Research Opportunities for ROTC in Cybersecurity (RORC) program Project
Abstract
There exists a need to grow the research capabilities of our ROTC students in the area of cybersecurity as a means to prepare the next generation of skilled cyber-warriors, particularly in government and the armed forces. Exposing ROTC students to cybersecurity research projects to conduct active research and then applying their acquired research skills provides a significant opportunity for these students to develop the skills and affinity in the cybersecurity domain.The proposed Research Opportunities for ROTC in Cybersecurity (RORC) program aims to target ROTC members to conduct research in a range of cybersecurity projects addressing the technical skills required for critical thinking and formulation of scientific methods. An important objective of the program is to prepare the next generation of scientists and researchers in the field of cybersecurity through research training in cyber threats, cyber machine learning, and social engineering strategies. The underlying approach is to establish a set of research projects that provides the greatest opportunity for ROTC, undergraduate veteran students and other military and civilian members to perform research in different technical areas based on their interest.Through this program, these undergraduate students (scholars) will acquire advanced technological knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for success in research and career opportunities in government and industry. Early research exposure offers an effective means of developing skills and methodology to conducting scientific discovery for this specific populationof students, and better prepares them to undertake future cybersecurity challenges.The anticipated outcome of the ROTC program is to develop the research skills necessary to conduct research within the cybersecurity area. In order to accomplish these goals, the scholars selects from a list of ongoing research project, in order to join the projects research team. Once incorporated into the team, the scholar conducts specific research as guided by the faculty mentor. The outcome of the project is multifaceted, with scholars being exposed to conducting research, working within a research team on funded projects, having individualizecurity, and with a formal presentation of their project and contributions.The research projects available to the scholars are in cybersecurity, spanning the areas of penetration testing/countermeasures, forensics, malware analysis, machine learning, threat detection, cyber-intelligence, cyber-policy, electronic warfare, communications and networks, networked sensors, network security, IoT security and nanotechnology, sensors, interfaces and communications that forms the cornerstone to impact many engineering sectors, ranging fromdefense to healthcare. As an example, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence advances are converging to facilitate the rapid identification and mitigation of cybersecurity threats, while tracking vital parameters in the environment beyond what is possible, given current approaches. These scholars will become responsible for conducting research in these areas with the objeat their work will evolve to the manifestation of clear deliverables that can be presented in a formal setting to highlight their achievements.The RORC program will target underrepresented student populations who are ROTC cadets and veteran undergraduate FIU students pursuing a degree. These scholars will reflect the racial and gender mix seen in the region, where 66% of FIU students are Hispanic, 12% are African- American/Black, and 56% are women. FIU has pool of over 115 ROTC and about 798 veteranstudents.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 04, 2020
- Source ID
- N000142112042
Entities
People
- Alexander Perez-pons
Organizations
- Florida International University
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy