Indiana University of Pennsylvania will again send a team of experts to the Health, Safety, Security, and Environment Conference and Exhibition sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago.
Now in its 20th year, this year's conference theme is “Innovative HSSE Strategies for Today's Challenges.” It is the country's largest gathering of professionals from the fields of occupational safety and health, security, environment, and disaster management under the same roof. It is being held November 8 and 9, 2016.
“It's gratifying to see IUP experts being called upon again this year to participate as presenters for this international event,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Timothy Moerland. “The invitation to IUP experts certainly speaks to IUP's outstanding reputation in the field of safety and cyber security.”
IUP representatives invited to attend this year's conference include:
- Jennifer Gossett, professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, will lead IUP's workshop for attendees titled “Best Practices for Implementing Critical Cyber Security Controls.”
- Jessica Mulvihill, assistant director for Education Abroad, IUP Office of International Education, will lead IUP's participation and will be a presenter at the U.S. Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago College Fair. She will promote opportunities for students who may want to attend IUP as well as coordinate with academic partners for potential study abroad opportunities.
- John Kilmarx, associate vice president of Academic Administration, will pursue opportunities for IUP faculty in the areas of instruction, consulting, and academic research as well as meet with academic partners.
- Ben Dadson, Information Technology Services coordinator, and Kathy West, system analyst, will present “Building a Cyber Security Awareness Program in a Fast, Cost-Effective Manner” and will serve as subject matter experts on a panel discussion, “Modern Approaches to Cyber Attack Incident Response.”
Bill Balint, IUP's chief information officer, coordinated the conference's first-ever cyber security track in 2015. IUP Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Col. Tracy Settle made the initial connections between IUP and the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago.
IUP has a history of excellence in the field of cybersecurity and information assurance.
The university was recognized in a 2014 national survey of “Best Schools for Cybersecurity” by HP Enterprise Security. The university was ranked in the top 25 percent of all cybersecurity programs in the nation. Only four Pennsylvania colleges and universities were rated in the top quartile.
IUP is a National Cyber Security Alliance “Champion,” recognized by the National Cyber Security Alliance, and the university is a recent recipient of a grant from the National Science Foundation to support women and minorities in cybersecurity. It has received several NSF grants related to this discipline.
IUP was first selected as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, a recognition reaffirmed in 2015. IUP's program is unique because of its interdisciplinary character, blending the disciplines of criminology and computer science. In addition to the development of computer programs and systems for cybersecurity, IUP's program focuses on cybercrime detection, loss prevention, and how to collect the evidence to prosecute cybersecurity offenders.