Xiaogang (Cliff) Wang
$99,811
Bhavani Thuraisingham
University of Texas at Dallas
Texas
Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE)
NSF SaTC (Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace) program has enabled the funding of the many innovative research, education and transition to practice projects over the years. Still, the recent developments in internet of things, artificial intelligence, social media, quantum computing in a post-covid world require reconsidering the future directions and priorities of the NSF SaTC program. The University of Texas at Dallas will host the NSF SaTC workshop (titled SaTC 2.0 workshop) to enable discussion among different stakeholders to arrive at recommendations for future research, education, and transition to practice directions for the SaTC program. The workshop’s broader significance and importance are: 1) The future investment in cybersecurity, and privacy projects by the NSF would be critical in advancing the state of art and enhancing national security. Hence, aligning the NSF investments with the emerging cybersecurity and privacy landscape would be critical to address immediate societal needs. 2) the workshop includes a series of activities primarily targeted to educating the future workforce and engages in developing activities that will increase the future participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, hence, contributing to creating a more diverse and inclusive atmosphere in the SaTC program and strengthening the ability of the future workforce to address problems of national importance. The workshop 1) allows interdisciplinary researchers, educators, practitioners from academia, industry, and government in all areas of cybersecurity and privacy, to come together and determine the strategic direction recommendations for the future of the SaTC program; 2) provides an open interdisciplinary forum for cross-fertilization of ideas and enhancing cohesion between experts on all areas of cybersecurity, policy and social sciences; 3) encourages debate to bring together a productive mixture of interdisciplinary perspectives on the future of the SaTC. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.