CyberCorps Scholarship for Service: EAGLE: Empowering American Government Leadership in Cybersecurity through Education

Due to the proliferation of cyber-attacks, the new generation of cybersecurity engineers must develop appropriate, effective, and affordable systems with security engineered from the concept phase through design and into implementation and deployment. This project will establish a new EAGLE SFS program at George Mason University to support a cohort of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students. Through scholarships, advanced training, and professional development, students will gain interdisciplinary education, hands-on research experience, and leadership skills to meet the evolving demands of cybersecurity. Graduates will serve in key government roles, advancing national defense, public safety, and technological innovation. Over a five-year period, the SFS program at George Mason will employ an iterative approach to develop a well-managed, student-centered, and sustainable initiative consisting of five main components: (1) recruitment, (2) education, research, and professional development, (3) retention and placement, (4) promotion and outreach, and (5) program evaluation. The project will: 1) support and integrate undergraduate and graduate research in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems security, secure cyber-physical systems and critical infrastructure, next-generation wireless networks, and cybersecurity for smart manufacturing; 2) promote student engagement with federal, state, and local governments through internships, senior-design projects, and graduate research; 3) organize workshops and seminars on cybersecurity focused on real-live applications; and 4) create pathways and advanced opportunities in cybersecurity education for K-12 and 2-year community college students. This project is supported by the CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, which funds proposals establishing or continuing scholarship programs in cybersecurity and aligns with the U.S. National Cyber Strategy to develop a superior cybersecurity workforce. Following graduation, scholarship recipients are required to work in cybersecurity for a federal, state, local, or tribal Government organization for the same duration as their scholarship support. 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.