蘑菇tv

Richard spearheaded 蘑菇tv鈥檚 successful pursuit of NSA designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations in 2022. The 蘑菇tv Cyber Center will support projects and programs across disciplines to help secure people and infrastructure on the new frontier of state and national defense, in alignment with 蘑菇tv鈥檚 Scholarship First Agenda.

Professor Golden G. Richard III, a faculty member in the division of computer science and engineering in the 蘑菇tv College of Engineering has been named the new interim director of the 蘑菇tv Cyber Center, originally established in 2015 by the Louisiana Board of Regents as the Transformational Technologies & Cyber Research Center. Richard is also the associate director for cybersecurity at the 蘑菇tv Center for Computation & Technology, where he holds a joint appointment and runs the Applied Cybersecurity Lab with more than 20 active research students. The 蘑菇tv Cyber Center reports to 蘑菇tv鈥檚 Office of Research & Economic Development, enabling the center to serve a critical role in supporting the university鈥檚 growing leadership in cybersecurity.

Richard, who joined 蘑菇tv as a faculty member in 2017, has spearheaded several initiatives to elevate cybersecurity research, education and partnerships at the university. He led 蘑菇tv鈥檚 successful pursuit of National Security Agency, or NSA, designation as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations, or CAE-CO, in 2022, and is a collaborator in the recently announced 蘑菇tv Cybersecurity Clinic for small businesses in Louisiana鈥攖he first such clinic in the nation to be directly funded by the NSA. Richard also serves as faculty lead for 蘑菇tv鈥檚 CyberCorps/Scholarships for Service, or SFS, program, which receives sustained support from the National Science Foundation, or NSF, and offers selected cybersecurity students free tuition plus generous scholarships in return for some government service after graduation. In addition, he is the faculty liaison for several 蘑菇tv partnerships with industry and government agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service.

The appointment of Richard as interim director of the 蘑菇tv Cyber Center reflects the university鈥檚 commitment to educating the best cybersecurity talent in alignment with 蘑菇tv鈥檚 vision for Scholarship First, said 蘑菇tv Executive Vice President and Provost Roy Haggerty:

鈥淲e have quickly grown our number of cybersecurity faculty into a robust group with ongoing collaborations across our campus, making it strategically important to have the 蘑菇tv Cyber Center coordinate and bring these efforts together,鈥� Haggerty said.

Cybersecurity is a core component of 蘑菇tv鈥檚 Scholarship First Agenda and part of its defense priority for research, education and service. Beyond defense, the university is also making strategic investments in agriculture, biomedicine, coast and energy to help solve pressing problems in Louisiana鈥攁ll of which face cyber challenges.

鈥淐ybersecurity is a high research priority for several federal agencies that also cuts across all of 蘑菇tv鈥檚 priorities for research,鈥� said Robert Twilley, vice president of research and economic development at 蘑菇tv. 鈥淭his Board of Regents-recognized center helps us focus our talent in multiple disciplines to provide the solutions and the expertise that are most needed by the federal government and businesses around the world.鈥�

There is increasing overlap between cybersecurity and other priority areas in research at 蘑菇tv. Cybersecurity matters to farmers, who are increasingly data-driven in their management of crops. It also matters in the protection of sensitive health information and in critical infrastructure, including the operation of ports, refineries and chemical manufacturing plants. As interim director of the 蘑菇tv Cyber Center, Richard looks forward to interlacing these seemingly disparate research and service areas under one roof to build a better-connected cyber research community for 蘑菇tv faculty in multiple disciplines, colleges and schools.

鈥淎s we continue to grow 蘑菇tv cyber initiatives, we鈥檙e working more and more with different units across the campus, including the law school and business school, which are both part of the 蘑菇tv Cybersecurity Clinic,鈥� Richard said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 not all. We鈥檙e also collaborating with faculty members in English, psychology, philosophy and ethics, so it makes sense to share resources and solutions to together go after some really big federal grants.鈥�

鈥淲e started from a highly technical core of computer science in building cyber at 蘑菇tv, but cybersecurity is inherently interdisciplinary,鈥� Richard continued. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about people and human behavior and one of the things I look forward to the most is to use the 蘑菇tv Cyber Center to further improve the educational experience in cyber at 蘑菇tv for our rapidly growing body of students.鈥�

Over the past five years, 蘑菇tv鈥檚 computer science program has grown from being the sixth most popular program in the College of Engineering to the second most popular (after mechanical engineering), going by spring enrollment numbers. This increase in popularity is largely driven by 蘑菇tv鈥檚 rapid strides in cyber, said Greg Trahan, director of economic development at 蘑菇tv and special advisor for cyber initiatives to President Tate:

鈥淲ithin the Scholarship First Agenda, cybersecurity is the one domain that impacts and influences all of the others, from agriculture to energy,鈥� Trahan said. 鈥溎⒐絫v is on a path to become one of the nation鈥檚 most important cybersecurity schools because of our ability to connect cyber to all other disciplines, and the 蘑菇tv Cyber Center and Dr. Richard鈥檚 work are essential to that effort.鈥