The UTSA National Security Collaboration Center and co-locating partners are slated to move to a new facility, rendered here, in 2022 in the heart of San Antonio’s burgeoning high-tech corridor.
AUGUST 10, 2021 — Maegen Nix from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU APL) recently met with the UTSA National Security Collaboration Center faculty, staff, and industry partners to discuss and share their complementary research in critical infrastructure resilience and cyber operations.
Though renowned globally for its national health mission and its school of public health, the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is the research arm of the institution and is a designated University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). It has a diversified portfolio of more than 600 programs with research and development, primarily with the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Security Agency and its sponsors.
One of the APL’s core competencies is cybersecurity and advanced analytics, focused on security concerns of the nation’s military, and mission-related research and development. This dovetails well with the NSCC’s mission to provide a unique environment where industry, government, and academic partners can collaborate to address current and future national security issues.
“Expanding our partnership between the two organizations will provide opportunities for UTSA students and researchers to have paid internships at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, a global leading research institution and the largest UARC in the U.S.,” said (ret.) Gen. Guy Walsh, UTSA NSCC founding executive director. “They are tackling the most challenging and complex problems, and it is a dream come true as APL does applied research across all domains whether real or virtual including sea, air, land, space, and cyber.”
JHU-APL also offers a Technology Leadership Scholars (ATLAS) summer intern program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities. It is a unique paid summer engineering program that provides college students who have completed their freshman year with educational opportunities in research, leadership development, and professional growth. UTSA students are encouraged to apply through the JHU-APL website.
Faculty also discussed their research and how their data and techniques could serve as a resource to enhance national security and have synergies with the APL.
The Cyber Center for Security and Analytics provided a tour of its Cyber Protective Operations Lab led by technical program director and research scientist Oren Upton. The team is conducting vulnerability analysis and digital forensic analysis of commercial and consumer Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smart home devices in collaboration with federal partners. Their analysis will help provide data for future research and help law enforcement and national security elements better protect IoT devices connected to the internet.
Glenn Dietrich of the Institute for Cyber Security (ICS) Lab demonstrated the SCADA wall and its value to students, with a simulation of the electrical grid and the use of AI in detecting and ameliorating exploits. The San Antonio Virtual Environments (SAVE) lab exhibited its research in augmented, mixed, and virtual reality (VR) as it applies to real world solutions in medical training, education, and rehabilitation.
External partners were also in attendance. Jeremy Nelson, deputy director, and Micah Wright, program manager, from the Military Health Institute at UT Health San Antonio provided an overview of the institute and the need to support our active duty military, veterans, and their families through research, clinical advocacy, engagement and education. Mike Runnels, UT Health’s senior information security analyst, also provided an overview of the UT Health Information Security Program.
These ongoing collaborations and discussions add to the ever-growing national security knowledge base at UTSA. San Antonio is the second largest global cyber hub in the United States with a growing cyber ecosystem. The NSCC will be co-located with the UTSA School of Data Science in a new world-class research and education center near UTSA’s downtown campus in San Antonio and is scheduled to open in 2022.
UTSA is the nation’s only Hispanic Serving Institution with three Center of Excellence designations from the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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Join the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
