Three Elizabethtown College Computer Science majors recently won the Best Undergraduate Paper Award at the 2023 Pennsylvania Association of Computer and Information Science Educators (PACISE) Conference for their research that combines elements of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
Ethan Weitkamp ’23, Yusuke Satani ’25, and Adam Omundsen ’24 worked on a project that focused on developing a real-time network malware detection system using DevOps development practices, creating a useful tool for detecting Internet of Things (IoT) malware traffic. Their project was supported in part by a grant from Intel Corporation, as well as by a grant from Etown’s Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP) Program.
“Winning the best undergraduate student paper award at PACISE is a testament to their hard work and dedication, as well as the significance of the topic they tackled,” Elizabethtown College Assistant Professor of Computer Science Jingwen Wang said. “Their project has the potential to make a significant impact in the field of cybersecurity and IoT device protection, and I am excited to see where their research takes them in the future.”
Both Ethan and Yusuke attended the 2023 PACISE conference at East Stroudsburg University in late March, where they presented their paper. The students were accompanied by Wang, along with Assistant Professor of Computer Science Peilong Li, and Information Systems Program Director & Lecturer Nancy Reddig.
PACISE is a professional organization for educators in institutions of higher education within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who are involved in courses or programs that are a part of Computer and/or Information Science. The theme for this year’s conference was cybersecurity, which includes protecting our networks, devices, data, and services.
Evaluating and designing systems to secure devices, databases, webs, and networks against cybersecurity threats is of increased significance in today’s digital society. Pending anticipated institutional approval, Elizabethtown College will launch a new Computer Science Concentration in Cybersecurity for fall 2023 that will feature advanced courses in network and computer security, ethical hacking, and secure computing to prepare students to use cutting-edge technologies including blockchain, malware detection, encryption, and cryptography. Learn more about studying Computer Science at Elizabethtown College.
