Explore IST Spring 2016

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Anticipating security threats, analyzing disaster response, and thinking critically about how to better evaluate and manage threats—these are all things that Penn State’s Red Cell Analytics Lab (RCAL) students do every day. “I found the club my first year during the annual IST [Information Sciences and Technology] Connections Day,” recalls RCAL officer Mason Northrop. “The first meeting hooked me after hearing about all of the cool past and future projects.” Housed in the College of IST but open to any active Penn State student, the RCAL student organization provides hands-on experience using structured analytics to examine real-world problems—from cyber threats to natural disaster response and everything in between. The term “red cell” refers to teams of military personnel, often called “red cells,” that are trained specifically to test the effectiveness of American military tactics. “The notion of the red cell,” explains Col. Jake Graham, professor of practice in IST and director of the lab, “is to study threats from an adversarial point of view.” Many students involved in RCAL get jobs working for government agencies like the CIA, FBI, or NSA, while others go into the information technology security field. Still others work in security divisions in the financial sector; security and risk analysis student and RCAL director Meghan Graham, for example, exercised her red cell skills in an internship at Ernst & Young. “RCAL is a great talking point for recruiters,” says Samantha Small, RCAL communications officer, a senior pursuing a double major in security and risk analysis (SRA) and music, with a minor in international studies. “I’ve spent many job interviews impressing recruiters with all that I have accomplished while still in college.” —Stephanie Koons IST lab gives students opportunity to think from the ‘red cell’ We face threats of all kinds every day—from natural disasters to cyber crime and terrorism. But how do we know our response plans are going to work? That's where the Red Cell comes in. In the Red Cell Analytics Lab student participants work with the lab’s high-tech equipment to simulate threats and analyze information. EXPLORE IST College of Information Sciences and Technology Spring 2016 explore.ist.psu.edu

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College of Information Sciences and Technology Student newsletter

Transcript of Explore IST Spring 2016

Page 1: Explore IST Spring 2016

Anticipating security threats, analyzing disaster response, and thinking critically about how to better evaluate and manage threats—these are all things that Penn State’s Red Cell Analytics Lab (RCAL) students do every day.

“I found the club my first year during the annual IST [Information Sciences and Technology] Connections Day,” recalls RCAL officer Mason Northrop. “The first meeting hooked me after hearing about all of the cool past and future projects.”

Housed in the College of IST but open to any active Penn State student, the RCAL student organization provides hands-on experience using structured analytics to examine real-world problems—from cyber threats to natural disaster response and everything in between.

The term “red cell” refers to teams of military personnel, often called “red cells,” that are trained specifically to test the effectiveness of American military tactics.

“The notion of the red cell,” explains Col. Jake Graham, professor of practice in IST and director of the lab, “is to study threats from an adversarial point of view.”

Many students involved in RCAL get jobs working for government agencies like the CIA, FBI, or NSA, while others go into the information technology security field. Still others work in security divisions in the financial sector; security and risk analysis student and RCAL director Meghan Graham, for example, exercised her red cell skills in an internship at Ernst & Young.

“RCAL is a great talking point for recruiters,” says Samantha Small, RCAL communications officer, a senior pursuing a double major in security and risk analysis (SRA) and music, with a minor in international studies. “I’ve spent many job interviews impressing recruiters with all that I have accomplished while still in college.” —Stephanie Koons

IST lab gives students opportunity to think from the ‘red cell’

We face threats of all kinds every day—from natural disasters to cyber crime and terrorism. But how do we know our response plans are going to work? That's where the Red Cell comes in.

In the Red Cell Analytics Lab student participants work withthe lab’s high-tech equipment to simulate threats and analyzeinformation.

EXPLORE ISTCollege of Information Sciences and Technology

Spring 2016 explore.ist.psu.edu

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Students bring robots to life in new IST class

Adam Abbott, a senior at Penn State’s College of IST, was recently feeling a little apprehensive. He was nervous that Nao—a 58-cm tall humanoid social robot—would falter during the brief dance that Abbott and his fellow students programmed it to perform for IST’s Human Robot Interactions course. Abbott’s group had programmed the robot to dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and to the Isley Brothers’

“Shout” for their presentation, which ultimately went off without a hitch.

“I think it went better than expected,” Abbott says, adding that the most difficult parts were coordinating the robot’s side-stepping and arm movement. “Programming Nao is like narrating a story.”

Nao is an autonomous, programmable humanoid robot developed by Aldebaran Robotics—a French robotics company —that has been used for research and education purposes in more than 50 countries since 2015.

