News
IST students win hacking competition at ShmooCon
ShmooCon, an annual East Coast hacker convention, brings together some of the most astute minds in the information security field. At this year’s convention, which was held recently in Washington, D.C., members of the Information Assurance (IA) Club at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) made their mark for the second year in a row by triumphing in Hack Fortress, a video game/hacking competition. In addition to bragging rights, the team was awarded the Golden Wrench—a monkey wrench painted gold.
IST collaborates with American Cancer Society to study online support of cancer survivors
Researchers in the College of Information Sciences and Technology have been working with directors of the American Cancer Society to gain a better understanding of the dynamics and functioning of online communities for cancer survivors and their families and to eventually develop innovative computing technologies to better support the needs of these communities.
Carroll elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science
Dr. Jack Carroll, Edward M. Frymoyer Professor of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State, was elected a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in December 2011. He was nominated by a group of his peers for his pioneering research in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI).
IST prof authors Student Guide to Success at Penn State
Dr. Edward Glantz, a professor in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology, has a wealth of experience to draw from when it comes to helping students get acclimated at Penn State. In his new book, “A Student Guide to Success at Penn State,” he explains to incoming students that getting a degree in a particular major is not the ultimate goal of a college education. Rather, he encourages incoming students to “take advantage of all that college has to offer, including preparing for the first job.”
Tutwiler named director of NC2IF
Dr. Richard L. Tutwiler, a senior research associate at Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory, has been named as deputy director of the Center for Network-Centric Cognition and Information Fusion (NC2IF), a research center led by the College of Information Sciences and Technology that explores the gap between the collection of reports and data in computer systems and human decision-making. Tutwiler, who assumed the position on Jan. 1, replaces Dr. Pete Forster, a senior lecturer at the College of IST.
New iPhone app monitors caffeine intake
As the world’s most popular drug, caffeine gives mixed side effects to people who can’t get through the day without their coffee fix. Dr. Frank Ritter, professor of information sciences and technology, along with Dr. Martin Yeh, assistant professor of computer science and engineering, have devised an iPhone application that is intended to help people manage their caffeine consumption to suit their lifestyles.
World Campus recognized for having strong programs
The Penn State online programs that received recognition include: the online bachelor's program, the graduate education program, the graduate business program, the graduate engineering program and the graduate information technology program.
Online news portals get credibility boost from trusted sources
People who read news on the web tend to trust the gate even if there is no gatekeeper, according to Penn State researchers.
IST Alum on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” List
David Rusenko may be only 25 years old, but the 2007 graduate of Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology and CEO of Weebly, an online website creator, has been making waves in the world of web design for the past several years. In December, Forbes named him to its “30 Under 30: Social/Mobile,” a list of influential under-30-year-olds in the social media and mobile industries.
Penn State recognized in first U.S. News online education rankings
Penn State's online campus, the World Campus, earned an “Honor Roll” recognition for graduate-level education programs in the inaugural U.S. News 2012 Top Online Education Program Rankings. In lieu of number rankings, U.S. News created honor rolls highlighting programs that consistently rank in the top third among their peers.
Wipro conference charts future of EA Center
Dr. Brian Cameron, executive director of the Center for Enterprise Architecture at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), and Sandeep Purao, associate professor of IST, recently helped facilitate a conference sponsored by Wipro, a global information technology services company based in Bangalore, India.
IST students help spread the word about rare disease
When Pam Albert’s sons were diagnosed with a devastating and little-known disease, she took action. Seeing how little information was available on MECP2 Duplication Syndrome, a severe neurodevelopmental disorder discovered in 2005, she created a website to provide awareness, support and hope to other families. Penn State Harrisburg helped her get the word out.
Interface could help Facebook members limit security leaks
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A sign-up interface created by Penn State researchers for Facebook apps could help members prevent personal information -- and their friends' information -- from leaking out through third-party games and apps to hackers and identity thieves.
Cameron is Invited Speaker at World CIO Forum
Dr. Brian Cameron, a professor at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and executive director of the Center for Enterprise Architecture (EA), recently attended the first World CIO Forum held in Shenzhen, China. Nearly 500 decision makers and information technology executives attended the forum, where they exchanged knowledge and experience on emerging technology and application.
Alfabet makes million dollar donation to EA Center
The Center for Enterprise Architecture (EA) at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) is the beneficiary of a gift-in-kind of software materials valued at $1,079,000. The materials are being donated by alfabet, a global provider of software for strategic information technology planning and business change management.
NSF grant to provide scholarships and training to IST students
Students in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology who are interested in protecting data from hackers and saboteurs will soon be able to apply for a program in which they will receive scholarship money and expert training for their chosen field. Anna Squicciarini, assistant professor at the College of IST, and Jan Mahar Sturdevant, senior instructor, were recently awarded $819,522 from the National Science Foundation to support the “Scholarship for Service in Information Assurance Program at the Pennsylvania State University.” The Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service program, which is funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, is designed to “increase and strengthen the cadre of federal information assurance professionals that protect the government's critical information infrastructure.” Information assurance is the process of protecting data from misuse by people inside or outside a business or organization.
Forster presents research on terrorism
Dr. Pete Forster, a senior lecturer in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology, recently shared his expertise on the changing face of terrorism in the digital age at two conferences.
Cameron develops EA tech pack for ACM
The ACM Tech Pack on Enterprise Architecture, a reading list that was edited and annotated by Brian H. Cameron, executive director of Penn State's Center for Enterprise Architecture, is now available to ACM members. This expert reading list includes ACM Digital Library materials and key non-ACM readings, which provide perspectives and insights into the fast-growing EA discipline and profession.
UN’s Alspach speaks on crisis information management
Marking the second of four talks about informatics and technological applications in crisis environments, Andrew Alspach presented at the IST building on October 10. Alspach, who has previously worked with the Peace Corps and UNHCR, is the Information Management officer for the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination in Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). He works in Geneva, where he looks at policy developments and staffs information management officers in OCHA’s world-wide offices, which has a heavy presence in Africa and Asia.
Kestranek named finalist in MeriTalk contest
Dan Kestranek, a Ph.D. student in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology, thinks that the current procedure to obtain passports is flawed and outdated. He was recently recognized by an online networking community for his proposal to create a “virtual passport” system that he thinks would save time, money and resources. Kestranek was a finalist in the MeriTalk Merit Awards contest, which “challenged the world to come forth with ideas on how to use IT to improve the quality of government—with a $50,000 prize for smart, new thinking.” While he didn’t win the grand prize, he won first place in the “citizen engagement” category for his proposal to create a secure U.S. mobile application that allows citizens to sign in temporarily and download passport data via near-field communications (NFC).
