10 UAH students receive NSF CyberCorps scholarships

UAH CyberCorps Scholarships for Service students are, from left: Front row – Nancy Gordillo-Herrejon, Joanna Burke, Hope Walker and Jennifer Li; second row – Nick Werline, Joseph Drummond, Robert Hancock, Nick Christensen, Adam Rogers, Nathan Sissom, Andrew Hendrix, Adam Alexander, Todd Hastings, Jimmy Robertson, Daniel Bernues, Chase Sweeney, Isaac Daniel, Shawn Edwards and Justin Oakley. Not shown are Ji Choi, Josh Jones, Savannah Palmer and Austin Smith.

UAH

Full cybersecurity scholarships have been awarded to 10 students at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) from its five-year, $4.2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) CyberCorps Scholarships for Service program.

The new scholarship recipients are:

• Adam Alexander
• Daniel Bernues
• Joanna Burke
• Shawn Edwards
• Nancy Gordillo-Herrejon
• Robert Hancock
• Jennifer Li
• Justin Oakley
• Adam Rogers
• Nick Werline

Students in their second year of the scholarship and graduating this academic year are:

• Nathan Sissom
• Ji Choi
• Nick Christensen
• Isaac Daniel
• Joseph Drummond
• Todd Hastings
• Andrew Hendrix
• Josh Jones
• Jimmy Robertson
• Chase Sweeney
• Hope Walker

Now in its third year, the program has also been expanded to include four other schools.

"We have new partnerships with Snead State Community College, Northeast Alabama Community College, Calhoun Community College and the University of Hawaii," says Dr. Tommy Morris, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of UAH's Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education. "For the three community colleges, one student each will be selected to start the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service at the community college. These students will then transfer to UAH to complete degrees in computer engineering, computer science, or information systems."

The community college partnerships are part of a NSF trial to extend the scholarship program to community colleges. Community college students receive the same benefits and work obligations as undergraduates at UAH. Savannah Palmer is the first scholarship recipient at Northeast Alabama Community College. Austin Smith is the first scholarship recipient at Snead State Community College. Calhoun will select a recipient during the fall semester.

This is an excellent source of talent for the many Dept. of Defense and federal government organizations in the Huntsville community.

"These scholarships will pay for full tuition, up to $3,000 reimbursement for health care insurance, up to $2,000 reimbursement for books related to class work, up to $4,000 for professional development travel, and stipends of $22,500 for bachelor's degree students, or $34,000 for graduate students during the academic year," says Dr. Morris. "These students will serve the government - federal, state, local or tribal - upon completion of their degree. This is an excellent source of talent for the many Dept. of Defense and federal government organizations in the Huntsville community."

Scholarships are awarded for two academic years (four semesters) for undergraduates and master's degree students and for three years (six semesters) for doctoral students. A single student cannot receive more than one SFS scholarship.

Students can get a leg up on cybersecurity hiring through the scholarship as they serve a paid internship during the summer semester in a government cybersecurity related position and fulfill a post-graduation scholarship obligation of one year of government service in a cybersecurity related position for each year of scholarship.

At the University of Hawaii (UH), UAH Vice President for Research and Economic Development Dr. Ray Vaughn is working with UH to establish a CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program. Dr. Vaughn traveled to Hawaii at NSF request to meet with faculty and students to select an initial cohort of three students to be supported under a UAH subcontract and to work with UH faculty to establish CyberCorps processes, develop relationships with potential employers and advise in the preparation of the UH proposal to the National Science Foundation for a fully funded CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program to begin in 2017.

UAH is a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research.