A new cybersecurity center at one of Killeen’s post-secondary campuses will create more jobs. Thanks to funding from the Department of Homeland Security, Texas A&M University-Central Texas will be able to pay post-doctoral researchers around $60,000 to $100,000 per year.
The university will cut a ribbon on the Center for Cybersecurity Innovation on Thursday afternoon.
Researchers in the Center for Cybersecurity Innovation will participate in several activities, including research on 5G security, cyber forensics, cryptographic and encryption algorithm protocols and artificial intelligence algorithms, techniques and architectures for cyber-threat detection and mitigation.
A&M-Central Texas has renovated a couple of classrooms to make way for the cybersecurity center. Two classrooms, totaling 1,873 square feet, have been retrofitted with new furnishings, audio-video equipment and new laptop computers for a total of $821,000, according to a data sheet provided by university public information officer Karen Clos.
Leaders within the A&M-Central Texas College of Business Administration anticipate collaboration with the Texas A&M University system, leaders in business and industry as well as nationally and internationally-known researchers, Clos said in a news release last week.
The Center for Cybersecurity Innovation is a step toward the development of a university research park, according to Anitha Chennamaneni, the associate professor and department chair of computer information systems.
“It has always been our vision that the CCI would be the hub where different industry leaders could join us with a common purpose: advancing cybersecurity research, education, workforce development, industry partnerships and outreach,” she said in the release.
Along with post-doctoral researchers, the university will be able to employ graduate and undergraduate workers in the cybersecurity center for $10-$15 per hour, Clos explained.
Gloss