New Cybersecurity Training Grant

Posted on 2020-06-02

A joint effort of Engineering Technology and Computer Science has been awarded a $318,000 grant from the Department of Defense to build a team consisting of students capable of effectively conducting research studies in the area of cybersecurity, pairing a variety of skills with organization and leadership to enhance research outcomes in the ROTC program.

The goal of this grant is to develop a technically sound ROTC program through the introduction of cybersecurity in the existing curriculum. The project will design and develop hands-on exercises based on the latest threats and social engineering attacks and introduce those in workshops and research papers, enhance the capabilities of students to detect and predict evolving threats whereby they can deploy the latest defense strategies and countermeasures in their workplace, and provide a support network in order to retain diverse and minority students within the program through advising, mentoring, networking, internships and workforce connections, tutoring, soft skills building, collegiality, etc.

The project will be led by principal investigator Dr. James McGinnis, assistant professor in Engineering Technology, and co-PI Dr. Dipankar Dasgupta from Computer Science, Hill Professor in Cybersecurity, both of whom are directors of the Center for Information Assurance. This grant is a part of the center's mission on education and outreach in cybersecurity.

For more information on this effort, contact McGinnis at jmcgnnis@memphis.edu.