Cybersecurity

From NOVA to NNSA, this student is putting people first in cybersecurity

sholla4 — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 13:18:50 +0000

From NOVA to NNSA, this student is putting people first in cybersecurity sholla4 Fri, 08/21/2026 - 09:18

Siddartha Shakya believes that there's more to cybersecurity than just hacking. The 911�� Bachelor's to Accelerated Master's Applied Science student spent his summer interning with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and now he’s even more confident in the importance of balancing humans and machines.

Photo provided

After graduating from high school, Shakya took a two-year gap before starting his studies at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). Both financially and mentally, Shakya said he wasn't ready for college. But after working a few unfulfilling jobs, he knew it was time to go back.

"I always remember being the tech kid in my family: helping my parents set up their computers, teaching them how to navigate websites, and things like that," he said. Part of that role included protecting them from online scams. "I decided I wanted to go into a field where I could help prevent scams, so no families have to go through that."

Shakya transferred to 911�� through the ADVANCE Program after earning his associate of applied science in cybersecurity. During his time at both schools, Shakya worked to fill out his resume and develop his skills. He dove into the world of cyber competitions with the National Cyber League, U.S. Cyber Games, and PatriotHacks, among others.

He completed multiple certifications through the Computing Technology Industry Association and was named a 2025 ISACA Greater Washington DC Chapter Scholar, Cyber Ready Professionals Consortium Cohort 3 Scholar, and CrowdStrike × Cyber Skyline Mentee. And he made sure to give back through volunteering opportunities like the College of Engineering and Computing's Spring into STEM.

"I was constantly looking for ways to learn, gain experience, help other people, and get involved where I could," he said.

The one thing missing? A paid internship. Through the U.S. Cyber Games, Shakya connected with the U.S. Department of Energy Scholars Program, earning a spot in the summer 2026 cohort and an internship with the NNSA.

Shakya has worked on two main projects. The first is a full assessment of the NNSA's Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management Hub, combing through documentation for outdated policy, practice, or information. The second is piloting NetRise: a software supply chain security program. Specifically, he's cataloging what artificial intelligence (AI) systems are being used across the organization and whether they comply with the NNSA's cybersecurity policies.

"There's a big push toward AI use, and with that comes a push for transparency and making sure all software aligns with our mission and security standards," Shakya explained.

Getting hands-on with so many different AI tools is something Shakya hopes can be applied to his coursework and future career, particularly because he's planning a future in federal work. "People think cybersecurity is all about hacking," he said. "But it's also about communication. If you can't communicate clearly about the tools, what to use, and how to use them, then there are going to be mistakes and delays."

That person-first approach was a revelation for Shakya. As evidenced by his long resume of team-based cyber competitions and his enjoyment of the course IT 343 IT Project Management, "I like to work in teams, I like talking to people. I always want a balance of technical work and people-facing work."

And taking an authentic, person-first approach is also his best advice for fellow students. "Network, meet people, and be yourself," he said. "I know there's an urge to over-prepare for interviews, but people crave authenticity. Practice, but don't read off a script."

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911�� prepares to launch new PhD in cybersecurity engineering

Nathan Kahl — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:57:39 +0000

911�� prepares to launch new PhD in cybersecurity engineering Nathan Kahl Mon, 08/17/2026 - 12:57

In This Story

Paulo Costa

Tanvir Arafin

911�� will soon offer a new doctoral degree in cybersecurity engineering, a milestone reflecting both the rapid evolution of the cybersecurity field and the continued growth of the university's Department of Cyber Security Engineering (CYSE). The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) approved the new PhD program in July.

"This is not just an administrative accomplishment," said CYSE Chair Paulo Cesar Costa. "It is an important recognition of the strength, maturity, and future direction of our department. It marks a major step forward in our ability to educate students in cybersecurity with the engineering depth and systems perspective that define CYSE."

He said, “The main challenge we faced with SCHEV was that we had to explain how cybersecurity was already a discipline of its own.” He points to the history of computer science as a useful comparison. Decades ago, computer science existed within electrical engineering before technological advances created the need for dedicated departments and schools. "We were able to convince SCHEV that the new discipline is actually overdue already."

