Associate Professor · University of Nizwa

Khizar Hayat

Computer Science · Multimedia Security · AI & Data Science

My research sits at the intersection of Multimedia Security & Digital Forensics, Digital Image Processing, and Applied AI & Data Science. Over nearly three decades in academia — at institutions in Oman, Pakistan and France — I have authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and supervised students from BSc to PhD level.

View Research Publications
Dr. Khizar Hayat
40+Publications
30+Years in Academia
11+Theses Supervised
17+Courses Taught
Background

About Me

I am Khizar Hayat, Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Nizwa (UoN), Sultanate of Oman, where I have been serving since 2013. My academic career spans nearly three decades across Oman, Pakistan and France, encompassing teaching, research, and senior academic leadership.

I earned my PhD from the Université de Montpellier, France (2009), specialising in image compression, information hiding and 3D visualisation, on an HEC overseas scholarship. Before that I completed an M2R (MPhil) in Computer Science at Montpellier (2005–2006) and an MS in Computer Science at Islamabad Campus (now called Capital University) of Muhammad Ali Jinnah University, Karachi (2001–2004), where I was awarded the Silver Medal.

My research interests include digital image processing, multimedia security and forensics, information hiding (watermarking and steganography), cryptography and network security, and machine learning and data science. I have authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications in venues including IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, Pattern Recognition, Digital Signal Processing, PLoS ONE, and the Journal of Electronic Imaging.

I serve as Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Dependable & Secure Computing, Area Editor of Signal Processing: Image Communication (Elsevier), and Academic Editor of Security and Communication Networks (Wiley). I am an IEEE member (ID: 92945791) and an HEC Approved Supervisor.

At UoN I have held leadership roles including Head of Computer Science (2014–2023), Head of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (2018–2022), and Quality Management Officer (2017–2021). I led successful ministry approval of the MSc in Computer Science (2016) and BSc in Data Science & Machine Learning (2025).

Education

PhDUniversité de Montpellier, France (2009)
M2RUniversité de Montpellier, France (2006)
MSMAJU, Karachi — Silver Medal (2004)
MScPeshawar University — 2nd Position (1993)

Contact

Emailkhizar.hayat at unizwa.edu.om
Phone+968 25446297
OfficeRoom 11G-30, University of Nizwa

Languages

English French Urdu Pushto

Honors

🥈 Silver Medal, MS — MAJU, 2004
🎓 HEC 4-Year Overseas PhD Scholarship
🎓 HEC Indigenous MS Scholarship
🏅 2nd Position, MSc Chemistry, Peshawar University
Research

Research Areas

🔐

Multimedia Security & Digital Forensics

Detection of image and video forgery, copy-move replication, blind watermarking for HEVC, and audio deepfake/voice mimicry detection. Recent outputs in Journal of Imaging (2022) and Discover Applied Sciences (2024).

🖼

Digital Image Processing & Computer Vision

Image enhancement and segmentation in transform domains (wavelets, curvelets), super-resolution via deep learning, corner detection, and fisheye/top-view pedestrian tracking. Published in IEEE Trans. Multimedia, Sensors, and IEEE ICASSP 2024.

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AI, Machine Learning & Data Science

Credit card fraud detection with polynomial feature engineering and SMOTE on restricted data, wavelet-based CNNs for gender classification, deep learning for multimedia super-resolution. Latest: Mathematics (2025).

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Information Hiding, Cryptography & 3D Visualisation

JPEG2000-based reversible data hiding for scalable 3D terrain and facial visualisation, synchronous A4S watermarking, and homomorphic encryption for secure image sharing. Core topic of PhD thesis and multiple IEEE/EURASIP publications.

