WPI gets $4.4M grant to shore up cybersecurity
The National Science Foundation has awarded Worcester Polytechnic Institute more than $4.4 million to develop a program preparing selected students to be government cybersecurity professionals, the school announced Thursday.
Funded through the NSF's CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service (SFS) initiative, WPI’s program will provide scholarships for 25 undergraduate and graduate students. The students commit to government service after graduation, helping the nation address such national security issues as threats to utilities, military defense systems, water treatment plants, and refineries.
“This exciting grant will allow WPI to elevate the already excellent value and skills that our graduates bring to the workforce,” WPI President Laurie Leshin said in the statement. “I am particularly gratified that we will be able to attract the best and brightest students to help ensure that our nation’s infrastructure stays secure.”
The NSF scholarship initiative operates in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. WPI’s program will be directed by Kathi Fisler, PhD, professor of computer science and director of the WPI Cybersecurity Program.
The 25 students will be awarded significant scholarships over five years, along with stipends that cover books, travel, and other expenses, the statement from the school said. The students must commit to completing a summer internship with a participating federal, state, local, or tribal government agency, or federally funded research and development center; and to one year of government employment for each year they receive scholarship funds.
Craig Shue, assistant professor of computer science and co-principal investigator for the WPI award, said in the statement: “Even as events like the JPMorgan Chase, Target, and Sony breaches make international headlines and illustrate the need for cybersecurity expertise, one of the challenges we face is that many students don’t fully understand the diversity of exciting opportunities in the field. This program, specifically its outreach component, will allow us to attract the next generation to the profession.”
WPI added a cybersecurity specialization for its existing MS program in computer science in 2012. Domestic students in the joint B.S./M.A., M.S., and Ph.D. programs will be eligible to participate in the SFS program.
“This NSF funding is further evidence that WPI remains on the cutting edge of cybersecurity,” U.S. Rep. James McGovern of Worcester said, according to the statement from WPI. “We have a critical need for additional experts in this field — a need that the federal government can and should help to fill.”
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments