University Park, Pa. -- Penn State has joined a select group of universities as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, a designation that could mean more scholarships for students and additional research grants for faculty.
Education in information assurance is critical for the security of the nation's information infrastructure. As a center for information assurance, Penn State students and faculty members can play a key role in developing technologies that ensure systems' integrity, confidentiality and authentication.
Drs. Chao-Hsien Chu and Peng Liu, faculty members in Penn State's School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), spearheaded the recognition effort with support from the Colleges of Engineering and Communications and the Smeal College of Business Administration. Criteria for selection included information assurance (IA) courses, a faculty active in IA research, the University's security plan and practices, and library resources in IA.
"With this designation, Penn State can become a leader in information and cyber security," said Chu, associate professor of IST.
The recognition by the National Security Agency (NSA) provides Penn State with access to security scholarships and internships for students as well as funds for training and education, Chu said. The faculty can now compete for U.S. Department of Defense grants requiring the designation. Specific fellowships also will be available to professors interested in security research.
Also the University's Center of Information and Cyber Assurance, coordinated by Chu and Liu, will provide training for information security professionals through degree and continuing education programs as well as provide assistance and technical supports to local communities, industry and government.
"This designation enables Penn State to integrate its cutting-edge cyber security research with top equality education," said Liu, assistant professor of IST. "The urgent need of cyber homeland security makes this designation even more meaningful."
The National Security Agency sees another benefit of the program mandated in 1998: an expanded workforce of professionals with information assurance expertise.
Formal recognition of Penn State's new designation will occur June 3 at the 7th Annual Conference of the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education in Washington, D.C.
Only about four dozen universities have been designated as Centers for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. They include Carnegie Mellon; Purdue; Stanford; Syracuse; U.S. Military Academy, West Point; and University of California-Davis.
Contact: Margaret Hopkins mhopkins@ist.psu.edu