Electrical and Computer Engineering

CMU Receives $4 Million To Educate Information Security Professionals

May 26, 2004

Carnegie Mellon University has received a $4 million grant to educate a new generation of information security professionals through the Federal Scholarship For Service Program (SFS).

"The SFS program enhances our ability to attract talented and qualified students motivated to serve the nation by helping to protect and defend the information infrastructure our economy and society so heavily depend upon," said Dena Haritos Tsamitis, associate director of the Information Networking Institute and director of education, training and outreach for Carnegie Mellon's CyLab.

Carnegie Mellon received the grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Federal Cyber Service program to continue educating students in information security. Begun about four-and-a-half years ago, the NSF program provides scholarships to students studying information security in exchange for two years of government service in Cyber Corps.

To date, Carnegie Mellon has graduated 17 students from the program. They work in several federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Commerce. Program participants like Geoffrey Wilson, 23, said the Cyber Corps program is a great opportunity because it allows him to apply his love of computer science to the challenges of making America's infrastructure more secure. Wilson, who is scheduled to graduate next May, is participating in a summer internship with an information technology organization within the Department of Health and Human Services. Don McGillen, executive director of CyLab and coordinator of Carnegie Mellon's involvement in the SFS program, said the Scholarship For Service Program is designed to help the U.S. government fill its growing need for information security experts.

"Threats to the government's information systems are increasing in both frequency and sophistication. The threats are compounded by the government's increased dependence upon those systems and the impending retirement of a significant percentage of its information technology workforce. Government agencies must attract young, talented and motivated experts from schools such as Carnegie Mellon where programs like SFS are enabling them to do just that," McGillen said.

Over the next three years, the program will graduate 54 students who take courses through the university's Information Networking Institute, a cooperative endeavor of Carnegie Mellon's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the School of Computer Science, the Tepper School of Business and the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management.

About Carnegie Mellon: Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of programs in engineering, robotics, computer science, the sciences, business, public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions to solve real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for close interaction between students and professors. For more information, visit www.cmu.edu.