Career

Experience

2013 – Present University of Nizwa Oman

Associate Professor of Computer Science

  • Head of Computer Science (Sep. 2014 – Jan. 2023)
  • Head of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Jan. 2018 – Jun. 2022) — overseeing 14 programs across Mathematics, Statistics, Physics and CS
  • Quality Management Officer (Jan. 2017 – Sep. 2021) for the University's largest college (~40 programs), with emphasis on accreditation
  • Led Ministry-approved curriculum: MSc Computer Science (2016) and BSc Data Science & Machine Learning (2025)
  • Member, Vice-Chancellor's Special Working Group on Academic Affairs
2011 – 2013 COMSATS University, Abbottabad Pakistan

Associate Professor of Computer Science

  • Head of CS Dept. (May 2012 – Sep. 2013) — 1,200+ students, ~60 faculty including 18 PhDs
  • Member, Board of Studies and Campus Management Committee
  • Convener, ISIP Research Group
2009 – 2011 COMSATS University, Abbottabad Pakistan

Assistant Professor of Computer Science

  • Research and teaching in Image Processing and Information Security
2006 – 2009 Université de Nîmes & IUT Arles France

Visiting Faculty

  • Tutorials (TD) and practicals (TP) in Image Processing and Informatics Methodology
1995 – 2009 Higher Education Dept. KP Pakistan

Lecturer

  • Teaching Computer Science at graduate and postgraduate level
  • Chairman, Dept. of CS, Govt. Post-Graduate College Mandian, Abbottabad (since Sep. 2004)
  • TA/TF at Muhammad Ali Jinnah University (MAJU), Karachi (Aug. 2001 – Aug. 2003)
Service

Editorial & Review

Editorial Roles

  • Associate EditorIEEE Transactions on Dependable & Secure Computing (TDSC)
  • Area EditorSignal Processing: Image Communication, Elsevier
  • Academic EditorSecurity and Communication Networks, Wiley
  • Guest EditorSensors (MDPI) — Special Issue on Digital Image Processing

Peer Review

  • IEEE Trans. Multimedia
  • IEEE Trans. Image Processing
  • IEEE Trans. Neural Networks & Learning Systems
  • Pattern Recognition (Elsevier)
  • Signal Processing: Image Communication (Elsevier)
  • EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing
  • Multimedia Tools & Applications
  • Journal of Electronic Imaging (IS&T/SPIE)
  • Reputable Conferences: IEEE ICASSP 2024, EUSIPCO 2024, 2025 & 2026, ICET 2022 & 2019
  • PhD Examiner: Université de Montpellier & Anna University, Chennai
  • Referee for TRC Oman, ICT/R&D Fund and HEC Pakistan projects
Scholarly Output

Publications

Google Scholar Scopus Web of Science ORCID ResearchGate

Over 40 peer-reviewed publications. Full records on Google Scholar and Scopus.

