STEP Leaders Drs. Robin Poston and Mark Gillenson Are Recognized by U.S. Department of Homeland Security

MEMPHIS, TN—Systems software requires rigorous testing and evaluation to maintain integrity. Extensive training of personnel and professionals conducting the testing is mandatory.

In 2006, Dr. Jasbir Dhaliwal. Executive vice president for Research and Innovation and founder of STEP (Systems Testing Excellence Program) at the University of Memphis had the fortitude to realize the differentiation and subsequent notability in a stringent alignment of testing protocols.

The work effort has paid off. Current leaders of STEP, Dr. Robin Poston, dean of the Graduate School and director of STEP, and Dr. Mark Gillenson, associate director of STEP and a professor in the Fogelman College of Business & Economics were recently recognized by DHS for exceptional efforts within the scientific and engineering disciplines that resulted in the delivery and adoption of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mission-critical solutions.

STEP's work with DHS has included conducting a workforce skills and competencies study, building customized training programs to reduce knowledge gaps and working with DHS training staff to combine STEP training with current DHS testing and evaluation training offerings.

"When DHS personnel indicate the highest level of satisfaction with our training, the achievement comes full circle," stated Dr. Gillenson. Dr. Robin Poston accepted the honor in Washington, DC on December 6 for the University of Memphis STEP Test & Evaluation Team.

For more information on STEP, contact Dr. Robin Poston at rposton@memphis.edu, or contact Dr. Mark Gillenson at mgillnsn@memphis.edu.

STEP is the country's largest, research-based academic research and training program in the important field of software testing. Several STEP programs, led by Gillenson, have trained well over 1,000 software testing and software development professionals in many Memphis-area companies. STEP has also conducted training programs for the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. STEP-affiliated faculty at the University of Memphis and other major U.S. universities have conducted leading-edge research in software testing, which is used to inform the coursework designs for the STEP training programs. STEP has also conducted an annual research workshop in software testing. For more information on STEP, contact us.