Syracuse University's Advanced Course in Engineering (ACE) Cyber Security Boot Camp has received approval as an Air Force ROTC Professional Development Training (PDT) program for rising seniors. The ACE is one of 10 such programs in the country to carry such designation, and the only program with a formal academic component.
According to ACE Director Kamal Jabbour, associate professor of computer engineering in Syracuse University's L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS), the designation recognizes the national caliber of the ACE program. Additionally, the official designation enables future cadets to travel to the ACE site at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y. on military orders, wear their uniforms during the 10-week program, hold security clearances and report to a military chain of command.
"The efforts of many ACE students, staff and faculty over the past two years have finally paid off with this designation," says Jabbour. "It also permits us to incorporate a substantial officer development component, contrasting information warfare over the ages, from the Civil War to present day."
Additionally, the National Science Foundation has recognized the ACE as an official internship program for Scholarship for Service (SFS) cyber fellows. ACE representatives were invited to recruit at the SFS career fair on Jan. 12 in Washington, D.C.
The ACE was developed in 2002 to address the challenge of President George W. Bush's National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace by developing the top students in Air Force, Army and Navy pre-commissioning training programs, in addition to the best among civilian college students, into the next generation of cyber security leaders. Through a public-private partnership among the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, Syracuse University, the Griffiss Institute on Information Assurance and several corporations, the ACE follows the proven model of the General Electric Edison course to transform engineers into original thinkers, problem-solvers and technical leaders. The boot camp is a four-credit course offered through ECS and is funded by a portion of a $1 million Congressional appropriation secured by Rep. Sherwood Boehlert of New York (R-New Hartford), chair of the House Science Committee.
In the first two years at the Rome Research Site, the ACE graduated 40 students from 25 colleges in 17 states. In addition to Air Force, Army and Navy ROTC cadets, the students included fellowship recipients from the National Science Foundation Scholarship for Service Cyber Corps program, cadets from the Air Force Junior ROTC, and civilian scientists and engineers committed to careers in cyber security. ACE educators include faculty from SU, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the State University of New York Institute of Technology, in addition to experts from the Air Force Research Laboratory and industry.
Once a week, students are immersed into a one-day lecture covering a specific area in cyber security, such as legal issues, security policies, digital forensics and network security. The students are assigned a real-world problem, which they must solve and write a report detailing their solution. For the rest of each week, students work with personal mentors on military and industry projects within the Rome Research Site. Each week concludes with an eight-mile run.
"This unique combination of high-intensity instruction, military and industry projects, and physical challenge creates an environment that develops cyber security leadership and situational awareness vital to our future," says Air Force 2nd Lt. David Aparicio, an ACE graduate who testified before Congress last summer about the benefits of the course. "ACE taught me not only technical competence but mental flexibility to solve any problem placed in front of me, academic or critical." Aparicio is now working in Rome at the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate.
ACE graduates have garnered important assignments for the U.S. military around the globe. Matthew Oldham, a 2004 ACE graduate, recently was offered and accepted a position with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
"The OSI takes about 30 agents per year, almost all from the Air Force Academy and almost never fresh graduates. The ACE enabled Matt to beat the odds," Jabbour says.
The 2005 ACE program, now entering its third year, will be held in Rome from June 1 through Aug. 11. Enrollment is expected to double to 60 participants this year. Additionally, with added Congressional funding, Jabbour plans to develop a pilot high school version of the ACE targeting college-bound juniors and seniors.
