Nguyen Khoi Tran
Research Fellow – Decentralised Systems & AI
Email: nguyen.tran@adelaide.edu.au
GitHub: https://github.com/nguyentran0212
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nktran/
Research overview
I am a research fellow at CREST, University of Adelaide, leading work that blends blockchain, software‑supply‑chain security, distributed ML operations, and LLM‑based systems. Key achievements include a DSTG‑partnered edge‑blockchain platform, a metadata‑management architecture to mitigate supply‑chain attacks, and a secure, provenance‑aware MLOps framework. Currently I develop Skel, a lightweight LLM‑agent framework, and investigate trust‑worthy architectures for autonomous workflows.
Research interests
- Blockchain & edge deployment
- Software‑supply‑chain architecture & metadata
- Distributed ML operations & provenance
- LLM‑based multi‑agent systems
Key Projects and Partnerships
Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) – Edge Blockchain Platform
• Lead a multi‑year partnership to explore distributed‑ledger technology in edge environments.
• Designed an architectural knowledge base and a software framework that enables the deployment, operation and governance of edge blockchains for decentralized trust.
• Built a field‑testbed, conducted experiments on performance, scalability and resilience, and delivered seminars and technical workshops to disseminate the findings.
Cyber Security CRC – Software Supply‑Chain & MLOps Initiatives
• Developed an extensible architecture and framework for managing, distributing, and exploiting software‑supply‑chain metadata to mitigate supply‑chain attacks.
• Designed a distributed machine‑learning operations (MLOps) framework that provides security, provenance and auditability across the ML lifecycle.
• Supervised PhD student Liuyue Jiang in creating a model‑driven, AI‑aided dashboard‑generation framework to support cyber‑situational awareness in organisations.
PhD & Master Supervision
2023 - Now
PhD Supervision – Zihao Lin: Agentic approach and framework for engineering federated digital twin systems.
2021 - Now
PhD Supervision – Liuyue Jiang: Facilitating and improving cyber situational awareness in an organisation using model‑driven and AI‑aided dashboard generation.
Mar 2018 - Now
Master Project Supervision, School of Computer Science, The University of Adelaide
- Master of Computer Science
- Master of Data Science
- Master of Software Engineering
Dec 2020 - Mar 2021
Summer Research Project Supervision, CREST, The University of Adelaide
Teaching
- 2024 Semester 1 – Topics in Computer Science – project supervisor
- 2023 Semester 2 – Master of Software Engineering Project Part B – course coordinator
- 2022 Semester 2 – Master of Software Engineering Project Part B – course coordinator
- 2022 Semester 2 – Advanced Topics in Computer Science – project supervisor
- 2022 Semester 2 – Topics in Computer Science – project supervisor
- 2021 Semester 2 – Master Data Science Research Project Part A (7097A_7097B Combined) – project supervisor
- 2020 Semester 2 – Computer Science Honours Research Project Part A (4015A_4015B Combined) – project supervisor
- 2020 Semester 2 – Master Computer Science Research Project Part A (7099A_7099B Combined) – project supervisor
- 2020 Semester 2 – Master Data Science Research Project Part A – project supervisor
- 2020 Semester 2 – Master of Software Engineering Project Part B – course coordinator
- 2020 Semester 1 – Master of Software Engineering Project Part A – course coordinator
- 2019 Semester 2 – Master of Software Engineering Project Part B – course coordinator
Selected Publications
A full list is available online
2024
Tran, Nguyen Khoi, Samodha Pallewatta, Muhammad Ali Babar.
An Empirically Grounded Reference Architecture for Software Supply Chain Metadata Management.
EASE 2024: 38‑47
2024
Eken, Beyza, Samodha Pallewatta, Tran, Nguyen Khoi, Ayse Tosun, Muhammad Ali Babar.
A Multivocal Review of MLOps Practices, Challenges and Open Issues.
CoRR abs/2406.09737 (2024)
2023
Tran, Nguyen Khoi, Muhammad Ali Babar, Julian Thorpe, Seth Leslie, Andrew Walters.