As society becomes increasingly dependent on internet-connected devices, automated systems, and artificial intelligence (AI), the field is expanding beyond defending computer networks. "Cybersecurity includes a lot more than just hacking computers. There's the human factor, there's policymaking, there's how we train people. And now with the advent of AI, it basically turned around all the knowledge that we had about cybersecurity."

Cyberattacks that once required months of planning by highly skilled teams can now be executed far more quickly using AI agents, while researchers are already seeing examples of AI systems exploiting vulnerabilities in other AI systems.

"Cybersecurity and AI are no longer adjacent problems,” said Amarda Shehu, vice president and chief AI officer for the university. “AI supplies new defenses and new attack surfaces, and that demands researchers trained in engineering depth rather than in tools that expire. 911�� has been at the forefront of cybersecurity engineering for years, and this doctorate is the next step—producing those researchers at a public university whose obligation is to widen access to such expertise."

Costa said, "The whole discipline is evolving so fast that if we don't focus on this and get prepared, it's not that the CYSE department is not going to succeed. It's that the country will not have the capable cybersecurity professionals it needs."

For Costa, the PhD program is the latest step in a journey that began more than a decade ago. "When the cybersecurity department was created, it was created in a very unconventional way," he said. "It was created as a result of our own success in the bachelor's program."

The bachelor's degree launched in 2015 as a standalone academic program, with courses taught by faculty from other departments; enrollment quickly exceeded expectations. "It exploded in success," Costa said. "When it crossed 400 students, the dean's office created a new department."

The department later added a master's program, but Costa knew that “any department seeking to be known for its excellence has to have its own PhD program."

By 2023, he believed the department had the necessary infrastructure. "When I became chair, I allocated a lot of resources to start that program; it requires a lot more than just one guy writing stuff," Costa said.

Costa credited CYSE Professor Zhengdao Wang and Assistant Professor Tanvir Arafin for their extensive work developing and refining the proposal.

Wang said the program is designed to educate the next generation of cybersecurity experts. "We have an interdisciplinary curriculum that emphasizes security by design, integrates AI throughout the curriculum and research, and prepares graduates to address emerging challenges. The program will translate fundamental discoveries into practical solutions while strengthening the cybersecurity workforce and research enterprise.”

The college will implement a recruitment plan for the program soon, and it will be listed on the University Catalog in the near future.

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Cybersecurity Research

Department of Cyber Security Engineering

Campus News

doctoral students

CCI Awards $975,000 to Advance Cybersecurity Innovation

Martha Bushong — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 15:46:19 +0000

CCI Awards $975,000 to Advance Cybersecurity Innovation Martha Bushong Thu, 07/30/2026 - 11:46

In This Story

Liza Wilson Durant

The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) has awarded $975,000 to 13 cybersecurity innovation projects through its 2026 CATAPULT and ASCEND funds, continuing its investment in technologies and ideas with the potential to address critical cybersecurity challenges and create real-world impact.

Led by CCI's Northern Virginia Node in partnership with the CCI Hub, the program supports researchers as they advance promising cybersecurity innovations toward commercialization and deployment.

"Our priority is to translate the great research that happens in CCI into products and services that improve people’s lives,” said Luiz DaSilva, CCI executive director. “These programs connect the researchers who built something real with the people who know how to get it to market."

Supporting Technologies with Real-World Potential

The funded projects span a range of cybersecurity priorities, including telecommunications and 5G infrastructure security, health care data protection, artificial intelligence and enterprise environments, critical infrastructure resilience, and security for smart manufacturing, logistics, and mobility systems.

Researchers from Christopher Newport University, 911��, Old Dominion University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Tech are leading the projects, reflecting the breadth of cybersecurity expertise across Virginia's research institutions.

Bridging the Gap Between Research and Commercialization

The CATAPULT and ASCEND programs are designed to help bridge the gap between research and market adoption by supporting technologies with strong potential for commercial, societal, and national security impact.

"The greatest challenge in commercializing research is rarely the technology itself. It's building the pathway to commercial viability," said Liza Wilson Durant, director of the CCI Northern Virginia Node. "Too many promising innovations fail to reach the market because inventors lack the market knowledge, investor networks, and business expertise needed to turn breakthrough discoveries into successful products. This program helps close that gap and accelerate the transition from research to real-world impact."