2026 O. Al Maaini, K. Hayat, K. Al Ruqeishi, and B. Magnier, . "A Phase-Coherent Four-Stage Pipeline for the Dereverberation of Quránic Recitation," Information , vol. 17(7): 714.[DOI]
2025 K. Hayat and B. Magnier, "Data Leakage and Deceptive Performance: A Critical Examination of Credit Card Fraud Detection Methodologies," Mathematics, vol. 13(16):2563.[DOI]
2024 S. Al Ajmi, K. Hayat et al., "Faked Speech Detection with Zero Prior Knowledge," Discover Applied Sciences, vol. 6(288).[DOI]
2023 B. Magnier and K. Hayat, "Revisiting Mehrotra and Nichani's Corner Detection Method for Improvement with Truncated Anisotropic Gaussian Filtering," Sensors, vol. 23(20):8653.[DOI]
2022 H. Talaoubrid, M. Vert, K. Hayat and B. Magnier, "Human Tracking in Top-view Fisheye Images via HOG Analysis," Journal of Imaging, vol. 8(4):115.[DOI]
2022 T. Qazi, M. Ali, K. Hayat and B. Magnier, "Seamless Copy–Move Replication in Digital Images," Journal of Imaging, vol. 8(3):69.[DOI]
2019 A. Aslam, K. Hayat et al., "Wavelet-based Convolutional Neural Networks for Gender Classification," Journal of Electronic Imaging, vol. 28(1), 013012.
2018 K. Hayat, "Multimedia Super-Resolution via Deep Learning: A Survey," Digital Signal Processing, vol. 18, pp. 198–217.
2017 K. Hayat and T. Qazi, "Forgery Detection in Digital Images via DWT and DCT," Computers and Electrical Engineering, vol. 62, pp. 448–458.
2017 K. Hayat, N. A. Al-Shukaili and K. Sultan, "Alice in Oman: A Study on Object-First Approaches in CS Education," Education and Information Technologies, vol. 22(4).
2016 U. Habib, K. Hayat and G. Zucker, "Complex Building Energy System Operation Pattern Analysis," Complex Adaptive Systems Modeling, vol. 4(8).
2014 S. Swati, K. Hayat and Z. Shahid, "A Watermarking Scheme for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)," PLoS ONE, vol. 9(8):e105613.
2014 S. H. Shirazi, N. Haq, K. Hayat et al., "Curvelet Based Offline Analysis of SEM Images," PLoS ONE, vol. 9(8):e103942.
2014 H. Akbar, N. Haq, K. Hayat and U. I. Bajwa, "Bilateral Symmetry Detection on the Basis of Scale Invariant Feature Transform," PLoS ONE, vol. 9(8):e103561.
2014 S. Naz, K. Hayat et al., "The Optical Character Recognition of Urdu-like Cursive Scripts," Pattern Recognition, vol. 47(3), pp. 1229–1248.
2013 R. Irfan, G. Bickler, S. U. Khan, J. Kolodziej, H. Li, D. Chen, L. Wang, K. Hayat et al., "Survey on Social Networking Services," IET Networks, vol. 2(4), pp. 224–234.
2013 M. Ajmal, S.A. Madani, K. Bilal, T. Maqsood, B. Nazir and K. Hayat, "Coordinated Opportunistic Routing Protocol for Wireless Mesh Networks," Computers and Electrical Engineering, vol. 39(8), pp. 2442-2453.
2013 T. Qazi, K. Hayat et al., "A Survey on Blind Image Forgery Detection," IET Image Processing, vol. 7(7), pp. 660–670.
2013 K. Bilal, S. U. Khan, S. A. Madani, K. Hayat et al., "A Survey on Green Communications using Adaptive Link Rate," Cluster Computing, Springer, vol. 16(3), pp. 575–589.
2013 K. Bilal, S.U. Khan, L. M. Zhang, H. Li, K. Hayat, et al., "Quantitative Comparisons of the State of the Art Data Center Architectures," Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience, Wiley, vol. 25(12), pp. 1771–1783.
2013 O. Khalid, S. U. Khan, S. A. Madani, K. Hayat et al., "Comparative Study of Trust and Reputation Systems for Wireless Sensor Networks," Security and Communication Networks, Wiley, vol. 6(6), pp. 669–688.
2013 N. Noreen, K. Hayat et al., "Curvelet-based Brain Tumor Detection from MRI," INFORMATION, vol. 16(5), pp. 3259–3266.
2012 J. Shuja, S. A. Madani, K. Bilal, K. Hayat et al., "Energy-Efficient Data Centers," Computing, Springer, vol. 94(12), pp. 973-994.
2012 M. Jadoon, S.A. Madani, K. Hayat and S. Mahlknecht, "Location and Non-Location Based Ad-hoc Routing Protocols under various Mobility Models: A Comparative Study," The International Arab Journal of Information Technology (IAJIT), vol. 9(5), pp. 418-427.
2012 S. Mustafa, S.A. Madani, K. Bilal, K. Hayat and S. U. Khan, "Stable Path Multi-Channel Routing With Extended Level Channel Assignment," International Journal of Communication Systems, Wiley, vol. 25(9), pp. 887-902.
2012 A.R. Khan, S.A. Madani, K. Hayat and S. U. Khan, "Clustering-Based Power Controlled Routing for Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks," International Journal of Communication Systems, Wiley, vol. 25(4), pp. 529-542.
2012 N. Haq, K. Hayat et al., "Offline Estimation of 2D Crystal Lattice Parameters by Processing Electron Diffraction Images," Optics Communications, vol. 285(5), pp. 609–616.
2011 N. Islam, W. Puech, K. Hayat and R. Brouzet, "Application of Homomorphism to Secure Image Sharing," Optics Communications, vol. 284(19), pp. 4412–4429.
