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Below are all the current and previous faculty professional development activities for Bucks faculty and staff offered through the PC4A project.
2023 Professional Development Workshop
May 11, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The 2023 Bucks Faculty Development Workshop focused on the PC4A Project, Network Defense, and the NCAE Cyber Sandbox. The event was held virtually via Zoom, and all interested Bucks faculty and staff were welcome to attend. Download the flyer, brochure and schedule for more information.
Direct Questions to:
- Dr. Waleed Farag
- Director, IUP Institute for Cybersecurity and Professor of Computer Science
- farag@iup.edu | Phone: 724-357-2608 | Fax: 724-357-7908
- Lydia Taylor
- PC4A Project Manager
- ltaylor@iup.edu | Phone: 724-989-5355
Guest Presentations
Dr. Waleed Farag - PC4A Project Updates
Session Summary: This session provides an overview of the PC4A Project and its three major objectives. It will discuss our efforts to promote collaboration among seven institutions of higher education across the Commonwealth of PA in order to advance cybersecurity and STEM education.
Speaker Bio: Waleed Farag is the director of Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Cybersecurity and a professor of computer science. He oversees the IUP Cybersecurity program, which has been a designated Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense since the early 2000s. He has made several contributions in these areas and has published/presented over 70 articles in recognized journals, conferences, and workshops. His work was recognized with the Best Paper Award at the ACM SIGITE’2012. Farag has outstanding records of securing funds to support his research and is currently the PI of several major federally funded grants. His work in many of these funded projects has led to the establishment of unique programs that have contributed to the enhancement of cybersecurity education and research across Pennsylvania and beyond. Furthermore, Farag has served on many technical program committees and as a reviewer for several international journals, conferences, and federal agencies.
Xin-Wen Wu - Network Defense with Zero-Trust Models
Session Summary: As networking technologies including the Internet of Things continue to evolve, securing networked systems remains a challenge. The proliferation of disruptive technologies and irreversible trends, such as “Bring Your Own Device” and “work from home”, have made the digital boundaries of corporates and organizations disappear. With boundaries diminishing, traditional perimeter-based security solutions have become ineffective in meeting increasing demands for access from literally everywhere and for using every device. To respond to these problems, the zero-trust security model was proposed by researchers and endorsed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In this workshop, we will discuss some current issues and challenges and explore some mechanisms of defending networks with the zero-trust model.
Speaker Bio: Xin-wen Wu, PhD, has worked in cybersecurity and various related areas as a researcher and educator over the last two decades. He has published two books, a monograph, and numerous research articles in reputable journals and international conferences. Wu is a faculty member at the University of Mary Washington. He was also affiliated with Indiana University of Pennsylvania, extending his academic experience at several research-focused universities including the University of California at San Diego and the University of Melbourne in Australia.
James Rice - Interactive Journey Developing the NCAE Cyber Sandbox and Beyond
Session Summary: Leading up to the NCAE National Competition grant and upon MVCC receiving the award, Rice spearheaded the effort to have an educational environment as a priority alongside the delivery of the competitions themselves. In this workshop session, Rice walks through a brief history of working in this space, leveraging the NCAE Cyber Sandbox in the classroom, and unveils other new collaborative learning platforms coming to the Sandbox and beyond the NCAE grant.
Speaker Bio: Rice has been with MVCC, starting as an adjunct professor in 2011 and becoming a full-time cybersecurity instructor at the beginning of 2017. While teaching as an adjunct for MVCC, Rice worked full-time as a cybersecurity analyst for Quanterion Solutions Inc., a cybersecurity and reliability engineering-focused Department of Defense contractor. During this time, he has focused on delivering dynamic learning content and environments via various forms of media, including scenarios and games. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from SUNY Albany and a master's degree in cybersecurity from Utica University.