Building Virginia's Cybersecurity Ecosystem

The newly funded teams represent a growing pipeline of cybersecurity innovators working to translate research into practical solutions that can strengthen cybersecurity across industries and sectors. As the projects progress, they will contribute to CCI's broader goal of advancing innovation, supporting entrepreneurship, and strengthening Virginia's cybersecurity ecosystem.

CCI will continue to share updates on the funded teams as they advance their technologies, validate new approaches, and pursue opportunities in the marketplace.

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Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI)

Research

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Student research advances phishing detection and cybersecurity innovation

Katelynn C Hipolito — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 13:52:13 +0000

Student research advances phishing detection and cybersecurity innovation Katelynn C Hipolito Mon, 06/15/2026 - 09:52

Taylor Le, BS Information Technology ‘26, was participating in the Professional Readiness Experiential Program (PREP) internship at Mobius when he was put in contact with Brian Ngac, the assistant dean for centers and FedWriters, Inc., Corporate Partner Faculty Fellow at the Costello College of Business at 911��, who was helping to fund the program.

(left to right) Tien Nguyen, Taylor Le, Richard Nguyen, and Brian Ngac at the 2026 Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Symposium. Photo provided by Brian Ngac.

During weekly check-ins throughout the internship, Ngac provided Le with a more in-depth understanding of PREP, an experiential learning program he launched at Costello. Le expressed interest in conducting research on phishing detection to which Ngac encouraged him to develop a proposal so he could help secure funding. The PREP internship was sponsored by the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, which also supported the research conducted by Le and his team.

To conduct formal research on a multi-signal phishing detection and continuous user training platform, Le recruited two Virginia Tech computer science students—Tien Nguyen and Richard Nguyen—whom he met through networking. The industry participant Ngac paired them with was Parsons Corporation, a digitally enabled solutions provider at which he also works. Nathan Dykas, senior computational intelligence officer, and Daniel Boyce, AI (artificial intelligence)/ML (machine learning) engineer, mentored the student team during weekly meetings, providing recommendations and guidance on the direction of their research.

“It was awesome to see all the different professors and other students who are going down the same path as us and to see what they were doing with their research, as well as to get additional feedback that we could use to improve our own research.”

— Taylor Le, BS Information Technology ‘26

In collaboration with Parsons Corporation, the team developed Orion, a platform designed for phishing detection and user training. Orion was developed to address the issue of detecting modern phishing pages by combining machine learning with contextual guidance. It turns detection into an immediate teaching moment by mapping findings for the user, showing which parts of the page triggered concern.

Orion was selected for demonstration at the 2026 Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Symposium in Richmond, Virginia, where the team forged valuable connections and gained insights to further strengthen the platform.

“It was awesome to see all the different professors and other students who are going down the same path as us and to see what they were doing with their research, as well as to get additional feedback that we could use to improve our own research,” says Le. The entire team made the trip for the symposium, where they had a booth playing their demo video and where they conducted a live demo as well.

“Being an information technology major, I always thought that I was kind of looped into only being able to do IT-based jobs,” says Le. “But doing a technical project like this gave me more confidence to strive higher and chase those cyber engineering jobs, which I feel like, without the program, I wouldn’t be in the same spot.”

The team’s successful showcase at the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Symposium underscores how experiential learning, research, and industry partnerships can come together to prepare students to develop innovative solutions in the fields of AI and cybersecurity. Because of PREP and its invaluable industry connections, Le graduated with greater clarity, confidence, and direction, ready to make his mark in these evolving fields.

In This Story

Brian Ngac

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Experiential Learning Program

Professional Readiness Experiential Program

Costello College of Business News

Corporate Partner Faculty Fellow

Costello College of Business Students

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Students

Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI)

Chaos theory finds its voice

Nathan Kahl — Tue, 19 May 2026 15:42:55 +0000

Chaos theory finds its voice Nathan Kahl Tue, 05/19/2026 - 11:42

Talk may be cheap, but it is still rich with data, and 911��'s Anomadarshi Barua is using artificial intelligence (AI) and a new approach to chaos theory to rebuild missing pieces of speech with incredible accuracy.

