About
Dr. Sandeep Munjal is a Researcher, Educator and Forensic Scientist working at the intersection of Nanomaterials, Semiconductor devices, and Hardware Security. He holds a Ph.D. from IIT Delhi and currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, where his work bridges fundamental device physics with the emerging demands of secure and forensic computing.
His early research established him in the field of Resistive switching Memory Devices, memristive and RRAM devices, and neuromorphic computing, alongside advanced functional materials for water remediation and gas sensing for air-quality monitoring. This work drew wide recognition: his research on resistive switching was featured in Nature's Top 100 in Physics (2017), and he has been named an India Top Cited Researcher by IOP Publishing (UK) — a mark of sustained international recognition.
Before NFSU, he held research leadership positions as Principal Investigator under a DST-SERB National Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Delhi and as Senior Project Scientist at IIT Delhi. Building on this device-physics foundation, Dr. Munjal's current research has expanded into the security and forensic dimensions of modern hardware. His active interests span Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) and True Random Number Generators (TRNGs), RRAM-based PUF modeling, side-channel analysis (TVLA and correlation power analysis), and post-quantum cryptography — including the security of lattice-based schemes on constrained embedded platforms.
In parallel, he leads work in digital forensics, with a focus on drone and firmware forensics and chip-level evidence recovery, connecting his materials background to real-world questions of trust, provenance, and tamper resistance in electronic systems. A defining feature of his profile is the strongly multidisciplinary nature of his research, which draws together physics, materials science, microelectronics, cryptography, and digital forensics into a single coherent programme — allowing him to move fluidly from device fabrication and characterization to system-level security and forensic investigation.
Dr. Munjal has contributed to national and international research projects, including a UK–India collaborative project on telecom fraud, reflecting his engagement with cross-border research on secure and trustworthy communication systems. He has also guided multiple postgraduate students on research projects, mentoring the next generation of researchers across his areas of expertise.
As an academic, Dr. Munjal drives curriculum and capability-building in this fast-moving field, coordinating specialized programmes in semiconductor security and teaching graduate courses in hardware security and forensics. He has authored 50+ publications in high-impact journals, has more than 1500 Citations, 20+ H-Index, holds a granted patent, one patent Published, and has earned multiple national and international awards. He serves as an editorial board member and peer reviewer for leading journals from ACS, RSC, IEEE, and other publishers, and actively mentors young researchers.
He has authored two books in emerging areas of Forensic Science, Quantum Technologies, and Hardware Security: (i) Nano-Forensics: Quantum Technologies, Smart Devices, and Advanced Sensor Networks and (ii) The Silicon Biometric: An Overview of PUFs and Semiconductor Hardware Security for the Internet.
His books explore emerging applications of advanced sensors, quantum technologies, PUFs, and semiconductor hardware security in forensic science and cybersecurity.
Across all of it, Dr. Munjal remains committed to advancing scientific knowledge, developing secure next-generation technologies, and contributing to a sustainable and trustworthy technological future.
No. of Publications
Research Paper
42
Book
2
Book Chapter