2011 29. N. Noreen, K. Hayat and S. A. Madani, "MRI Segmentation Through Wavelets and Fuzzy C-Means," World Applied Sciences Journal (WASJ), vol. 13, Special issue on App. Math.
2010 K. Hayat, W. Puech and G. Gesquière, "Adaptively synchronous scalable spread spectrum (A4S) data-hiding strategy for three-dimensional visualization," Journal of Electronic Imaging, vol. 19(2).
2010 K. Hayat, W. Puech, N. Islam and G. Gesquière, "Seamless Heterogeneous 3D Tessellation via DWT Domain Smoothing," EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing, vol. 2010, Art. ID 913681.
2008 K. Hayat, W. Puech and G. Gesquière, "Scalable 3D Terrain Visualization through Reversible JPEG2000-Based Blind Data Hiding," IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, vol. 10(7), pp. 1261–1276.
2024 H. Talaoubrid, K. Hayat and B. Magnier, "Straightforward Adaptation of Particle Filter to Fisheye Images for Top View Pedestrian Tracking," IEEE ICASSP 2024, Seoul, Korea, pp. 4300–4304.[DOI]
2013 S. Naz, K. Hayat et al., "Challenges in Baseline Detection of Cursive Script Languages," SAI 2013, London, UK, pp. 551–556.
2013 S. Naz, K. Hayat et al., "Arabic Script Based Language Character Recognition: Nasta'liq vs Naskh," WCCIT 2013, Sousse, Tunisia, pp. 1–7.
2012 S. Khan, K. Hayat et al., "The Median Resource Failure Checkpointing," ECMS 2012, Koblenz, Germany, pp. 483–489.
2012 K. Bilal, S. U. Khan, K. Hayat et al., "A Comparative Study of Data Center Network Architectures," ECMS 2012, Koblenz, Germany, pp. 526–532.
2011 N. Haq, K. Hayat, S. H. Sherazi and W. Puech, "Segmentation Through DWT and Adaptive Morphological Closing," EUSIPCO 2011, Barcelona, Spain.
2011 N. Haq, K. Hayat, N. Noreen and W. Puech, "Image Sharpening by DWT-Based Hysteresis," ACIVS 2011, Ghent, Belgium.
2010 N. Islam, W. Puech, K. Hayat and R. Brouzet, "Analysis of Homomorphic Properties of RSA-Based Cryptosystem for Image Sharing," ICSP 2010, Beijing, China.
2010 K. Hayat, W. Puech and G. Gesquière, "Seamless Heterogeneous Tessellation via DWT Domain Smoothing," SPIE Electronic Imaging VDA 2010, San Jose, CA, vol. 7543.
2009 K. Hayat, W. Puech, G. Gesquière and G. Subsol, "3D Facial Visualization through A4S Data Hiding," IEEE ICIP 2009, Cairo, Egypt.
2009 K. Hayat, W. Puech and G. Gesquière, "Seamless Joining of Tiles of Varying Resolutions for Online 3D Terrain Visualization," EUSIPCO 2009, Glasgow, Scotland.
2009 K. Hayat, W. Puech and G. Gesquière, "An Adaptive SS Synchronous Data Hiding Strategy for Scalable 3D Terrain Visualization," SPIE VDA 2009, San Jose, CA, vol. 7243.
2009 K. Hayat, W. Puech, G. Subsol and G. Gesquière, "JPEG2000-Based Data Hiding to Synchronously Unify Disparate Facial Data," SinFra 2009, Singapore.
2008 K. Hayat, W. Puech and G. Gesquière, "A Lossy JPEG2000-based Data Hiding Method for Scalable 3D Terrain Visualization," EUSIPCO 2008, Lausanne, Switzerland.
2008 K. Hayat, W. Puech and G. Gesquière, "Scalable Data Hiding for Online Textured 3D Terrain Visualization," IEEE ICME 2008, Hannover, Germany.
2007 K. Hayat, W. Puech and G. Gesquière, "An Efficient Lossless JPEG2000 Data-hiding Method for Scalable 3D Terrain Visualization," EUSIPCO 2007, Poznan, Poland, pp. 2519–2523.
2007 K. Hayat, W. Puech, G. Gesquière and M. Chaumont, "Wavelet Based Data-Hiding of DEM for Real Time 3D Visualization," SPIE VDA 2007, San Jose, CA, vol. 6495.
2006 K. Hayat, W. Puech, G. Gesquière and M. Chaumont, "Visualisation 3D temps-réel de MNT par insertion de données cachées basée ondelettes," CORESA 2006, Caen, France.
2015 K. Bilal, S. U. Khan, M. Manzano, K. Hayat et al., "Modeling and Simulation of Data Center Networks," in Handbook on Data Centers, S. U. Khan & A. Y. Zomaya (Eds.), Springer-Verlag, New York. ISBN 978-1-4939-2091-4, Chapter 31.
2015 O. Khalid, S. U. Khan, S. A. Madani, K. Hayat et al., "Opportunistic Databank: A Context-aware Data Center for Mobile Networks," in Handbook on Data Centers, Springer-Verlag, New York.
2014 S. Naz, M. I. Razzak, K. Hayat et al., "Challenges in Baseline Detection of Arabic Script Based Languages," in Intelligent Systems for Science and Information, Studies in Computational Intelligence, vol. 542, pp. 181–196, Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-04701-0.
2009 K. Hayat, W. Puech and G. Gesquière, "JPEG2000-Based Data Hiding and Applications," in Recent Advances in Signal Processing, In-Tech. ISBN 978-953-307-002-5. DOI: 10.5772/7450.
2009 K. Hayat, Scalable 3D Visualization — Exploiting JPEG2000-Based Information Hiding. VDM Verlag. ISBN 978-3-639-18526-3.
Mentoring