The Human Robot Interactions course, taught by John Yen, professor and director of strategic research initiatives at the College of IST, was first offered during the fall 2015 semester as a result of a $9,000 internal grant. The objective of the course is to provide hands-on human robot interactions with a focus on

a humanoid social robot (Nao). Students are assigned a project of designing and implementing a demonstration involving human-robot interactions.

“I was really thrilled with what the students were able to do,” Yen says. “Many of the teams went beyond my expectations.”

By taking the Human Robert Interactions course, Yen says, the students are exposed to technology that will continue to have an impact on society. The class’s emphasis on human-robot interactions, he said, fits in with the College of IST’s mission of leveraging the interplay of information, technology, and humans.

“We are using robots as a basis to think about the broader interactions between people and technology,” he says.

—Stephanie Koons

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NGA Director Cardillo Visits ISTs Red Cell Analytics Lab

In October, National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency (NGA) Director Robert Cardillo and Chief of Staff Ed Mornston visited Penn State to renew two partnerships with the University and visited various locations around campus, including the Red Cell Analytics Lab (RCAL) at the College of IST, where student analysts shared multiple projects with them.

“Director Cardillo’s visit was great for the lab and the University,” says Andrea Forster, RCAL member and IST senior. “He seemed impressed and was able to give us constructive feedback for places we can explore more.”

In fact, Cardillo was impressed, saying “Ed and I were both, to be frank, blown away. These students are doing more innovative work than I was able to do in my first few years in the intelligence community.” Cardillo says he values the chance to engage with students and hopes that, through campus visits and meeting with researchers around the University, he can help grow Penn State’s relationship with the NGA over time.

“Penn State is known for, on top of the foundational aspect of educating students, having a broad-based research program,” says Cardillo. “And then all around those things is the unbridled enthusiasm, a different way of thinking–and the Red Cell Lab is an excellent example of this. When you combine those three things, it’s a win-win-win.” —Jennifer Cifelli

Entrepreneurship the spotlight with IST’s student and faculty marshals

The College of IST chose Krista Krebs to represent its graduating class as student marshal at the 2015 fall commencement on December 19. She carried the flag of the college as a representative of all graduating IST students at the ceremony in Bryce Jordan Center, accompanied by faculty marshal Dr. Lee Erickson.

Krebs was chosen among graduating seniors from the college because of her academic achievement, participation in extra-curricular activities, character and leadership, and future potential.

“It’s an incredible honor to represent the college that has given me so much over the years,” says Krebs. “I have grown tremendously and IST has had a significant impact in shaping who I have become personally and professionally.”

In addition to the duty of leading the procession of IST graduates at commencement, Krebs was tasked with choosing a faculty marshal to join her in representing the college.

Ericskon, lecturer and undergraduate studies entrepreneurship academic program coordinator for IST, says she was delighted by Krebs’ invitation, and has been equally impressed with Krebs dedication to her studies, adding that Krebs has been an inspiration to her.

“Krista is an exceptional woman who has overcome a chronic brain injury she received playing basketball,” said Erickson. “She is an excellent student, goes the extra mile at everything she does, started her own business, works with students and the local community to promote and create events for entrepreneurs, and does all this with a smile on her face and no complaints.”

In addition to maintaining a 3.99 grade-point average, Krebs is the co-founder and design director at MangoPair, where she and a partner developed an app called Snapview—allowing users to browse photos in one place from the popular website Reddit.com —Jennifer Cifelli

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For IST student Briley Marchetti, internship at Hershey was a sweet success

Briley Marchetti, a Penn State junior majoring in IST, spent last summer working at The Hershey Company as an application design intern. There, he assisted a small team that develops applications and integrates services used by all Hershey employees.

Marchetti says he learned new skills during his internship that he believes will positively impact his academic and personal growth, and allowed him to work in situations that would have been impossible to experience in a classroom.

“At The Hershey Company, I learned more every day about programming, system integration, and debugging,” Marchetti says. “But some of the coolest

stuff I learned was about the company: I have had the opportunity to learn about the development of new products, manufacturing processes, the supply chain…and of course, chocolate!”

“This internship definitely affected my career path,” said Marchetti of his time at The Hershey Company. “I had a chance to see many different positions throughout the company which made me think about my future more openly. After this summer, I am definitely interested in becoming a manager for a development team...after a few years of programming and problem solving.”

Marchetti plans to enroll in another internship in summer 2016, and says that

the programming work he accomplished at The Hershey Company reinforced his interest in continuing his IST degree in design and development. —Jennifer Cifelli

Keeping THON safe, one tweet at a timeAs students and visitors in the Bryce

Jordan Center celebrate the funds raised by Penn State’s Dance Marathon (THON), another kind of celebration is underway across the street in Beaver Stadium.

