TU Professor Participates in NSF Congressional Showcase

TU Professor Participates in NSF Congressional Showcase

October 02, 2024

Contact: Thonnia Lee, Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing

Tuskegee University is proud to acknowledge the work of Dr. Fan Wu, Professor and Head of Computer Science, who recently presented during a congressional showcase hosted by the National Science Foundation, U.S. House Artificial Intelligence Caucus and U.S. Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

There were 13 NSF-funded projects invited to the showcase of the thousands of projects funded annually. Thanks to Ariel Bowman '21, Tuskegee was the only team who brought an alumnus working at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to support the event.

Dr. Wu shared with the attendees that Tuskegee received a five-year, $2.9 million grant from the NSF for CyberCorps Scholarship for Service and a Cyber Bridge program for non-cybersecurity majors to introduce them to that field of study.

"Tuskegee's Scholarship for Service program is to help prepare qualified and well-trained professionals in AI/ML and cybersecurity to address the global and national cybersecurity challenges," said Dr. Wu of the collaboration with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. "The NSF's CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service is a highly prestigious and competitive program. The Tuskegee University SFS program is to produce more well-prepared SFS graduates with integrated AI and cybersecurity competencies and place them in the federal government to help address the fast-growing cybersecurity threats aggravated by rapid advancements in AI technologies."

Dr. Wu said this SFS grant will provide senior undergraduate students and students applying to or currently pursuing a Master of Science in Information System and Computer Security degree scholarships of about $65,000 for senior students and $75,000 for graduate students, including tuition, stipends, health insurance, book allowance, and professional development allowance.

The university first received a CyberCorps Scholarship for Service grant in 2017 and have recruited 16 SFS scholars, nine of whom graduated from MS-ISCS program. Currently, 100% of the SFS graduates who have been placed are in the executive branch of the federal government, five are in the pipeline. They have done several summer internships in the executive branch of the federal government, which prepared them well for their placement when they graduate.

"Industry studies estimate that over 800,000 Cyber Security attacks occur each year ranging from phishing, ransomware, and data security breaches," said Dr. Mark A. Brown, President of Tuskegee. "No industry is totally safe and the impacts are costly. That's exactly why Tuskegee students should work on this complex problem and be led by Dr. Wu! He is prepared and our students will be as well. Once again, Tuskegee will be a key part to a national solution of a complex problem with the potential to harm us all. I could not be prouder of Dr. Wu and the students he leads!"

As one of 94 SFS participating institutions nationally and one of six participating HBCUs, the impact of this funded program goes a long way in increasing the number of culturally diverse cyber security professionals in government service. The university focus to extend training opportunities to non-computer science students through the Cyber-Bridge pipeline program is a positive step in expanding cyber opportunities to applied and liberal science majors.

The SFS program will implement cohort programs and students will gain common cohort experiences including taking common curriculum in one cohort; required forum/field trips; collaborative research; security conference participation; Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC); and K-12 outreach. These strong, well-designed academic programs, high-quality student services, past experiences built from prior NSF awards, and a network of industry partnerships help to ensure scholar success.

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