$re = '/^(\w+)[\s\(](?:at|@)[\s\)](\w+)(?:\sdot\s(\w+)\sdot\s|\.(\w+)\.)edu$/m';
$str = 'csk at cs dot xyz dot edu
csk(at)cs dot xyz dot edu
csk at cs.xyz.edu
csk(at)cs.xyz.edu
csk at cs.xyz.edu
csk(@)cs.xyz.edu
csk @ cs dot xyz dot edu';
$subst = "";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php