"When we talk, our voices have a frequency component from zero kilohertz (kHz) to around 8 kHz," said Barua, an assistant professor in the Department of Cyber Security Engineering. "Capturing all those frequencies normally requires devices to collect and process large amounts of data, which consumes power, storage, and computing resources."

He will present a paper he coauthored on this topic at the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) annual meeting later this summer. ACL is one of the world's leading conferences in natural language processing and speech technologies, and the paper was accepted in the top 15 percent of accepted submissions at a conference with a 19 percent acceptance rate overall.

Smaller devices and sensors operating with limited battery life or bandwidth have difficulty capturing an entire signal, and so record a smaller slice, attempting to reconstruct the missing frequencies later. Barua says this is known as bandwidth extension or bandwidth reconstruction.

Imagine listening to a song through a wall and trying to mentally fill in the muffled higher notes. Barua's research teaches AI systems to do something similar, but with far greater mathematical precision. The team's major breakthrough came from incorporating a concept not often associated with speech: chaos theory.

"Our speech is actually a chaotic signal," Barua said. "'Chaos' does not mean completely random."

Instead, he describes speech as "deterministically random," meaning sounds and phonemes are strongly connected to one another in predictable ways. "You can actually determine what could be the next phoneme if you have the sufficient information from the previous phoneme," he said.

To capture those hidden relationships, the researchers developed what Barua calls a "chaotic discriminator" inside a machine-learning framework known as a generative adversarial network, or GAN. In simple terms, one part of the AI system generates reconstructed speech while another checks whether the recreated speech preserves the natural chaotic patterns found in human voices.

The approach significantly improved reconstruction quality compared to previous methods. "We are getting more improved results compared to the previous baseline," Barua said, "because of the incorporation of the chaotic properties."

By integrating chaos-informed modeling, the team dramatically reduced the size of the AI system needed for reconstruction. "We actually reduce the size of the discriminator by 14 times," Barua said. Smaller models require less memory and computing power, making them more practical for real-world devices.

For Barua, whose earlier work focused primarily on cybersecurity before expanding into speech and natural language processing, the ACL conference's acceptance marks an important milestone. "This is my first paper in natural language processing," he said.

While the current paper focuses on speech, Barua sees much broader possibilities ahead. The same reconstruction techniques could eventually be applied to electrical signals, sonar, lidar, and other sensing technologies. "This concept is not only limited to speech," he said. "We are trying to open up a larger branch in different signal modality."

And that message comes through loud and clear.

In This Story

Anomadarshi Barua

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Powering Artificial Intelligence

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C-TASC

Graduation spotlight series: Mile by mile, running for success

tdonnel — Tue, 12 May 2026 19:36:42 +0000

Graduation spotlight series: Mile by mile, running for success tdonnel Tue, 05/12/2026 - 15:36

When Simeon Omorodion crossed the finish line of the 130th Boston Marathon this April for the first time, he wasn’t just completing a race. He was confirming something he’d been building toward for years—that running wasn’t a hobby or a side pursuit, but a core part of who he is.

At 911��, that identity never existed in isolation. An Honors College student and long-distance runner, Omorodion found the same logic threading through both pursuits: structure, persistence, and a tolerance for discomfort that eventually becomes growth.

Simeon Omorodion runs the 130th Boston Marathon. Photo provided.

This May, he earned his degree in information technology, specializing in cybersecurity with a minor in Japanese studies.

This pairing surprises people. But for Omorodion, it makes perfect sense. His interest in cybersecurity comes down to problem-solving under pressure—the same discipline that gets a runner through mile 20.

His passion for Japanese studies dates back to childhood, when anime introduced him to stories of perseverance and the impossible becoming possible. He joined the Japanese Student Association his freshman year and studied in Japan in the summer of 2024. “Why don’t I just learn this beautiful language?” he said, “this language that has allowed me to see visions of impossibles becoming possible.

Omorodion (right) with classmates at the conclusion of a Japanese language presentation during his summer 2024 study-abroad program in Japan. Photo provided.

The two halves of his life at 911�� reinforce each other in ways he didn’t anticipate. “It’s like a symbiotic relationship,” he said. “Without the athletics, it’s hard for me to engage within the academics. With the academics, it helps me to engage in athletics.”

