The Thayer School of Engineering has received a $435,000 grant from the U.S. government to perform research "critical infrastructure protection."
Over the next two years, the grant will fund the research of two post-doctoral fellows as Sylvanus Thayer Fellows in Critical Infrastructure Protection and Information Assurance.
The fellows will conduct research into information assurance, threat, vulnerability and risk assessment, as well as intrusion monitoring and response.
Professor of Engineering Sciences George Cybenko noted that the fellowship would look at ways to protect critical infrastructure.
The United States infrastructure systems, such as transportation, health services and telecommunications, often depend on each other, Cybenko pointed out. As such, they are all vulnerable to natural disaster, terrorism and organic internal failure.
"As the United States becomes more dependent on these infrastructures, they want to make sure that the infrastructures are robust and dependable," Cybenko said.
According to Cybenko, one project will focus on reliable wireless computing which will provide information assurance for critical infrastructures such as telecommunications, emergency services and government operations. A prospective fellow would perform research on state-of-the-art wireless networking.
Another project would take a mathematical approach to maintaining agent-based systems, which include automated highway systems, air transport logistics and e-commerce.
Researchers under the grant will sometimes work in conjunction with Dartmouth's Institute for Security Technology Studies, which seeks ways to ensure preparedness, response, and recovery for failed systems.
Susan McGrath, research associate and member of the Institute for Security Technology Studies, said the engineering school is currently soliciting applicants for the fellowship on the Thayer webpage. Prospective fellows will submit a resume for review.
McGrath told The Dartmouth that the fellowship is strictly for post-doctoral candidates and will not involve Dartmouth undergraduates.
Funding for the fellowship was provided by the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Justice.
