Mary Washington team places fourth in national cybersecurity competition

University of Mary Washington‘s cybersecurity team placed 4th in a national cybersecurity competition held at UMW’s Dahlgren Campus in October 2024.

The Cyber Resiliency and Measurement Challenge brought 11 top educational institutions together and was sponsored by Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD).

Each group developed innovative solutions against hypothetical cyber threats. Students were encouraged to develop advanced algorithms and models.

“The challenge was very competitive with talented teams from across the country participating. I think our students worked incredibly hard to achieve this result, demonstrating remarkable dedication and teamwork,” said Associate Professor of Computer Science Xin-Wen Wu, who served as faculty advisor for the five-member UMW group.

Eagle team members were Adam Baime, Alejandro Rosario, Gary Young, Chris Walker and Kevin Landry.

George Mason University earned 1st place, 2nd place went to the University of South Florida taking second, and the U.S. Naval Academy earned 3rd place.

Competitors also included Tennessee Tech, University of Florida, Rochester Institute of Technology, Marymount University, Western Governors University, University of South Alabama and Catholic University of America. Teams were selected by NSWCDD to participate in the competition.

Growing capabilities in computer science, information technology and cybersecurity education at UMW enabled the Eagles team to earn 4th place. Students applied skills in a real-world environment during the competition with an emphasis on creative problem-solving, forward thinking and the importance of cybersecurity in America‘s national defense.

“The challenge aims to foster innovative thinking. We constantly seek out new thoughts, approaches and technologies,” NSWCDD Distinguished Scientist for Combat Systems Security and Challenge Champion Katie Young said.

Opening remarks for the event were delivered by UMW President Troy Paino and UMW College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Mellinger. Randy Sharo, chief technology officer at Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. Tenth Fleet, and Ryan Craven, program officer for applied cyber resiliency at the Office of Naval Research, addressed students and emphasized the importance of innovation in cyber defense and the growing need for resilient systems in today’s technology-driven world.

“These innovation challenges set the best minds from industry and academia in motion with the goal of offering unique solutions to naval problems. Often, the novel approaches we see challenge the ‘status quo’ and the traditional way of attacking these problems,” NSWCDD’s Potomac Tech Bridge Director Michael Clark said.