OSU Among first institutions to be designated CAE-R

Monday, April 28, 2008

OSU among first institutions to be designated National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research 

(STILLWATER, OK – April 25, 2008) The Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency have designated Oklahoma State University a National Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research.

The Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE) and CAE-Research (CAE-R) programs are operated in support of the President's National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, February 2003. OSU was recognized as a CAE in 2005 and is among the first schools to receive the coveted CAE-R designation.

The CAE and CAE-R programs are intended to reduce vulnerabilities in the national information infrastructure by promoting higher education in information assurance and increasing the number of capable information assurance graduates in the United States.
 
“With graduates in computer science, management information systems, electrical and computer engineering and telecommunications management all completing significant projects or theses in information assurance, OSU is producing diverse and highly training specialists in the area who can immediately go to work in a variety of domains,” said Mark Weiser, Spears School of Business associate dean and Center for Telecommunications and Network Security (CTANS) director.
 
OSU has a long history of active involvement in digital security and forensics, with faculty from four colleges across three campuses actively working in the area.
 
The CTANS serves as OSU’s focal point for research, teaching and outreach in information assurance and forensics, and spearheaded the university’s efforts to obtain the CAE-R designation.
 
“This recognition is a natural extension of our earlier designation as a Center of Excellence in Information Assurance Education,” Weiser said. “As the only public institution in the state that holds the CAE designation and a Carnegie research institution, our faculty members are naturally stretching the knowledge base in information assurance. It enhances our educational offerings, brings research funding to the university, adds to the economic development in Oklahoma, and aids in the protection of our nation’s critical infrastructure.”
 
The selection criteria for the CAE-R programs spans many areas, including extensive faculty publication and funded research. Weiser said CTANS faculty have generated more than 100 information assurance publications in just a few years, and relevant research and development projects have brought millions of dollars to Oklahoma.
 
“The CTANS faculty group brought more than $3 million in external funding to OSU in this fiscal year alone, with more committed for next year,” Weiser said.
 
A major initiative of the CTANS is the development and housing of the National Repository of Digital Forensic Intelligence, a facility for sharing critical forensic knowledge among federal, state and local law enforcement officials.
 
Among the larger projects in information assurance include work in secure multimedia wireless communication by George Scheets, electrical and computer engineering associate professor, and Keith Teague, electrical and computer engineering professor and head. In addition, David Biros, management science and information systems assistant professor, works closely with both the Defense Ammunition Center and Oklahoma’s state network, even developing the security policy for the network.
 
CAE-R institutions will be recognized at a June 4 awards dinner during the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education at the University of Texas–Dallas.
 
As Oklahoma's premier comprehensive land-grant university, OSU is "The STATE's University." Through its system of five campuses, and its dedication to the original land-grant vision of research, instruction and extension, OSU delivers a broad-based education for all Oklahomans. OSU offers an undergraduate option and minor in Information Assurance, as well as a 15-credit hour graduate certificate in information assurance, drawing on the expertise of faculty from the Spears School of Business, the computer science department of the College of Arts and Sciences and the electrical engineering department of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.
 
For more information about OSU’s information assurance program or to schedule an interview with Weiser, call Shannon Boynton at 405-744-3000 or visit http://ctans.okstate.edu/ .