Dr. Mitra Mirhassani studies how the connected systems in modern vehicles can be hacked and how to stop it. That work has earned the University of Windsor professor one of Canada's most prestigious research honours, the 2026 Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship. (FILE/University of Windsor)
By Lindsay Charlton
Every time you start your car, sensors, software and wireless connections work together to keep you moving.
Dr. Mitra Mirhassani wants to make sure no one can use that technology against you.
The University of Windsor engineering professor is the co-founder and director of SHIELD Automotive Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence — the only centre of its kind in Canada dedicated to end-to-end automotive cybersecurity. Her research examines how connected and autonomous vehicles can be attacked, manipulated, or compromised, and how to stop it.
“From auto theft to the theft of personal information, or even malfunctioning sensors, whether caused by malicious acts, glitches or failures, problems can arise when systems don’t work properly, which could result in accidents as well,” says Mirhassani. “We aim to increase the safety and security of connected vehicles through our research. You carry your loved ones in the car, so you want to ensure the best safety and security around your vehicle.”
That work has now earned her one of Canada’s most prestigious research honours. Mirhassani has been awarded the 2026 Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship — and is the first University of Windsor researcher to receive it.
“I’m very honoured by this award and recognition,” she says. “It’s a nice vote of confidence to be recognized at this scale. Having this acknowledgement makes me more confident in the steps I’ve taken, the direction of the research and how I’m leading my research group and lab.”
Awarded by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the Paul Corkum Fellowship recognizes up to three scholars each year whose research has the potential to make a significant impact on a national or global scale. The fellowship is valued at up to $150,000 and provides mid- to late-career Canadian and international scholars the opportunity to advance a specific collaborative project through access to NRC researchers, infrastructure and resources.
“Recognition through the Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship places Dr. Mirhassani among an exceptional group of scholars shaping the future of discovery,” says Dr. Shanthi Johnson, vice-president, research and innovation at the University of Windsor. “Her leadership in automotive cybersecurity reflects the strength of research at the University of Windsor at the national stage and advances vital work to strengthen the safety, resilience, and trust in the technologies that power our everyday lives, locally and globally.”
For Mirhassani, the fellowship centres on a project titled, “Strengthening autonomous systems through real-time defences”, undertaken in collaboration with NRC researcher Taufiq Rahman. The work focuses on the security of sensors and LiDAR — light detection and ranging — systems in connected and autonomous vehicles, and will be conducted in part at the NRC’s laboratory in London, Ontario, where researchers can simulate and study real-world attack scenarios.
“We can test different scenarios and see how successful or unsuccessful different attacks can be on autonomous vehicles and how we can disrupt the different sensors around the vehicles”, she says. “This will be shared with other academics in Canada, so hopefully this will not just benefit my own research or lab but will be beneficial to everyone doing research on this topic”.
Mirhassani completed both her MASc and PhD at the University of Windsor before joining the faculty in 2008 — building her career at the same institution where she trained. As one of relatively few women leading an engineering research centre in Canada, she has become a visible presence in a field working to broaden its ranks.
Her path to automotive cybersecurity began unexpectedly. Early research in neuromorphic engineering — building AI and neural networks on digital and analog circuitry — took a turn when anomalous chip testing results led to conversations with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN). What emerged was a clear gap: very few companies were examining hardware security in vehicles.
That gap became SHIELD. The centre examines vulnerabilities across the full automotive ecosystem — vehicle hardware and software, supply chains, cloud connectivity and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
“We are looking at common weaknesses that exist in vehicles, in their algorithm, their hardware, how the vehicle communicates with infrastructure, with each other or their surrounding environment”, she says.
Privately funded through the contribution of Dorothy J. Killam, the National Killam Program has supported outstanding Canadian scholars since 1981. Administered by the NRC since 2022 — following more than 50 years under the Canada Council for the Arts — the program comprises the Killam Prizes, the Dorothy Killam Fellowships and the Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowships.
Mirhassani hopes her recognition opens the door for others.
“We have a very vibrant research community here,” she says. “And I really do hope we will have more of our researchers here recognized.”