In the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), members of Penn State’s emergency management team cheer for another safe and secure THON. And, much like the fundraising efforts behind the 46-hour event, Penn State students played an integral role in keeping THON safe for both dancers and visitors.

For the third year in a row, students in the Red Cell Analytics Lab (RCAL)— Penn State students (mostly IST majors) with a common interest in minimizing risk and enhancing security through technology—joined emergency

management staff in monitoring social media for suspicious activity during THON weekend.

During THON, students use the analytics software Twitter Analytics for Monitoring Extreme Events (TAMEE) to analyze tweets for any potential security risks.

About an hour before THON starts, RCAL students set up shop in the EOC where they monitor TAMEE for nearly the entire 46-hour event. Surrounded by security camera feeds and the THON live stream in the background, RCAL students monitor computer screens for any signs of suspicious social media activity.

“The reason we do this is to look for any security vulnerabilities that might be coming up,” said Meghan Graham,

student director of the lab. “If someone is making a threat or saying anything suspicious, our analytic tools throw it all on one screen and we can interpret it as we need to.”

According to Pamela Soule, University Park’s emergency planning manager, student involvement is a necessary ingredient in the safety and security of THON.

“THON is a really great place to involve the students because it’s a student-run event,” says Soule. “It looks good on their résumé, but what it really helps them understand is how they can be a contributing member to the security and protection of their community.”

—Rachel Garman

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New! Bachelor of science major in data sciences

In today’s information society, there is growing demand for data-savvy professionals in business, government, and the nonprofit sector. Penn State is capitalizing on the big data movement by offering a new data sciences undergraduate major as part of an inter-college initiative with the College of IST, the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the College of Engineering, and the Department of Statistics in the Eberly College of Science. The new major will go into effect summer 2016.

Data science is an interdisciplinary field that analyzes and creates processes and systems to extract knowledge or insights from data in various forms–both structured and unstructured–and employs techniques and theories drawn from many fields within the broad areas of mathematics, statistics, information sciences, and computer science. Data scientists use these analytical and technical skills to harness the power of big data to generate new knowledge and insights.

“As the big data revolution has taken hold, there has been an explosion in the number of career opportunities for data scientists,” says Dr. Andrew Sears, dean of the College of IST. “The intercollege data sciences major at Penn State will educate students on the fundamentals of data sciences, with a focus on developing the knowledge and skills needed to

address an expanding range of complex data-driven problems in industry, government, and academia.”

According to Glassdoor, which annually identifies the 25 Best Jobs in America and 25 Highest Paying Jobs in Demand, “data scientist” was named the No. 1 best job in America and ranked 15th for highest salary and demand for 2016.

After completing a set of common courses in computation, mathematics, databases, and statistics at the pre-major stage, students who are admitted into the major will choose one of three options, focusing on application (College of IST), computation (College of Engineering) or statistical modeling (Eberly College of Science). —Stephanie Koons

Applied Data Sciences option (offered through the College of IST)

This option is for students who are curious about data and want to make sense of it to solve problems. Do you look at current trends and wonder how they came to be? Are you a visual person who can clearly communicate difficult concepts and information to others? Do you get excited about knowing the unknown? If so, you should check out this program. Through hands-on labs and projects with real-world datasets, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills needed to develop, apply, and validate machine-learning solutionsin order to extract actionable knowledge from Big Data across multiple application areas (e.g., health, education, security).

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This fall, five students from the College of IST competed in the National Cyber Analyst Challenge (NCAC), a three-phase competition designed to support and inspire students from the nation’s top cyber programs.

The students—Joe Williams, Will Kacsur, Ethan Bowen, Chris Eckert and Matt Frantz,—are all members of IST’s Competitive Cyber Security Organization (CCSO), founded last year to “provide an opportunity for students wishing to experience hands-on security administration in a supportive environment,” says Joe Williams, who is majoring in SRA.

The Challenge, created and hosted by Temple University’s Institute for

Business and Information Technology and powered by Lockheed Martin, began in August with the first phase, and according to NCAC organizers, the Penn State team’s entry “stood out from the rest and was rated very highly,” thus qualifying for phase two and phase three finals. The team was awarded a prize of $15,000 from Lockheed Martin in support of their participation and success in the first phase, and were finalists in phase three.

“The club and these competitions are a great way for the students to apply the theoretical knowledge they get from the classroom,” says Dr. Nicklaus Giacobe, research associate and lecturer for the College of IST and one of the

team’s faculty advisors. “In combination between classroom learning, practical experiences in internships, as well as hands-on practice in competitions like NCAC, we're able to help build the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.”

