In celebration of Internet Safety Month, UA Little Rock is profiling student researchers working in this area. 

Maryam Maleki joined UA Little Rock in the fall 2018 semester to pursue a doctoral degree in systems engineering. She holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering and a master’s degree in systems and industrial engineering from Tehran, Iran, and has a decade of experience in quality control/assurance in the car industry. She joined COSMOS in the fall 2019 semester, where her research is focused on misinformation, mathematical modeling, machine learning, and social media analysis.

What do you find interesting about your major?

I am doing research on different aspects of social media. Social media is a very hot topic these days and the evaluation of misinformation can be so helpful.

What kind of research projects are you working on that are related to internet safety?

I am trying to find a mathematical model to evaluate the spread of misinformation on different social media platforms. My research demonstrated that there are similarities between the spread of misinformation on social media and disease in a community.

Since June is Internet Safety Month, do you have any advice for how people can keep themselves safe online?

People should never trust the news and information they are exposed to on social media. They should do some research to make sure that the information is correct before spreading it. They never should share their personal information and specifically their financial information on any not trustworthy website.

What do you plan to do after you graduate?

I would like to continue to do research on different aspects of social media, especially misinformation and disinformation.