An Experience Report on the Design and Implementation of an Ad‑hoc Blockchain Platform for Tactical Edge Applications.
ECSA 2023: 100‑116
2022
Tran, Nguyen Khoi, Muhammad Ali Babar, Andrew Walters.
A framework for automating deployment and evaluation of blockchain networks.
Journal of Network and Computer Applications 206: 103460 (2022)
2022
Liuyue Jiang, Tran, Nguyen Khoi, Muhammad Ali Babar.
Mod2Dash: A Framework for Model‑Driven Dashboards Generation.
Proceedings of ACM Human‑Computer Interaction 6(EICS): 172:1‑172:28 (2022)
2022
Tran, Nguyen Khoi, Bushra Sabir, M. Ali Babar, Nini Cui, Mehran Abolhasan, Justin Lipman.
ProML: A Decentralised Platform for Provenance Management of Machine Learning Software Systems.
arXiv preprint arXiv:2206.10110 (2022). Accepted as full paper in the European Conference on Software Architecture 2022.
2021
Tran, Nguyen Khoi, M. Ali Babar, Jonathan Boan.
Integrating blockchain and Internet of Things systems: A systematic review on objectives and designs.
Journal of Network and Computer Applications 173 (2021): 102844.
2020
Tran, Nguyen Khoi, and M. Ali Babar.
Anatomy, Concept, and Design Space of Blockchain Networks.
In 2020 IEEE International Conference on Software Architecture (ICSA), pp. 125‑134. IEEE, 2020
2019
Tran, Nguyen Khoi, M. Ali Babar, Quan Z. Sheng, John Grundy.
A Framework for Internet of Things Search Engines Engineering.
In 2019 26th Asia‑Pacific Software Engineering Conference (APSEC), pp. 228‑235. IEEE, 2019
2018
Tran, Nguyen Khoi, Quan Z. Sheng, M. Ali Babar, Lina Yao, Wei Emma Zhang, Schahram Dustdar.
Internet of Things Search Engine: Concepts, Classification, and Open Issues.
Communications of ACM, 2018.
Professional Experience
- Reviewer: TEM, COMP, SASEIOT2016, AICCSA2016, BDCloud2016, ICWE2016
- Conference co‑organiser and volunteer coordinator: ICCSA 2013
- Committee Member:
- IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society’s Technical Committee on Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies
Education
2015 - 2018
Ph.D., Computer Science, The University of Adelaide, Australia
- Funded by the Beacon of Enlightenment Ph.D. Scholarship from The University of Adelaide
- Advisor: Prof. M. Ali Babar, Prof. Michael Sheng, Dr. Lina Yao
- Dissertation: A Reference Architecture and a Software Platform for Engineering Internet of Things Search Engines.
2009 – 2013
B.Sc., Computer Science, International University – VNU‑HCMC, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Summa cum laude, GPA: 3.95 / 4.0 (91.2 / 100)
- Advisor: Dr. Hong Quang Nguyen
- Thesis: MobiPDA: An approach to Mobile‑application Development for Independent Developers
Awards and Scholarship
2015
Beacon of Enlightenment PhD Scholarship, The University of Adelaide, 2015
2010 – 2013
Scholarship for Excellent Academic Performance, International University
2012
Scholarship for Excellence Academic Performance, CSC Vietnam, 2012
2009
Scholarship for Full First‑year Tuition Fee, International University, 2009
Language and Skills
Language
English (Proficient), Vietnamese (Native)
Technical Skills
- Programming: JavaScript & Node.js, Solidity & Web3.js (Blockchain), Python
- Infrastructure & DevOps: Docker, Ansible, DroneCI, Prometheus, InfluxDB, Grafana
- Software Architecture: Blockchain network architecture, Microservice Architecture, Architectural Design Patterns & Tactics, Attribute‑Driven Design Method
Soft Skills
- Personal and team management with Scrum and Kanban
- Knowledge management with Zettelkasten and Second Brain method
- Academic, technical writing, and science popularisation
- Seminar and presentation
- Industry collaboration and communication
- Course development, coordination, and delivery