WSU designated as center of excellence in cyber research

Washington State University has been named a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research (CAE-R) by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).

It is one of only five such centers in the Pacific Northwest and the second in Washington.

The NSA program aims to create and manage a collaborative cybersecurity educational program with community colleges, colleges, and universities that establishes standards for cybersecurity curriculum and academic excellence; includes competency development among students and faculty; values community outreach and leadership in professional development, integrates cybersecurity practice within the institution across academic disciplines; and actively engages in solutions to challenges facing cybersecurity education, according to the NSA website. The CAE-RDesignation program aims to support and build a cadre of experts to address new challenges from cyberattacks and solve complex cybersecurity problems. It recognizes U.S. institutions with programs that integrate cybersecurity research activities into their doctoral curricula.

"This prestigious designation will open many new opportunities for our cybersecurity research and training activities, help us attract more students into our programs, and give us access to a national community of practice and resources," said Assefaw Gebremedhin, associate professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, who has led cybersecurity research and education efforts at WSU, including this center of excellence designation application.

This prestigious designation will open many new opportunities for our cybersecurity research and training activities, help us attract more students into our programs, and give us access to a national community of practice and resources.

WSU has been involved in a number of initiatives in the past several years, including pioneering participation in the U.S. Department of Defense VICEROY program, that contributed to its growth in the cybersecurity field and led to its designation as an NSA center of excellence.

• With support from the U.S. Department of Defense, WSU became a VICEROY Institute for Cybersecurity Education and Research (CySER), which is one of the first three virtual institutes for cybersecurity and electromagnetic spectrum training established in the U.S. The VICEROY CySER program trains ROTC and DOD-skilled civilian workers in cyber basics, operations, or defense, offering bachelor's degrees as well as specialized certificates.
• Last year, WSU researchers received a $3.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to support a scholarship and education program for students in cybersecurity. Aiming to educate and train the next generation of cybersecurity professionals for federal, state, and local government positions, the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program provides full tuition and living stipends for as many as 20 undergraduates and six graduate students with the understanding that they commit to working for the government after graduation.
• WSU began a bachelor's degree in cybersecurity in 2023. With $2 million provided by the state of Washington to get the program started, the degree aims to meet burgeoning demand for computer scientists with expertise in cybersecurity.
• This year, WSU researchers received a three-yearNational Science Foundation grant to train U.S. and Swedish students in cybersecurity research for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The $450,000 grant from NSF's International Research Experiences for Students program supports semester-long exchanges for WSU undergraduates to conduct cybersecurity research with a cohort at Sweden's Linköping University (LiU).

"Assefaw has provided stellar leadership in getting this prestigious program designation for our cybersecurity program," said Ananth Kalyanaraman, director of the School of EECS. "This is a fantastic accomplishment and a clear recognition of the quality of our research and training program in areas related to computing and cybersecurity."