Sheikh Ghafoor is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Tennessee Tech. University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from Mississippi State University in 2007 under the advisement of Ioana Banicescu and Tomasz Haupt. Prior to joining Tennessee Tech., he worked as a research associate in the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems at Mississippi State University.

Sheikh's research interests include parallel, distributed, and high-performance computing, as well as cyber security and cyber-physical systems. Currently, his research focuses on computational earth science involving flood modeling and security in vehicular and SCADA networks. Sheikh is also interested and actively engaged in computer science education research.

Sheikh Ghafoor has received commendations and awards for his accomplishments in guiding students through education, research, and service. Alongside his colleagues, he has helped to advance education within the Computer Science department at Tennesee Tech., and has served and continues to serve on numerous steering committees and program review panels. Over the years, Sheikh has mentored many talented students, several of whom have received research and software recognition awards.