Cedarville Magazine Spring 2022

Associate Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, were the founding members of the computer science program. They are Air Force veterans and had ties to the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) graduate school at nearby Wright- Patterson Air Force Base. Hamman said Gallagher noticed the growth of cyber and that computer science majors were getting jobs in cybersecurity. Why not start a program? Hamman began his doctoral work in computer science at AFIT with an eye toward starting the cyber program at Cedarville. He focused his research on cyber operations. Hamman and his colleagues also studied the program requirements the NSA follows in awarding the distinction as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations. AFIT already had that distinction. “While I’m studying for my Ph.D. and working on my dissertation, all the time in the background I was doing reconnaissance, thinking, ‘How can we replicate this at Cedarville?’” Hamman said. “I was particularly concerned with how we could offer all the necessary academic content.” A key piece of the puzzle was the hiring of Patrick Dudenhofer ’04, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Cyber Operations, in 2014. He immediately enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Wright State University and chose software reverse engineering as his research area — a crucial cyber operations skill that was lacking among the faculty. Shomper was able to leverage his extensive programming knowledge to round out the deeply technical academic content that distinguishes a cyber operations program. Hamman completed his degree in 2016 and Hamman, Dudenhofer, and Shomper created the three new elective courses that comprise the computer science major’s cyber operations specialization. Students were eager to take those classes and went straight into cyber jobs. In the fall of 2020, the cyber operations specialization was expanded into a major and welcomed its first freshman class. This year there are 33 freshmen and sophomores in the major. And Cedarville stands alongside those 21 other schools as the top tier, according to the NSA. Those other schools are military academies and mostly larger state schools. A c c r e d i t a t i o n i s a n important step in the academic world, and Cedarville can claim that too. ABET is the gold standard for being accredited. ABET started a pilot program for accrediting cyber programs, and Cedarville was one of the first seven schools to be accredited. THE NEXT GENERATION Cedarville is also involved in building interest in the field among high school students. Students across Ohio can log into the Ohio Cyber Range at no cost and do cyber exercises on virtual machines in the cloud. Cedarville is a Regional Programming Center recognized by the Ohio Cyber Range Institute located at the University of Cincinnati. Hamman, with the help of students and a grant, creates curriculum for the cyber range. The proof that the momentum has been building longer than Hamman has been at Cedarville is evidenced by a former student who is on campus this spring as a visiting professor. Ben Sprague ’06 works in the cyber field, and the faculty jokingly refer to him as the Hacker-in-Residence. “It’s an emerging academic discipline and this is its golden age,” said Hamman, who has written academic journal articles about teaching cyber operations. “Fifty years ago, there were no computer science majors or degrees. We are a part of birthing a new academic discipline.” Jeff Gilbert ’87 is an Assistant Professor of Journalism and advisor to the student newspaper, Cedars. NEW PLACE TO SHINE The Center for the Advancement of Cybersecurity will soon shine in its new home in the Scharnberg Business Center. This contemporary space will feature faculty offices, a classroom, space for industry-sponsored research and senior design projects, and a glass-enclosed collaboration area. A beautiful veranda facing Cedar Lake will be the site of alumni and industry partner receptions. To learn how you can support the Center for the Advancement of Cybersecurity with your gi fts, visit cedarville.edu/Scharnberg . You can also email advancement@cedarville.edu or call 937-766-7810. 1 of the first 7 cyber programs in theworldwith professional accreditation through ABET Cedarville Magazine | 25