Rep. Henry Bonilla dedicates UTSA infrastructure security center
(Aug. 11, 2003)--Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, formally dedicated The University of Texas at San Antonio's Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at a luncheon Friday on the 1604 Campus. CIAS, funded primarily by the U.S. Air Force, supports research in the College of Sciences, Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and the College of Business.
Pictured are Lee Sutterfield, chair of the CIAS Advisory Board; Maj. Gen. Paul Lebras, commander, Air Intelligence Agency; UTSA President Ricardo Romo; and Bonilla. The leaders are shown clicking on mouses for the electronic groundbreaking of CIAS.
"I am extremely appreciative of everyone at the university who has dedicated
their time and intelligence to this important center," said Bonilla.
"The developments made here will mean a safer and more secure country."
Bonilla, as a senior member of the House Department of Defense Appropriations
Committee, helped secure $6 million for CIAS over the past two years.
"We express our gratitude for Congressman Bonilla's continuing support
of the CIAS program as we look to expand our research in support of homeland
security," said UTSA President Ricardo Romo.
The center was recently reconstituted as a university-wide center under the
vice provost for research and graduate studies to further expand its linkages
to faculty in multiple departments. CIAS is responsible for the widely regarded
"Dark Screen" security planning exercise and similar tabletop infrastructure
security planning projects.
CIAS was established in 2001 to leverage San Antonio's infrastructure assurance
strengths and to bolster research and educational initiatives in the field.
The multidisciplinary research center is a partnership between academia, the
information technology security industry and the local Air Intelligence Agency
to address the technical and policy issues of information assurance and security
and to provide education training.
UTSA is the first Texas university and one of 50 in the nation with the "Center
for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education" designation
by the National Security Agency. The designation means UTSA's curriculum and
faculty meet or exceed NSA standards to teach information-assurance security
and makes the university eligible to apply for grants from NSA and the National
Science Foundation.
For more information, visit the CIAS Web site.
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2003