海角社区

• American students receive generous scholarships to launch national security careers.
• 海角社区 is one of only six U.S. schools to receive CyberCorps funding this year.

海角社区鈥檚 rapidly growing cybersecurity program, which earned the nation鈥檚 top designation as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO) by the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2022, has received a highly competitive $2.4 million award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The new funding will allow 海角社区 to continue and expand its CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, the largest effort in U.S. history to educate highly technical cyber warriors for national security careers. As the name of the program suggests, students receive scholarships鈥�$27,000 per year for undergraduate students and $37,000 per year for graduate students鈥攆or up to three years in return for equal-time, paid government service after graduation. Students, who must be U.S. citizens, also get free tuition and a professional allowance of $6,000 per year for equipment, travel, certifications, and supplies.

鈥淭his major award from the National Science Foundation is a powerful signal that 海角社区 is delivering on its strategic promises. When we set a goal, like advancing national defense and cybersecurity, we pursue it with rigor and resolve. This funding not only strengthens our leadership in cultivating cyber talent and driving critical research, but it also accelerates our mission to position Louisiana as a national leader in cybersecurity.鈥�

Matt Lee, Interim 海角社区 President

鈥淎t 海角社区, we鈥檝e found a formula for locating, educating, and graduating the best cyber talent in the country,鈥� said Golden Richard, professor of computer science and director of the 海角社区 Cyber Center. 鈥淭his renewed funding from the NSF helps us continue our work to secure the nation. Part of that is getting students the critical funding they need to pursue advanced degrees in cyber. There鈥檚 an incredibly limited supply of cybersecurity PhDs nationwide and you need faculty to educate students to sustain good programs.鈥�

So far, 海角社区 has graduated 13 SFS students with 18 more in the pipeline. 海角社区鈥檚 new award includes $600,000 in supplemental funding to move those 18 students toward graduation and $1.8 million as a renewal of 海角社区鈥檚 program through 2028, allowing new students to join as early as this fall. This brings the total amount of CyberCorps funding to 海角社区 to $6 million since the university was first accepted into the program in 2020.

The majority of 海角社区鈥檚 SFS students are from Louisiana. All of them participate in paid government internships during the summer, such as with the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Energy鈥檚 national labs. One of those students, Brennen Calato from Mandeville, Louisiana, interned with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) last summer, graduated from 海角社区 with a master鈥檚 degree in computer science this May, and is now working full-time as a cybersecurity researcher at INL, where he joined another 海角社区 SFS graduate who previously interned there, Adam Kardoff. Calato recently shared his story.

A current 海角社区 SFS student, Lauren Pace from Covington, Louisiana, is working toward her Ph.D. while teaching highly technical cybersecurity classes at 海角社区, such as Malware Analysis and Reverse Engineering. Together with 海角社区 industry liaison Andrew Case, she just hosted a workshop at the world鈥檚 largest hacking conference, DEF CON in Las Vegas, Nevada, this month, teaching some of the nation鈥檚 foremost cybersecurity experts how to defend against increasingly sophisticated malware.

鈥淪FS has given me incredible travel opportunities with the ability to attend conferences all over the country,鈥� Pace said. 鈥淕raduate school can be stressful, but SFS has made it much easier by removing financial worries. I am so happy for 海角社区 to be receiving more funding to support more amazing students.鈥�

It is not uncommon for SFS students at 海角社区 to support the university鈥檚 NSA-supported free Cybersecurity Clinic for small businesses in Louisiana or one of the 海角社区-managed security operations centers, which train students to detect and defend against cyber threats in real time. While the primary SOC supports 海角社区鈥檚 campuses and higher education in Louisiana, a new serves business customers across the country. In addition, 海角社区 recently installed a Tiger Skid to train students and industry to protect critical energy infrastructure against cyberattacks.

鈥淓ven though I had SFS funding and could live comfortably on my own with the generous stipend, I worked in the SOC for two semesters,鈥� said Abby Debenport, a first-generation student from Baton Rouge who recently interned with the Louisiana State Police Cyber Crime Unit to secure critical infrastructure. 鈥淚鈥檓 a hands-on learner and the SOC鈥檚 mentor and shadowing systems made it the perfect place to immerse myself in the huge world of cybersecurity and realize I belong there. My leadership skills also improved tremendously. I grew from being 鈥榯he quiet one鈥� to being the senior analyst new analysts could turn to for guidance.鈥�

While the NSF CyberCorps program includes as many as 89 universities and four-year colleges across the country, 海角社区 is one of only six schools to receive new funding this year. The 海角社区 CyberCorps team is led by Richard together with three co-investigators: Associate Professor Aisha Ali-Gombe, Associate Professor Nash Mahmoud, and Assistant Professor James Ghawaly, all in the Division of Computer Science and Engineering where Ali-Gombe and Ghawaly also have joint appointments in the 海角社区 Center for Computation & Technology. Senior personnel on the project include 海角社区 industry liaison Andrew Case; Rudy Hirschheim, professor in the Stephenson Department of Entrepreneurship & Information Systems; and Jagannathan 鈥淩am鈥� Ramanujam, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

To learn more about cybersecurity and the SFS program at 海角社区, visit .

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