Morgan Faculty & Students Participate in NSA Cyber and Telecomm Research Program

This summer, as part of a new collaboration with the National Security Agency (NSA), three Morgan State University faculty members, five doctoral students and one undergraduate from the School of Engineering’s Center for Reverse Engineering and Assured Microelectronics (CREAM) will participate in a unique summer research program aimed at studying today’s challenges to IoT (Internet of Things) security and RF communications. Additionally, the Morgan team will be tasked to create prototype solutions that improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and usability of current systems and practices in these areas. The opportunity to be involved in this important research was made available through a $100,000 research award from NSA and will take place at the Laboratory for Telecommunication Sciences located on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park.

The Morgan faculty members involved include the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s Drs. Kevin Kornegay (IoT Security Professor and Director), Michel Reece, and Willie Thompson, along with doctoral students Asia Mason, Drew Grant, Denzel Hamilton, Michael Talley, and Tellrel White. The lone undergraduate student involved is Devin Booker. Together, the group brings a wealth of knowledge to the program through their experience with Morgan’s CREAM laboratory and research facility. CREAM was established to produce skilled cybersecurity engineers that aid the electronics industry and intelligence community in preventing penetration and manipulation of the nation’s electronic infrastructure.

The understanding gained from this collaborative effort with NSA will enhance on-going government cybersecurity and telecommunications projects. The duration of the program is ten weeks for student participants, while faculty are expected to spend at least two half days per week to meet with and monitor the research progress of the students.