Fairmont State University has received $26,300 in grant funding from NASA’s Software Assurance Research Program to conduct research in cybersecurity. 

The project is intended to give Fairmont State students real-world opportunities. Cybersecurity students will have the chance to gain experience performing tasks often conducted in their field. In addition, math students will have the chance to develop predictive models based on project data.

“This project will give our students hands-on experience in dealing with real problems that plague everyone who uses the internet,” shared Dr. Tom Cuchta, Professor of Mathematics at Fairmont State. “Since the world is continually becoming more interconnected, understanding how to better secure private information from malicious agents will only become more important in the coming years.”

“It is exciting to get new universities involved with the software assurance research program,” stated Scott Benton, SARP Deputy Program Manager for NASA.  “NASA values our relationships with universities and we hope to use opportunities such as these to build a pipeline to our next generation of employees.  We look forward to the partnership with Fairmont State University and the research they’re providing in an area that needs more awareness.”

The project proposal was developed by Cuchta, along with colleagues Tom Devine, Dr. Brian Blackwood, and Dr. Robert J. Niichel.