Carnegie Mellon’s Information Networking Institute to Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Innovation Excellence

April 12, 2010

Contact: Chriss Swaney
Carnegie Mellon University
412.268.5776

PITTSBURGH-Carnegie Mellon University's Information Networking Institute (INI) will celebrate two decades of academic excellence April 17 with a gala reunion, highlighted by two panel discussions on Internet security and mobile communication in the University Center's McKenna-Peter-Wright room from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

                
"We are extremely excited to see over 100 of our alumni and friends return to the university. This event is a wonderful chance to bring our supporters and students together to celebrate our achievements over the years, as well as to offer thought-provoking events for the broader community," said Dena Haritos Tsamitis, director of the INI and director of education, training and outreach for Carnegie Mellon CyLab.

                  
The two expert panels are designed to track the evolution of telecommunications and how Carnegie Mellon is driving research about all the issues swirling around information security and privacy.  

                  
Founding INI Director Marvin Sirbu, a professor of engineering and public policy, electrical and computer engineering and business, will moderate the "Evolution from Telecommunications to Mobility" panel. University Professor Pradeep K. Khosla, dean of Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering and a former INI director, will moderate the "Security and Privacy" panel.

                  
"This event will showcase the array of accomplishments of our faculty, alumni and students and will bring attention to INI's leadership in technology areas such as information security and mobile communications," said Tsamitis, who has been instrumental in the program's globalization with programs in Greece, Japan and Portugal. The INI also offers bi-coastal programs at Carnegie Mellon University in Silicon Valley.

                
Tsamitis reports that she has created a new INI alumni committee now headed by Marullus Williams, owner of Limbic Systems, an IT consulting company. Williams is a 1995 INI graduate.

                   
In addition to offering competitive academic programs, INI researchers have created the MySecureCyberspace portal to help the public better understand the dangers of surfing the Web. The portal (www.mysecurecyberspace.com) offers an encyclopedia of terms, relevant articles and tools to combat cyberbullying, identity theft and the dangers of online predators. The MySecureCyberspace game is an interactive game designed for fourth- to sixth-graders that teaches safe Internet use and computer security. The INI and Carnegie Mellon CyLab recently received a $20,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to expand cyberawareness programs to the community.

                  
Through the university's designation as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, some INI graduate students are eligible to participate in the Federal Cyber Service Scholarship for Service Programs (SFS), which offers a full scholarship and stipend in exchange for a commitment to work for the government after graduation.

                
The INI was established in 1989 as the nation's first research and education center devoted to information technology. As an integral department of the College of Engineering and a cooperative endeavor of the School of Computer Science, the Tepper School of Business and the H. John Heinz III College, the INI focuses on professional degree programs that integrate the technologies, economics and policies of global and secure communication networks.