Csit-Newsletter.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Quality undergraduate edu- cation in CS, Cyber Security Operations, Info Networking & Telecommunications, IT, Business Intelligence, and online graduate IT Educa- was a year of working together as the new Cyber Systems Department. The faculty tion & Endorsements worked hard to integrated all courses and programs from Computer Science and Information Technology (CSIT), Management Information Systems (MIS), Cyber Security Operations, and Student-led projects across Information Networking and Telecommunications into our new department, making all courses the curriculum enable “CYBR” courses. We updated programs for course efficiencies and curricular improvements, and creativity and innovation revised MIS into a Business Intelligence program, as demand for business intelligence and analyt- ics professionals grows. These curricular changes empower us to reach our vision of empowering Experienced faculty difference makers to solve cyber challenges through personalized, innovative learning and research opportunities. Award winning students: We await the opening of the STEM building in spring 2020. We are excited to welcome new MICS Robotics competition chair, Dr. Liaquat Hossain, and new faculty member, Dr. Basheer Qolomany. The students and faculty participated in many fun activities including senior projects, camps and other outreach activities, business tours, and winning competitions such as the MICS robotics competition and placing third at the Datapalooza competition. As always, I hope you enjoy read- ing about our events and happenings. Assistance is needed to sup- Personally, I want to thank everyone for working with me during the 12 years I served as chair port the Kenny Sogar Scholar- of the CSIS/CSIT/Cyber Systems Department. I look forward to stepping back into the role of a ship for IT majors. Make a tax full-time faculty member. deductible contribution through the University of Nebraska Sherri Harms Professor, Cyber Systems Foundation: nufoundation.org As Ron and Carol Cope Professor and Inaugural Chair of the Department of Cyber Systems at UNK, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to the exciting journey that we will embark on in the new academic year building on to the foundation laid out by the Interim Chair Dr Sherri Harms and colleagues of the department. We will work towards integrating cognate areas such as com- puter science, IT, information networking, cyber security and business intelligence to develop a world class educational and research program under the newly created Department of Cyber Sys- tems at UNK. Cyber Systems can be representative of large scale complex systems advocating that real-world systems are made up from a large number of interacting components leading to complex behav- ior, which is difficult to understand, predict and manage. Cyber Systems educational and research at UNK recognizes that in a highly interconnected and interdependent world comprising many layers of micro and macro interactions enabled by cyber technologies are important to functioning of our societal to business as well as physical, medical and learning systems. Cyber Systems at UNK therefore aspires to address the complex local, regional and global issues which relates to business, computing, climate, health, education, financial markets and security through a holistic educational and research delivery crossing the traditional boundaries of computational, business, social, economic, physical, life, environmental, engineering as well as health systems disciplines. Liaquat Hossain Ron and Carol Cope Professor, Cyber Systems Chair New Cyber Systems Chair Hossain Envisions World-Class Program There’s a reason Liaquat Hossain left the University of Hong Kong to settle in central Nebraska. He sees the potential at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where the new cyber systems (CS) department fits his vision for the future. Hossain, started summer 2019 as a Ron and Carol Cope Professor and chair of the cyber systems department. He succeeded interim chair Sherri Harms, who will remain with the department as a professor. “I think it can be a world-class educational program,” Hossain said. “The university is ready for that.” UNK launched the CS department last summer, merging five existing programs into a single, cohesive unit and adding a cybersecurity major. The department’s goal is to increase collaboration among faculty and students across disciplines while addressing the critical need for workers in technology-related fields both locally and statewide. The CS department includes more than 150 major and minor students. Most will Liquat Hossain complete an internship at UNK and many have a job lined up before graduation. UNK’s CS programs had a placement rate of 100% last year, with 75% of graduates staying in Nebraska. Hossain, who called UNK’s CS initiative “very progressive,” plans to build upon the existing relationships the College of Business and Technology (CBT) has with businesses and organizations across the state, including the Economic Development Council of Buffalo County, which is committing $45,000 over the next three years to support the department chair position. “I want to see strong community-based partnerships,” Hossain said, noting these connections benefit students and provide value to the state by addressing current issues, whether it’s through workforce development or research projects. Hossain, who spent time at Lund University in Sweden, the University of Sydney in Australia, Syracuse University in New York and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before joining the University of Hong Kong in December 2013, said UNK and Kearney are small enough to suit his lifestyle preferences, but large enough to make a global impact. “At UNK, I see the possibility and the opportunity to fully integrate a truly multidisciplinary program,” said Hossain, an Australian citizen who was born in Bangladesh. Hossain’s vision for a transformational CS department involves programs from all three academic colleges. “Although it sits in the College of Business and Technology, it could almost be like a central nervous system,” Hossain said of the department. “Technology impacts nearly every occupation, from cyberbullying and online education in K-12 schools to cybersecurity and social media marketing for businesses to GPS-guided machinery on Nebraska farms.” In addition to focusing on core CS concepts, Hossain sees the potential to add programs that combine technology with areas such as business, social science, economics and health sciences, making UNK graduates even more marketable. “I look forward to working with department chairs and university administrators representing business and economics, social sciences and health sciences, as well as arts and humanities, to promote a multidisciplinary educational focus and research that support the needs of Nebraska and the nation,” Hossain said. Summarized from UNK news release, April 22, 2019 by T. Ellyson. Position: Cyber systems department chair; Ron and Carol Cope Professor Education: Bachelor of Business Administration, business management, Assumption University (Bangkok, Thailand), 1994; Master of Science in Computer and Engineering Management, system management and operations research, Assumption University, 1996; Doctorate, telecom management, University of Wollongong School of Information Technology and Computer Science (New South Wales, Australia), 1998. Career: Postdoctoral fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development, 1998-99; Lecturer, information systems, University of Sydney Basser Department of Computer Science (Australia), 2000-01; Assistant professor, Syracuse University School of Information Studies, 2001-04; Senior lecturer, University of Sydney School of Information Technologies, 2004-08; Director of postgraduate coursework, University of Sydney School of Information Technologies, 2005-08; Associate professor, engineering and information technology, University of Sydney, 2008-10; Director, project management graduate program, University of Sydney School of Civil Engineering, 2008-13; Professor, complex systems and project management program, University of Sydney School of Civil Engineering, 2010-13; Visiting professor, department of informatics, Lund University School of Economics and Management (Sweden), 2012-present; Professor, division of information and technology studies, University of Hong Kong, 2013-present; Head of the Division of Information and Technology Studies, University of Hong Kong, 2016-2018; Associate dean of research for the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, 2016-2019. Family: Two children, Liam, 12, and Lia, 19, who live in Sydney, Australia . 2 2 NEW FACULTY MEMBER JOINING CYBER SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT Dr. Basheer Qolomany, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, joined UNK in 2019. Dr. Qolomany received the Ph.D. and second master's en-route to Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from Western Michigan University (WMU), Kalamazoo, MI, in 2018. He also received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Computer Science from University of Mosul, Mosul city, Iraq, in 2008 and 2011, respectively. His research interests include machine learning, deep learning, Internet of Things, smart services, cloud computing, and big data analytics. Previously, Dr. Qolomany served as a visiting Assistant Professor at Department of Computer Science, Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA in 2018-2019; a Graduate Doctoral Assistant at Department of Computer Science, WMU, in 2016-2018;