Center for Information Assurance

History

The Center for Information Assurance was formed on January 14, 2009. The mission of the center is to promote education and research in information assurance, computer security, and related fields at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) (see official letter).

Having met the criteria for measuring the depth and maturity of established programs in the field of information assurance, UTEP was officially designated by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education

Academic Program

The Computer Science department at UTEP offers an undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS) Degree with a concentration in Secure Cyber-Systems (SCS). Students earning the BSCS degree with the SCS concentration complete a rigorous curriculum with focus on cybersecurity. Specifically, undergraduate CS students seeking the SCS concentration must complete the following elective courses as part of the BSCS degree:

The complete BSCS degree plan can be found at UTEP Catalog Page

This means that we offer the certificate of completion to those taking all courses in the set.

Mission

The mission of the Center for Information Assurance is to promote education and research in information assurance, computer security, and related fields at The University of Texas at El Paso.

The center builds on existing strengths in information assurance, including department faculty who teach courses and conduct research in information assurance and the recent certification of our education program in information assurance.

Affiliated Faculty

Salamah I. Salamah
Associate Professor and Chair
Director of Software Engineering
isalamah@utep.edu
Website

Christopher Kiekintveld
Associate Professor
Graduate Program Director
cdkiekintveld@utep.edu
Website

Luc Longpré
Associate Professor
Undergraduate Program Director
longpre@utep.edu
Website

Palvi Aggarwal
Assistant Professor
paggarwal@utep.edu
Website

Deepak Tosh
Assistant Professor
dktosh@utep.edu
Website

Saeid Tizpaz-Niari
Assistant Professor
saeid@utep.eduu
Website

Jaime Acosta
ARL South Visiting Researcher
jcacosta@utep.edu
Website

Computer Science Board of Advisors

The Computer Science Board of Advisors is composed of distinguished computer scientists from a broad range of industries that employ our students. The charge of the Board is to review departmental data (e.g., Alumni Survey, College of Engineering Employer’s Survey, curriculum reports, strategic plans, and other reports) and make recommendations regarding areas of improvement and strategic direction. The current Board of Advisors are as follows:

Tyrone Campbell, IT Technical Director, USAA
Edgar Gandara, Manager Service Delivery at DXC Technology
Aaron Hodinh, CTO, MagRabbit
Tommy Hodinh, President, MagRabbit
Anthony Krivanek, Program Chief Engineer, Advanced Programs, Lockheed Martin
Daniel Landin, Director of Cybersecurity Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis Division, the Army Research Lab
Eduardo Monarez, Strategic Advisor, National Security Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Tanya Pham, Vice President, MagRabbit
Enrico Pontelli, Dean of Arts and Sciences, New Mexico State University

Contact

For information related to the Center for Information Assurance, please contact the center Director:

Luc Longpré
Department of Computer Science
University of Texas at El Paso
500 W. University
El Paso, TX 79968
phone: 915-747-6804
fax: 915-747-5030
e-mail: longpre@ut...edu (utep.edu)