Faculty Testimonials
VIST Faculty and Staffs Testimonials
Here is what our faculty and distinguished community members have to say about VIST’s Master of Science Degree in Cyber Security and Information Assurance (MSCIA):
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Dr. John C. Mather2006 Nobel Prize in Physics laureateHonorary ProfessorDr. John C. Mather is a Senior Scientist at US NASA and 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate. Dr. Mather was the keynote speaker at the Virginia Institute of Science & Technology (VIST) Grand Opening Ceremony in 2016. In his speech, Dr. Mather said: “In today’s digital age, cybersecurity has become increasingly critical for government, banks, large corporations, and small startups, even for everyone alike. Today, this is compounded by the fact that hacks are becoming commonplace due to the rise of mobile usage and the internet of things, as well as the growing ecosystem of cybercriminals. Three years ago, the Wall Street Journal estimated that the cost of cybercrime in the U.S. was $100 billion. Other reports estimated that the figure was as much as ten times higher than this. In 2016-17, the average cost of a data breach was $7.35 million, compared to $5.85 in 2014. Costs include everything from detection, containment, and recovery to business disruption, revenue loss, and equipment damage. Beyond monetary concerns, a cyber breach can also ruin intangibles, such as a company’s reputation or customer goodwill. Therefore, it is critical to train a significant number of cybersecurity engineers and information assurance specialists in order to protect our nation and personal interest from being attacked by hackers. I am glad to see that Virginia Institute of Science & Technology (VIST) offers the Master’s program in Cybersecurity & Information Assurance. I am proud of many cybersecurity experts that are serving as faculty and the talented students who are enrolled in the MSCIA program at VIST.” |
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Dr. Paul WangMSCIA, ProfessorOutstanding Professor Award WinnerIn the last 15 years, I have been a professor of Computer Science and Cybersecurity at George Mason Institute (GMU), George Washington Institute (GWU), Institute of Maryland Institute College (UMUC), Georgia State Institute. I am a Cybersecurity Expert and Research Scientist with grants from NSF, DHS, NIST, and NSA. In addition, I have been a keynote speaker or Section Chairman in numerous International or National Cybersecurity Conferences. Since 2017, I have been teaching more than five classes at Virginia Institute of Science & Technology (VIST) such as CSIS 520 – Principle of Cybersecurity, CSIS 528 – Network technology and Security, CSIS 518 – Cryptography & Network Security, CSIS 590 – Cloud Computing and Security, CSIS 665 – Disaster Recovery & High Availability. I am proud of my students at VIST. All students at VIST’s MSCIA program are outstanding. These students not only have a strong academic background and excellent working experience but are also fully committed, with great motivation, to complete their master’s program. My students’ research capabilities would compete with any other prestigious universities. Some of my students’ research projects may be published in the first-class academic journals soon.” |
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Prof. Derek SmithMSCIA, ProfessorOutstanding Professor Award WinnerI have been teaching in the graduate Cybersecurity or Information Assurance programs at Institute Maryland Institute College (UMUC), the Institute of Maryland in Baltimore County (UMBC), Strayer Institute, and Excelsior College. I also serve as Cybersecurity Expert and Consultor in national and local T.V. stations, such as HLN, R.T., WRC, NBS, etc. I joined as Professor at Virginia Institute of Science & Technology (VIST) in 2017. The main reasons for me to join the VIST faculty team are: (1) the VIST’s MSCIA program’s curriculum and design is the one of the best compared with other universities or colleges; and (2) most importantly, the students enrolled at VIST’s MSCIA program are outstanding, many of these students have 15+ years of I.T. field. In addition, these students graduated from prestigious universities, such as Brown Institute, Boston Institute, Institute of Illinois – Urbana Champaign, Virginia Tech, George Mason Institute, etc. Students will have better opportunities to succeed in Cybersecurity field after they complete the MSCIA program at VIST. Therefore, I am confident that Virginia Institute of Science & technology offers one of the best Cybersecurity programs at DMV area. Students will have more better opportunity to succeed than ever before in Cybersecurity after s/he complete the MSCIA program at VIST. “ |
More testimonials will be published soon. If you are interested in study at Virginia Institute of Science & Technology (VIST), please send your updated resume to Admission Office via email: admissions@vist.edu.