Those connections extended beyond the classroom and the track. Through the Patriot Run Club and his role in Housing and Residence Life as a resident assistant, he found the sense of belonging that made everything else easier. “It made me feel connected,” he said, “connected to this environment, to the 911�� culture.”

Omorodion celebrates at the finish line of the 130th Boston Marathon, medal in hand. Photo provided.

To students still on the fence about getting involved and pursing what they are passionate about, his advice is direct: do it, and don’t expect to regret it.

After graduation, Omorodion plans to continue merging the passions he discovered during his time at 911��. He will work for the global sportswear company ASICS in Boston as a marketplace operations coordinator, a role that would keep him rooted in the running world while building a career.

He arrived at 911�� without a clear plan. Through running and his academics, Omorodion leaves with a deeper understanding of himself and what drives him—and a conviction that not having it figured out from the start was never the problem.

“You are going to transform a lot during college,” he said, “and that could be a very positive transformation.”

Note: This article was written by Tiffany Boggs, Student Media, and edited by Chelsea Xu, UL Marketing and Communications. It was originally published on 911��'s University Life website.

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911�� secures grant to expand high school cybersecurity internships in Northern Virginia

sbrown79 — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:57:14 +0000

911�� secures grant to expand high school cybersecurity internships in Northern Virginia sbrown79 Thu, 04/09/2026 - 16:57

911��’s Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) Northern Virginia (NoVa) Node recently received a $150,793 grant from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority for “CCI Scholars—High School Experiential Learning Program FY26,” a seven-week high school summer internship program for rising seniors and recent graduates of Northern Virginia public high schools.

The program provides hands-on experiential learning opportunities for high school students with local STEM and cybersecurity industry partners, addressing workforce gaps in the commonwealth.

“Given the gap between the number of cybersecurity-related job openings and the number of skilled graduates, creating opportunities for younger learners to spark that interest is critical,” said Liza Wilson Durant, director of the CCI Northern Virginia Node and associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement at 911��.

CCI 2025 at CGI Bootcamp. Photo provided.

CCI is partnering with the Children’s Science Center Lab and STEM programs, operated by the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The organization delivers STEM education at its Fairfax-based museum facility and to schools and community venues across the region and will support program administration for the CCI Scholars program.

“We are proud to collaborate with 911�� in growing the next generation of cybersecurity talent through the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Internship Program,” said Nene Spivy, Chief Executive Officer at the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation. “Together we provide students with practical workplace skills and direct exposure to industry and careers that are critical to our nation’s future.”

“The Children’s Science Center is exemplary and has been running high school internship programs for many years. The center understands the challenges younger learners face and provides support to help overcome obstacles,” Wilson Durant said.

The program also acts as a pathway opportunity for the students who get to meet George Mason faculty and learn about the different community engagement opportunities that the university presents.

Students are selected through a competitive process that includes written responses, recommendation letters, transcripts, and in-person interviews conducted by industry professionals and Children’s Science Center staff. Selected students are matched with host organizations such as CGI Federal, ManTech, Leidos, and Chainbridge Solutions.

CCI 2025 at CGI Bootcamp. Photo provided.

Before starting their internships, students complete a professional skills bootcamp covering workplace etiquette, time management, teamwork, communication, and public speaking.

Once students are placed, they engage in cybersecurity-focused projects, that include addressing emerging cyber threats related to AI agents and digital twins, investigating cybersecurity incidents in the context of satellites, and expanding the technical capabilities of a host company’s product.

“We don't get a lot of hands-on experience in high school cybersecurity classes, so the opportunity of experiencing a professional workplace environment really intrigued me,” said Sridevi Annamalai, a sophomore cybersecurity student.

For her internship, Annamalai was placed with CGI Federal, a global consulting company for technology and business.

“I was assigned to make a presentation on cybersecurity basics for their nonprofit partners as well as conduct tests for different cybersecurity products,” said Annamalai, who is from Prince William County.

“There was a new product on the market, which they were considering, so I was able to help them compare the products and decide which one the company would invest in,” she said.

Annamalai credits her experience with the CCI Program for helping to prepare her for the courses in 911��’s cybersecurity program.

