This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports the development of a graduate training program in information security and privacy. Trainees will learn to translate the foundational principles of security and privacy into information technologies based on a deep understanding of social, economic, behavioral and public policy implications and requirements. The program will produce a cadre of technologists and scientists who can integrate technical, legal, financial, and psychological knowledge into practical solutions.
The program has at its core a new paradigm for building trustworthy systems, where technical security issues are seen only as one spoke in a wheel, along with equally important legal, social, psychological, policy, and economics issues. Trainees with this interdisciplinary background will join academia, industry, create new companies and drive public policy. A unique bridging program with local and national minority serving institutions and organizations will ensure that the program recruits and retains a diverse set of trainees.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
