The research project, entitled, “Security Engineering for Resilient Mobile Cyber-Physical Systems,” will focus on significantly advancing the field of cybersecurity for networked systems.According to the NSF award abstract, the goal is to design, develop and evaluate the cyber-defense solutions for resilient cyber-physical systems using a federated framework.
“The rapid and massive connection of remotely accessible and reconfigurable cyber-physical system (CPS) devices, which can be any device, such as a smart car, make CPS systems more vulnerable to a multitude of cyber attacks,” says Rawat, who is also director of the University’s Data Science and Cybersecurity Center.
Rawat and Garuba plan to develop a mobile physical systems testbed for implementing and evaluating adaptive cyber-defense solutions.
“With this award, Howard University will be able to provide research assistantships to graduate and undergraduate students to work on this project to develop adaptive cyber defense solutions for CPS,” says Rawat.
The project is being supported by NSF’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (HBCU-RISE) initiative and aligns with national efforts to produce the next-generation of cybersecurity experts for government and academia.
“I am delighted to see our faculty vigorously transform our college, while engaging our students in conquering the daunting technological challenges of our time,” says Dean Achille Messac, Ph.D., College of Engineering and Architecture. “Dr. Rawat and Dr. Garuba are exemplary change agents in our college, and I am proud of them.”
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About Howard University’s College of Engineering & Architecture
The College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) is one of Howard University’s 13 schools and colleges. The CEA comprises the five departments of Architecture, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering. The CEA offers fully accredited Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs. Graduate degree programs with abounding research opportunities offered in the engineering disciplines are Master of Science, Master of Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy. Certificates in Cybersecurity and other professional programs are also offered. CEA graduates possess the ability to apply their knowledge of mathematics, science, design and engineering to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems and understand the impact of architectural and engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context.
About National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2018, its budget is $7.8 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 50,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards.
About HBCU Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering (RISE) awards support the development of research capability at Historically Black Colleges and Universities that offer doctoral degrees in science and engineering disciplines. Supported projects must have a unifying research focus in one of the research areas supported by NSF, a direct connection to the long-term plans of the host department(s), institutional strategic plan and mission, and plans for expanding institutional research capacity as well as increasing the production of doctoral students, especially those underrepresented in STEM.
Media contact: Ramzey Smith, ramzey.smith@howard.edu