Graduate Supervision

PhD (ongoing)

  • Tanzeela Qazi
    Digital Image Forensics 2021–present

MS / MPhil Completed

  • Mohamed Al Omezzine
    Polynomial Feature Engineering-Based SMOTE for Credit Card Fraud Detection 2024
  • Sahar Al Ajmi
    Blind Voice Mimicry Detection for Audio Forensics 2022
  • Habib Akbar
    Bilateral Symmetry Detection 2013
  • Salahuddin
    Watermarking in High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) 2013
  • Abdullah
    Fault Tolerant Cost Minimisation of Replica Migration 2013
  • Tanzeela Qazi
    Digital Image Forensics: Image Tampering and Forgery Detection 2012

 

  • M. Daud
    Image Enhancement in the Transform Domain 2012
  • S. I. H. Bokhari
    Wave Atom Based Watermarking 2012
  • N. ul Haq
    Qualitative and Quantitative Enhancement of Specialised Images in Transform Domain 2011
  • N. Noreen
    Detection of Brain Tumour using MRI 2011
  • S. H. Sherazi
    Enhancement and Quantification of Electron Microscopy Images 2011

Also supervised 50+ undergraduate students in final-year projects.

Get in touch

Contact

✉
📞

Phone

+968 25446297

🕒

Office Hours

Sun – Thu, 8:00 am – 3:00 pm (GST, UTC+4)

Office Address

Office# 11G-30
Department of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
University of Nizwa, Initial Campus
Barkat Al Mouz
P.O. Box 33, P.C. 616
Sultanate of Oman