“I feel that the skills gained through CCSO and participating in competitions [such as NCAC] makes me more marketable,” says Matt Frantz, co-founder of the CCSO. “I’m not solely relying on my GPA and ‘book smarts’ to land me the job, because I have something that a lot of other entry level candidates don’t have–hands-on skill.”

—Jennifer Cifelli

IST students team up for National Cyber Analyst Challenge and advance to Finals

Leadership conference opens doors for IST students

Opportunities for engaged scholarship outside of the classroom abound for students in the College of IST. Recently, two members of the IST Diplomat Leadership Academy—Erin McGovern and Elizabeth Kohler—attended the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in Houston thanks to scholarship funding.

The conference, an annual event that boasts the world’s largest gathering of women technologists, is presented by the Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology in partnership with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). Women studying in the College of IST are encouraged to apply for scholarships to attend this prominent event, which this year

featured keynote speakers including Hilary Mason, founder of Fast Forward Labs, and Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of the best-selling book, Lean In.

“It was incredible to meet like-minded women who are interested in information security, as well as be able to gain networking opportunities,” says McGovern, a junior studying SRA. “And along with interviews and meeting professionals from other companies, I was able to listen to a lot of great talks.”

McGovern’s networking paid off in the form of securing a summer internship with a consulting firm that interviewed her at the conference. She says attending the conference has sharpened her intentions regarding

her career goals, and she now hopes to travel and work as a consultant to broaden her skills.

“The lectures I heard and the inspiring group of 12,000 women in technology made me feel so happy that I chose a major in which our community is so supportive and encouraging,” says McGovern. “Everyone at the conference wanted each other to succeed and find our passion—I hope that other women from Penn State get to share this experience in the future.”

—Jennifer Cifelli

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CAREERS AND OUTCOMES IN IST

According to a 2015 study from CareerBuilder, businesses are hiring more employees in a variety of emerging fields, such as cloud, mobile, and search technologies; cybersecurity; and managing and interpreting large collections of data. At IST, we are ahead of the game in preparing our students to fill those roles through a curriculum that stresses teamwork and strong communication skills as they take on real-world problems.

Our internship requirement builds on this. As a student, you’ll gain valuable hands-on experience before graduation, equipping you with the soft skills required in today’s collaborative work environment and broad technical expertise that will position you to hit the ground running as an intern or full-time hire. Almost 75 percent of our graduating students report completing multiple internships throughout their four years in IST.

IST’s Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement will support you every step of the way, through career coaching, résumé reviews, and numerous career-related events just for IST students.

Here is a sample of the many companies that hire IST students for internships and full-time positions:

Capital OneDeloitteEYFBIGEGeneral MotorsIBMJP MorganKPMG

Lockheed MartinLOWE’SMerck & Co.Microsoft Corp.NSAPWCThe Boeing Co.UPMCWeebly

Startup Week, hosted by the College of IST at Penn State, originated as a celebration of successful entrepreneurs and innovators in the fields of technology and security. Since then, it has grown and developed to showcase the wealth of possibilities that exist for enterprising students as emerging thought leaders in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship.

This annual event has drawn speakers from around the country, including many College of IST alumni, who have created well-respected and valued businesses and products in today’s technology market. Among the ranks are founders of high-profile companies like Dropbox, Reddit, Scribd, Twitch.tv, and Weebly. In addition to inspirational talks, IST Startup Week includes pitch competitions, entrepreneur office hours, an innovation expo, and networking events.

By connecting students with innovative alumni and pioneers who are achieving success—through startup initiatives of their own or with new ventures in already established organizations—Startup Week inspires students to go beyond what is expected of them and expand their minds to think more broadly in whatever career path they choose.

Through this event and other initiatives, such as entrepreneur-in-residence scholarships and the addition of an entrepreneurial minor, the College of IST looks to strengthen its commitment to actively support the Invent Penn State initiative. Invent Penn State aims to drive economic development, a culture of entrepreneurship, and student career success by building a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem around our campuses and training students at the cutting edge, placing them in emerging fields and job opportunities.

IST Startup Week

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This publication is available in alternative media on request.The University is committed to equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment for all persons. It is the policy of the University to maintain an environment free of harassment and free of discrimination against any person because of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, gender, perceived gender, gender identity, genetic information, or political ideas. Discriminatory conduct and harassment, as well as sexual misconduct and relationship violence, violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the University’s educational mission, and will not be tolerated. Direct all inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policy to Dr. Kenneth Lehrman III, Vice Provost for Affirmative Action, Affirmative Action Office, The Pennsylvania State University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-5901; Email: [email protected]; Tel 814-863-0471. U.Ed. IST 16-31

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