“I've grown a lot more confident in myself, and my presentation skills have really improved a lot because of this internship,” said Annamalai.

Experiences such Annamalai’s prepare students for future careers both through technical and professional skills-building, as well as exposing them to the breadth of career opportunities they may not have known existed, said Wilson Durant.

Since its launch in 2021, the program has served 175 students. CCI and the Children’s Science Center are now reconnecting with alumni to track career outcomes and gather feedback.

Learn about Cybersecurity at 911��

In This Story

Liza Wilson Durant

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Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI)

education-to-employment pathways

Community Engagement

experiential learning

internships

Students

Cybersecurity

Our Students Can Hack It

Katarina Benson — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 18:39:34 +0000

Our Students Can Hack It Katarina Benson Tue, 03/24/2026 - 14:39

911�� students have key roles to play in the future of cybersecurity—and they are rising to the occasion. Over the past few years, the university has advanced as a leader in this rapidly developing field. In the 2025 Country-to-Country Capture the Flag contest, for example, only 100 finalists were invited from the world over—and five of them were from 911��.

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

“Our students are focused and curious,” says Sai Manoj, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and advisor to George Mason hackathon participants. “And they're very interested in participating in hackathons.”

Hackathons, like PatriotHacks and other competitions such as Capture the Flag and Defend the Republic, are considered essential extracurricular activities by many students in the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC). Whether a student is passionate about hardware, software, datasets, AI-driven workflows, puzzle-solving, or flying robots, there is something for everyone.

“These competitions are an important bridge between our academic programs and the evolving demands of the technology and cybersecurity industries,” says Kamaljeet Sanghera, MS Information Systems ’00, executive director of talent development and a professor of information technology at CEC who has served as a faculty sponsor to 911��’s annual PatriotHacks.

She says these competitions complement students’ classroom education and allow them to gain real-world, hands-on experience while networking with professionals in settings that encourage innovative thinking.

“Industry involvement definitely enriches these experiences,” says Sanghera of the companies that sponsor these competitions. “Sponsors and mentors introduce students to real-world tools, datasets, and AI-driven workflows, helping them see how their skills apply in professional settings.”

And it opens doors for these students. One 911�� student, Fatima Majid, discovered this when she placed in the top 10 at the 2025 National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Cyber Competition against defense professionals. She so impressed those attending that the NDIA vice president introduced himself afterward, and she had a large group of attendees interested in talking to her.

Sanghera notes that these challenges also set George Mason grads up for post-collegiate success in other ways. “They challenge students to tackle complex problems under time constraints,” she says. “Whether by developing innovative solutions in a hackathon or analyzing and defending systems in a Capture the Flag competition, both experiences help students build technical skills, while also strengthening essential soft skills such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and creative thinking.”

These events provide important lessons, too, in learning how to get up again after experiencing difficult setbacks and challenges. The recent 911�� Fail-a-Thon encouraged students to “fail forward” by judging them on ambition, creativity, and iteration instead of penalizing for mistakes. “The goal was to celebrate experimentation and meaningful learning,” says Humaira Akhtari, a term instructor in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology, who judged the event.

Students don’t have to go far to find an opportunity either. The 2025 Raytheon Defend the Republic autonomous blimp contest, for example, took place on the Fairfax Campus in EagleBank Arena.

“911�� has a very strong background in general in security. It's not just about the faculty, but also the students and the locality,” says Manoj. “With the government and so many high-tech companies nearby, there’s a huge need for security in the area. That means that the students and faculty are seeing a lot of opportunities for growth.”

Meet a few of the 911�� students who are advancing in cyber competitions at the national level.

This content appears in the Spring 2026 print edition of the Mason Spirit Magazine.

More Than Meets the Eye

Katarina Benson — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:34:11 +0000

More Than Meets the Eye Katarina Benson Tue, 03/24/2026 - 13:34

The knifefish is a predatory fish with a distinctive frilly fin on its underside that allows it to move backward and forward. It’s normally found in South American rivers–so what is one doing wafting through the air in 911��’s EagleBank Arena?

Knifey, a nature-inspired blimp based on the knifefish’s movement (with an added ferocious glare), is just one of junior Alexia De Costa’s projects combining art and robotics. “I love any way to get people interested in tech and also understand complicated things visually,” she says.

