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OSU among first institutions to be designated National Center of Academic Excellence in IA Research |
The Department of Homeland Security and the National
Security Agency have designated Oklahoma State University a National Center for
Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research.
The Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE) and
CAE-Research (CAE-R) programs are operated in support of the President's
National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, February 2003. OSU was recognized as a
CAE in 2005 and is among the first schools to receive the coveted CAE-R
designation.
The CAE and CAE-R programs are intended to reduce vulnerabilities in the
national information infrastructure by promoting higher education in
information assurance and increasing the number of capable information
assurance graduates in the United States.
“With graduates in computer science, management information systems, electrical
and computer engineering and telecommunications management all completing
significant projects or theses in information assurance, OSU is producing
diverse and highly training specialists in the area who can immediately go to
work in a variety of domains,” said Mark Weiser, Spears School of Business
associate dean and Center for Telecommunications and Network Security (CTANS)
director.
OSU has a long history of active involvement in digital security and forensics,
with faculty from four colleges across three campuses actively working in the
area.
The CTANS serves as OSU’s focal point for research, teaching and outreach in
information assurance and forensics, and spearheaded the university’s efforts
to obtain the CAE-R designation.
“This recognition is a natural extension of our earlier designation as a Center
of Excellence in Information Assurance Education,” Weiser said. “As the only
public institution in the state that holds the CAE designation and a Carnegie
research institution, our faculty members are naturally stretching the
knowledge base in information assurance. It enhances our educational offerings,
brings research funding to the university, adds to the economic development in
Oklahoma, and aids in the protection of our nation’s critical infrastructure.”
The selection criteria for the CAE-R programs spans many areas, including
extensive faculty publication and funded research. Weiser said CTANS faculty
have generated more than 100 information assurance publications in just a few
years, and relevant research and development projects have brought millions of
dollars to Oklahoma.
“The CTANS faculty group brought more than $3 million in external funding to
OSU in this fiscal year alone, with more committed for next year,” Weiser said.
A major initiative of the CTANS is the development and housing of the National
Repository of Digital Forensic Intelligence, a facility for sharing critical
forensic knowledge among federal, state and local law enforcement officials.
Among the larger projects in information assurance include work in secure
multimedia wireless communication by George Scheets, electrical and computer
engineering associate professor, and Keith Teague, electrical and computer
engineering professor and head. In addition, David Biros, management science
and information systems assistant professor, works closely with both the
Defense Ammunition Center and Oklahoma’s state network, even developing the
security policy for the network.
CAE-R institutions will be recognized at a June 4 awards dinner during the
Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education at the University of
Texas–Dallas.
As Oklahoma's premier comprehensive land-grant university, OSU is "The
STATE's University." Through its system of five campuses, and its
dedication to the original land-grant vision of research, instruction and
extension, OSU delivers a broad-based education for all Oklahomans. OSU offers
an undergraduate option and minor in Information Assurance, as well as a
15-credit hour graduate certificate in information assurance, drawing on the
expertise of faculty from the Spears School of Business, the computer science
department of the College of Arts and Sciences and the electrical engineering
department of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.
For more information about OSU’s information assurance program or to schedule
an interview with Weiser, call Shannon Boynton at 405-744-3000 or visit CTANS.
Oklahoma’s only
university with a statewide presence, Oklahoma State University is a
five-campus, public land-grant educational system that improves the lives of
people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality
teaching, research and outreach. Established in 1890, the Stillwater campus is
the home of the OSU System. The STATE’s university boasts students from all 50
states and nearly 120 nations, and has more than 200,000 alumni throughout the
world.
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