testing, and ultimately the Neural Application Test Environment (NATE) 2.0, our current neuromorphic hardware platform.
  • Susy Camargo (BSEE 2018). Susy was part of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LASAMP) program at Boise State, and also received a HERC fellowship to continue the research during the fall semester of 2017. She worked on electrical characterization of neuromorphic circuits and is now employed at HP Boise.
  • Kameron Sellers (BSEE 2018). Kameron lead the development of the hardware artificial neural network stimulator (HANNS) platform. He is now working for the US Army Corps of Engineers.
  • Catherine Walker (BSMSE 2018). Catherine’s research projects included developing bonding processes for flexible electronics, piezoelectric polymers, and materials characterization. She received a Boise State Summer Research Initiative Fellowship in 2014.
  • Justin Stadlbauer (ECE). Justin’s research was focused on development of electrophysiology capabilities for neural interface testing.
  • Conor Perry (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo MSE, Summer 2016). Conor was part of the MSE REU program in Materials for Energy and Sustainability. He worked with the new Fuji Dimatix materials inkjet printer to create a standard process for silver printing for interconnects and carbon-based thin-film transistors.
  • Sierra Bush (Meridian Technical Charter High School, September 2015-May 2016). Sierra was a high school student in the electronics track at MTCHS, and assisted the group in obtaining advanced electrical measurements on a variety of semiconductor devices such as memristors.
  • Samantha D’az (BSEE). Samantha received an INBRE fellowship in 2015 to refine the testing capabilities of our electrophysiology system by automating control of the various components.
  • Vlad Calugaru (BSEE 2015). Vlad’s research involved developing electrical characterization techniques for artificial neural networks and their constituent devices. Vlad grew up in Romania, and moved to the United States at the age of 12. He loves to play piano and guitar, ride dirt bikes, and spend time outdoors.

Research Opportunities

Dr. Cantley is often looking for qualified graduate (PhD track preferred) and undergraduate students for various research projects involving fabrication, simulation, and testing of spiking neural networks and neuromorphic systems. The best candidates will be self-motivated and prepared to tackle a wide variety of engineering challenges and offer creative solutions. They will also have maintained an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.5/4 and/or obtained a master’s degree with GPA greater than 3.2/4. For graduate students, quantitative GRE scores should be in the upper quartile, while verbal and analytical scores would preferably be above the mean. Other candidates with exceptional experiences will also be considered. Generally, undergraduate pay is hourly with approximately 10-15 hours/week expected during the academic year, and 30-40 hours/week during the summer. Graduate students will also be offered competitive salary and benefits. If interested, please contact Dr. Cantley via email with an attached resume or CV.