De Costa played with robotics kits as a kid, then got into Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, where she developed her skills even further and connected them with her love of nature. “In high school, I made puppy, guinea pig, and bunny robots that could all do different things. I love figuring out how to make the robots more visually pleasing to make the interactions more appealing to the user.”

Alexia De Costa is an applied CS major. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

When De Costa came to 911�� as an applied computer science major and an Honors College student, she became involved in the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX). There, she ran a Robot Night workshop, teaching students how to make robots from scratch.

Since then, she has leveraged 911�� resources to power her projects. Through the Research and Interdisciplinary STEM Experiences (RISE) Scholars program, De Costa hosted a robot blimp-making workshop for middle school students. She also became involved with the Mason Autonomous Robotics Center (MARC) as a research assistant. This is where she designed and built Knifey, which she piloted in the 2025 Defend the Republic blimp competition in EagleBank Arena.

In 2025, also through MARC and with support from the Office of Student Creative Activities and Research, De Costa led a team of eight students to develop giant art and tech pieces. “It was a series of works to convey very technical information. It blends art and robotics to make these topics engaging to the general public.”

One of these pieces was a giant interactive eye with pixelated sensors that help viewers understand how computer vision works. Another was a lenticular design project illustrating how sea life inspires their robot blimps. De Costa is working to have these pieces installed at spots across campus.

Her current research project harkens back to her high school roots but with a twist. De Costa and her team took second place at Sauceathon 2025, a hardware-focused hackathon hosted by Open Sauce and the National Havoc Robot League, for their robotic cat.

The challenge began with a $500 combat robot kit and a mission: modify the base design to complete a rescue scenario in an apocalyptic setting. The 24-hour event tested De Costa and her team’s endurance and ingenuity. Against a backdrop of camera crews and livestreams, 911��’s team stood out for its creativity and adaptability. Even after a late-night power outage forced participants to improvise, the team completed two rescue runs, performing “emergency surgery” with duct tape between rounds.

“Usually hackathons are software focused, so building a robot was so much fun,” says De Costa. “Seeing it succeed was exciting. We’re definitely planning to attend the next one.”

They train, compete, and perform at the highest levels—only their arena is cybersecurity. Like top athletes, 911��'s cyber-focused students prove themselves when the pressure is on.

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From the Classroom to the Community: Cybersecurity in Action

Katarina Benson — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 17:38:31 +0000

From the Classroom to the Community: Cybersecurity in Action Katarina Benson Thu, 03/19/2026 - 13:38

911�� and Howard University have launched a new collaborative effort to prepare the next generation of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) professionals while strengthening the digital resilience of community based organizations.

From left, Cybersecurity + AI Clinic students Courtney Gill, Isabella Floyd, Michael Niebergall, and Sam Roland working with instructor Ali Jessani. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

The Cybersecurity + AI Clinic, a partnership between the National Security Institute’s Cyber and Tech Center (NSI CTC) at 911��’s Antonin Scalia Law School and the Howard University School of Business (HUSB), welcomed its first cohort earlier this academic year.

The one-year program blends rigorous academic preparation with hands-on service, giving students the opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world cybersecurity challenges. Supported by a seven-year, $1 million grant from Google, 911�� and Howard were selected to establish a cybersecurity and AI clinic that provides free support to nonprofits, local agencies, and other under-resourced organizations. As a member of the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, the program engages in faculty-level collaboration, shared learning, and ongoing development of best practices at the intersection of cybersecurity, law, and technology.

“AI is transforming every corner of our national security landscape, and cybersecurity has long been a critical concern for enterprises large and small,” says Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of NSI and principal investigator for the clinic. “We need leaders who understand both technology and policy and can apply them in practice. That is exactly what the clinic enables students to do. By tackling real challenges faced by our clients, students gain the hands-on, innovation-driven experience needed to lead in a world where cyber and AI touch every part of our society.”

The inaugural class includes 14 students: eight law students from 911�� and six HUSB undergraduates with a mix of computer science and mechanical engineering backgrounds. The cohort reflects 911��’s bold educational approach to the interdisciplinary nature of today’s cybersecurity and AI landscape by bringing together students who can analyze problems from technical, legal, and policy perspectives.

