The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) has been re-designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research (CAE-R) by the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C).

The designation was earned after a comprehensive review of cybersecurity-related research activities and outcomes from the students, faculty and research staff involved in computer science and computer engineering doctoral programs and in the UAH Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education (CCRE).

The CAE-R re-designation is now approved through academic year 2028.

“The CAE-R designation tells employers that our students, faculty and staff are conducting research at the cutting edge of cybersecurity,” said the UAH Director of the CCRE and Eminent Scholar and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dr. Tommy Morris. “The designation also tells government agencies that they can come to us for help solving hard cybersecurity problems. There are only 79 schools with this designation in the United States, and only 48 schools nationally that hold both the Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research and Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense designations. We are proud to be among that select group.”

The NCAE-C, the program that makes these designations, is managed by the National Security Agency, along with other federal partners, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, the U.S. Cyber Command and the National Science Foundation. The CAE-R designation is awarded to Department of Defense (DOD) schools, Ph.D.-producing military academies and regionally accredited, degree-granting four-year institutions.

“The designation recognizes that UAH is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity, that we have a large number of student, faculty and staff researchers producing high volumes of cybersecurity-related research and that we have adequate funding to continue supporting that research into the future,” Morris explained.

In making the announcement, the National CAE Program Manager, NSA Renae Weathers, noted that UAH’s capacity to fulfill the escalating requirements of the program criteria was a main factor in the schools re-designation. The National Cyber Strategy acknowledges the pressing need for cybersecurity professionals and underscores the role of higher education in fortifying America’s cyber domain.

Weathers also noted that UAH can aid in providing a proficient cybersecurity workforce, one of the major goals with in terms of educational outreach.

“The CAE-R designation reflects the advanced research in cybersecurity being done at UAH. Cybersecurity faculty research has been funded by the Air Force Research Lab, the National Institute of Justice, NASA, the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation,” noted UAH Computer Science Department Chair, Dr. Letha Etzkorn.

Examples include GPS-denied positioning, machine learning applications, digital forensics, reverse engineering, psychological attacks and cloud security, Etzkorn reported.

“Many UAH computer science alumni work as DOD civilian employees and as government contractors. Also, some of our alumni have worked or are working for the Space and Missile Defense Command, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency and NASA, among others,” continued Etzkorn.

For more information, please visit www.uah.edu/news.