The University of Tulsa Magazine - TUAlumni.com

Photo by Michael Wyke
Making a Difference
Computer security program builds on tradition to put TU
on the map as an industry leader and a national resource
By Doug Fishback
This time last year, when The University of Tulsa
had been named one of six institutions to pioneer the
National Science Foundation’s Cyber Corps program,
no one could have guessed the new sense of urgency
that would engulf national security efforts as 2001
drew to a close.
Now, as the U.S. anticipates terrorist attacks and
scrambles to update security measures, TU’s leadership
in information security is coming into sharper
focus as a national asset. The University’s efforts,
housed in the TU Center for Information Security
(CIS), have attracted repeated recognition and an
encouraging level of funding in recent years, putting
TU on the map as a bastion of computer security
innovation and education.
This fall marked the first semester of the Cyber
Corps program, which subsidizes computer security
From left: Professor Sujeet Shenoi and graduate students Gavin Manes, Julie Evans and
Rick Ayers are helping put TU on the map as a leader in information security.
education for a highly select group of students. In
exchange, participants fulfill program requirements,
which include earning federal certifications in information
security, completing a federal internship and, after
graduation, serving a term working for the government
as a computer security expert. TU’s share of program
funding is $2.8 million over three years.
The Cyber Corps program has an inaugural class of
32 students nationwide, 10 of whom are at TU. This
group includes a 42-year-old mom working toward a
master’s degree, a 30-year-old ex-professional rock guitarist,
and a 63-year-old retired engineer.
If these do not seem like your typical students, that
is because Cyber Corps is not a typical program.
Participants have distinguished themselves through
their academic abilities, personal determination, and
their commitment to national service.
A leader in
information
security
TU’s leading role in the
Cyber Corps program
underscores the place the
University occupies on the
vanguard of computer security
research and education.
Through years of quiet program
building and dedicated
work, TU has bootstrapped
itself into a position
of prominence in
information security and is
now receiving recognition
and increased support from
federal and private sources.
In addition to being
named a Center of
Excellence in Information
Assurance by the National
Security Agency (NSA),
TU has received nearly $10
million in grants for information
security education
and research from federal
agencies including the Department of Justice and the
National Science Foundation.
Most recently, the NSA and the National Institute
of Standards and Technology in October selected
Shenoi as recipient of a $691,000 grant to fund development
of a high-level network monitoring and defense
system. The award is part of the Critical Infrastructure
Grants Program sponsored by the Department of
Commerce. Shenoi’s proposal was one of only nine
funded out of 133 requests.
The grant will support existing efforts at TU’s
Center for Information Security. CIS researchers have
been developing an “immunological approach” to network
security, based on roving agents that patrol a network,
much like the specialized cells in the body’s
immune system. The center also has been developing
“war room” tools that monitor networks and present
visual representations of computer attacks.
Teaching the teachers
Instead of simply producing computer security
workers, TU produces the educators who will bring
along the next generation of experts. The ideals of service
that underlie TU’s participation in the Cyber
Corps program also drive this emphasis on educating
educators.
TU regularly leads the nation in producing computer
science doctorates, the overwhelming majority of
whom go on to take teaching professorships at other
institutions.
Recognizing TU’s role in producing educators, the
U.S. Department of Defense has awarded the
University a five-year capacity-building grant to
educate computer security professors. As part of this
plan, the DOD will sponsor graduates from the
National War College to pursue doctoral study in
computer security at TU.
Successful students
Challenge and opportunity have long been the hallmarks
of the TU education and particularly of the programs
that Shenoi has directed. TU’s involvement in
the current Cyber Corps initiative is an outgrowth of
the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC)
program, which has been endorsed and supported by
the National Science Foundation.
TURC immerses students in a dynamic environment
of scholarship and service that combines advanced
course work, independent research, and community
service commitments. Computer-related service projects
have included developing computer forensics with
the Tulsa Police Department and providing free network
construction and management services to nonprofit
agencies.
Through their work with TURC, TU computer
security students have been published in industry journals
and have presented their work at professional conferences
at West Point, the Air Force Information
Warfare Center, and elsewhere.
TU’s emphasis on advanced scholarship shows up in
students’ remarkable performance in competition for
national and international scholarships. From 1995 to
2001, TU students have won 22 Goldwater
Scholarships, 10 National Science Foundation
Graduate Fellowships, 4 Department of Defense
Fellowships, 4 Truman Scholarships, 4 Fulbright
Grants, 2 Morris K. Udall Scholarships, 1 Howard
Hughes Medical Institute Fellowship, 1 Phi Kappa Phi
Graduate Fellowship, and 3 British Marshall
Scholarships — extraordinary for a school of any size,
and outstanding for a small private university such as
TU.
A bright future
The standards of scholarship and service that have
served TU so well promise to keep the University out
front in the race to secure the information infrastructure
against cyberterrorism and computer crime.
The Cyber Corps program is scheduled to run
another two years, and incoming funding will help fuel
research and teaching efforts.
These successes are giving TU the opportunity to
look into expanding information security and technology
programs. Possible scenarios include creation of
additional endowed faculty positions, new programs,
and new facilities. Although plans are still under study,
the coming months should bring exciting and encouraging
developments.
“Because of our undisputed strength in the area of
computer security, The University of Tulsa enjoys the
great privileges and incurs the great responsibilities of
leadership,” said President Bob Lawless. “Under any
circumstance, we must contribute to the full extent of
our talent and ability. But especially now, when the
nation is under attack, our work takes on an added
importance and urgency. I am confident in the role that
The University of Tulsa will be able to play in a safer,
more secure future, and I am encouraged by the support
we have received to date.” ■
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