Clinic instructor Kathryn Ciano Mauler leads a class discussion. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

In the fall 2025 semester, Howard students traveled to 911��’s Fuse at Mason Square to attend class alongside Scalia Law students and gained a strong foundation in cybersecurity, risk management, data governance and privacy, and AI concepts. Two instructors—Kathryn Ciano Mauler, a product counsel attorney at Google, and Ali Jessani, counsel at WilmerHale in privacy, cybersecurity, and AI law—guided the students through their coursework.

“This clinic is truly a unique experience for students because it provides them with an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they learn in the classroom in a real-world setting,” says Jessani. “While some classes offer doctrinal lessons and others offer applied skills, this clinic provides students with both.”

“Here they learn not just the nuts and bolts of privacy and cybersecurity, but also the experience of speaking with clients, thinking on the spot, and tying together diverse experiences and issue spotting to provide real-world value in a supervised setting,” says Mauler. “The clinic classroom has brought together a diversity of experience across undergrad and law school students and their perspectives in a rich discussion.”

In addition to coursework, the students have gained professional skills essential for client-facing work, including learning how to conduct client interviews, present technical findings to nontechnical audiences, navigate project challenges, and draft written Recommendations.

Scalia Law School student Mike Niebergall says he applied to the clinic because he’s interested in how technologies like AI will affect the entertainment industry and the commercial world in general. “I have a background in music. With no cybersecurity or computer science background, the clinic has been incredibly eye-opening and has taught me how cybersecurity practices apply across many different spaces.”

“I wanted to gain experience learning how to work within legal frameworks to protect business operations and consumers with the rise of AI usage,” says HUSB undergraduate Courtney Gill. “As a senior at Howard University interested in practicing law, [I felt] the class simulated what it feels like to be in a law school classroom.”

“While many of my law classes asked me to consider harms that had already occurred, the clinic challenged me to think about managing risk and preventing legal liability from arising in the first place,” says Scalia Law School student Liam McGettigan. “For anyone interested in learning how to run an organization—and understanding the unavoidable challenges of the digital world—the Cybersecurity + AI Clinic should be on your radar.”

Some students, like law student Tate Kaufman, have been able to immediately apply what they learned in class. “The clinic has provided an invaluable look into the work of cyberlaw practitioners, while enabling me to stay on the cutting edge of AI law,” says Kaufman. “Knowledge from the clinic directly translated to my work as a clerk on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where I worked on issues relating to the emergence of generative AI and copyright.”

Entering the spring semester, students transitioned to hands-on client work, a core part of the clinic’s community-focused mission. Working in small groups of three to four students, and supported by expert instructors, each group is partnered with a client organization that may not have the expertise or resources to manage cybersecurity risk on their own.

The first group of clients includes the Arlington Free Clinic, Washington, D.C.-based Bread for the City, Center for Child and Family Advocacy in Arlington, and the charter school Digital Pioneer Academy.

Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

NSI CTC continues to welcome new partners who are looking to strengthen their cybersecurity resilience, and the clinic has a goal of increasing the number of clients served each clinic cycle.

Under the guidance of instructors and the leadership of Clinic Director Jessica Jones, students are providing a range of services for their clients, including conducting cybersecurity risk assessments; mapping organizational vulnerabilities; reviewing or drafting cybersecurity, AI-use, or incident response policies; and providing practical recommendations tailored to strengthen an organization’s overall security posture.

In May, students formally present their findings and recommendations to client representatives. They also present to their fellow students, with each group highlighting project results, sharing real-world challenges they faced, and reflecting on the lessons learned throughout their client engagements. The clinic’s year-long experience is a core part of preparing students for careers in a cyber field that increasingly demands interdisciplinary understanding and practical experience.

Admission to the program is competitive. Howard students apply as rising seniors, and 911�� students currently come from the law school. Applicants are not required to have prior cybersecurity experience—just interest and a willingness to engage.

All participants receive a stipend, helping ensure that financial barriers do not prevent qualified students from participating.

Looking ahead, the clinic anticipates welcoming students from a broader range of disciplines and additional 911�� programs, such as public policy, engineering, and business, to strengthen the interdisciplinary preparation needed to address evolving cyber and AI challenges.

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