Dr. Samy El-Tawab is a Professor of Computer Science and Chair of the Department of Computer Engineering and Computational Sciences in the School of Engineering, Applied Science and Technology at Canadian University Dubai.

He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Old Dominion University, an M.Sc. in Computer Science specializing in Computer Networks, and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from Alexandria University in Egypt.

Prior to joining Canadian University Dubai, Dr. El-Tawab spent fourteen years at James Madison University, where he served as Founder and Program Director of the Information Technology program (2019–2026) and progressed from Assistant Professor to Full Professor in the College of Integrated Science and Engineering.

His research and teaching interests span intelligent transportation systems, including smart cities, smart mobility, autonomous vehicles, vehicular networks, and artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in transportation; computer networks, including network security, cybersecurity, cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), and vehicular ad hoc networks; and core computer science areas such as cloud computing, databases, and algorithms.

He has taught a broad range of undergraduate and graduate courses, including an Autonomous Vehicles course that he developed and taught. The course earned the Virginia Governor’s Technology Award for Innovative Use of Technology in Education in 2018.

Dr. El-Tawab has authored more than 76 peer-reviewed publications, with an h-index of 20 and over 1,155 citations (as of August 2026). He has served as Guest Editor for the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Journal, Associate Editor of the Vehicular Communications Journal (2019–2023), and Technical Co-Chair for multiple IEEE international conferences. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and Vice Chair of the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society (ITSS) Central Virginia Chapter, which he co-founded.

Among his honors are the Madison Scholar Award, the Madison Service Award, and the Virginia Governor’s Technology Award.