U.S. Cyber Command visit highlights UW–Madison’s leadership in cyber research and education

1 The day before the official visit began, Col. Raul Rodríguez-Medellin (center), deputy director of the Office of Academic Engagements at USCYBERCOM and a UW-Madison alumnus, visited a public policy class in the La Follette School of Public Affairs. Photo by: Bryce Richter

2 Members of the federal delegation started their visit by meeting with researchers in their laboratories in the Department of Physics and the College of Engineering to learn about their work on quantum computing, cybersecurity and other areas of interest to USCYBERCOM. At Chamberlin Hall, physicist Akbar Safari (center) showed Lt. Gen. William J. Hartman and colleagues a quantum network experiment. The network holds promise for applications in remote quantum sensing and quantum communication, which could improve intelligence gathering, surveillance and secure communication.

3 The delegation also learned about the required conditions for quantum computing - namely, extremely low temperatures. Physics professor Mark Eriksson (right) described to Hartman why it's essential to operate silicon-based qubits - the basic unit of quantum information - at temperatures of 0.1 Kelvin. The machine in the background is a dilution refrigerator that's part of UW's Q-NEXT quantum center, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

4 At the College of Engineering, Jennifer Choy (right), a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and doctoral student Xuting Yang (center) demonstrated how a metallized grating chip on silicon can be used in place of free-space optics to cool and trap atoms to facilitate quantum applications.

5 Kassem Fawaz, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, demonstrated his lab's work related to digital privacy and smartphone apps. Fawaz and his colleagues have reverse engineered the TikTok and Instagram smartphone apps to uncover what kinds of information they store about users based on uploaded images. They have also developed a non-digital method for spoofing voice recognition software using 3D-printed nylon pipes. Photo by: Bryce Richter

6 The delegation also received a behind-the-scenes tour of Morgridge Hall, the future home of the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences, which is set to open in summer 2025. The state-of-the-art building will allow UW to continue attracting top faculty and students to its increasingly popular programs in computer science, data science and related fields. Photo by: Bryce Richter

7 Following the tours, Hartman delivered a keynote address to UW students, faculty and researchers at the DeLuca Forum, in which he made a case for continuing to bolster relationships between USCYBERCOM and top research universities like UW-Madison. "We're not only building partnerships - we're building the next generation of cyber leaders," Hartman said. Photo by: Bryce Richter

8 Later, in a fireside chat event, Hartman and Vice Chancellor for Research Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska discussed the critical role that academic institutions like UW-Madison play in advancing cyber capabilities, developing new technologies and preparing a capable workforce. The conversation also touched on UW's RISE-AI initiative, which is boosting the hiring of faculty who work on issues related to artificial intelligence. AI will play an increasingly important role in cyber defense, Hartman said. Photo by: Bryce Richter

9 Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, director of the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences, kicked off the Tech Talk series. He underscored UW's ongoing investments in cyber and high-tech fields, with the new construction of Morgridge Hall and the Philip A. Levy Engineering Center. Photo by: Bryce Richter

10 Arpaci-Dusseau leads a tour of new CDIS Building under construction during a campus tour with Lt. Gen. Joe Hartman, deputy commander of U.S. Cyber Command. Photo by: Bryce Richter