REU Site: CyberSAFE@UALR: Cyber Security and Forensics Research at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock

University Of Arkansas Little Rock, Little Rock AR

Investigators

Abstract

This site is co-funded by the CISE Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) Program. This funding establishes a new Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. Undergraduate students will participate in summer research focused on the integration of fundamental security and forensics research with the latest technical advances in mobile computing, cloud computing, and social networks. The research is led by an experienced faculty team that plans to offer a balance of theory, applications, and practical skills as well as mentoring and professional development opportunities for the students. The site will focus on recruiting students from the South Central region of the United States using established regional connections. The intellectual merit of this project lies in strong research basis and the expertise of the faculty. The projects are in research areas that are current and address national priorities. The site will leverage its National Security Agency designated Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education and NSF funded Cloud Computing Research Instrument and Computational Research Center to enhance and enrich participants' competitive research experiences. The undergraduate student participants will be able to gain a broad and unified picture of the significance of security and forensics through interactions with university professors, professionals and researchers in forensics labs, practitioners in IT industry, and security officers in military service. The research has the potential to contribute to the research core of the emerging field of cyber security. The broader impacts are centered on the opportunities for a diverse pool of students to gain research experiences in cyber security and forensics. The site will capitalize on the established collaborations and communication channels with regional institutions for student recruitment. Through extensive research training and careful mentoring, this program has a great potential to attract fresh young minds into graduate schools and advance the state of the art of research and education in cyber security and forensics at undergraduate level in the South Central part of the United States.