Cybersecurity in Digital Manufacturing: Diversity in Research and Workforce

Cybersecurity in DM: Diversity and Inclusion in Research and Workforce

Traditional manufacturing is increasingly being supplanted with new technologies. Factories are becoming smarter and more interconnected, and new manufacturing techniques are increasingly being adopted (e.g. 3D printing, smart hybrid manufacturing). With these new advances come new risks, especially within the cybersecurity domain. In this cybersecurity webinar series, NYU Center for Cybersecurity will host four panel discussions with experts from academia and industry.

This is the third webinar in the series hosted by NYU Tandon. It has a focus on Diversity and Inclusion in Research and the Workforce. In this we will be broadcasting a conversation which covers the intersection of the general cybersecurity area, the manufacturing area, and the general challenges faced by women, people of color, and other under-represented minorities working in these domains.

It will be on June 3, 11AM-12PM ET

In this panel discussion, the following experts will be present:

Serving as the Moderator, Heba Mahmoud (above):

Heba Mahmoud is Senior Manager of Inclusion & Diversity at MITRE Corporation. In her role she is responsible for designing, leading, executing, and integrating strategic enterprise-wide I&D initiatives, practices, and processes that cultivate an inclusive culture and reinforces a sense of belonging. A mission-driven professional, Heba spent the last 17 years working with membership associations to create inclusive, diverse, and equitable professional sectors that welcome and engage underrepresented communities.

Prior to MITRE, Heba was the senior manager of diversity initiatives at the Consumer Technology Association, where she was responsible for building and implementing initiatives to advance inclusion in the tech ecosystem. Previously, Heba worked at the Association of Fundraising Professionals where she took the lead in launching the Women’s Impact Initiative, a program to help advance female fundraisers into leadership roles.

Heba holds an MBA in Business Management from Strayer University and a Bachelor of International Business and Marketing from Howard University. She is also a scholar in the 2018-2020 class of the American Society of Association Executives’ Diversity Executive Leadership Program (DELP). Heba is passionate about youth engagement and actively volunteers with several Washington, D.C. area groups.

Heba started a small non-profit organization focused on supporting and engaging Nubian-Egyptian Youth in the DC metro area, and she is a featured author in Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love, a collection of stories from fourteen Black writers detailing their experiences in the non-profit sector in the US and Canada.

Panelist #1, Fidelis Ngang

Fidelis Ngang is a Professor and Chair of Computer Systems, Networking, Telecommunications & Artificial Intelligence at Houston Community College. He has an Ed.D in Higher Education Administration, from Texas Tech University; a MS, Ag Engineering (Computer Simulations) from Texas A&M University; and BS, Civil Engineering/Computer Science from Hohai University. He has the following other qualifications: MCITP, MCSE, MOS, Sec+, Net+, A+. He serves as a cultural ambassador, and speaks five languages, English, French, Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese.

Panelist #2, AJ Jorgenson

AJ Jorgenson is the Vice President of Strategic Engagement at The Manufacturing Institute, the workforce development and education partner of the National Association of Manufacturers. Ms. Jorgenson develops and executes all strategic operations for the Institute’s Diversity and Inclusion initiative, and the Institute’s longest running program, the STEP Women’s Initiative. She is helping to foster and promote an inclusive culture in manufacturing, supporting companies with their D&I efforts and amplifying best practices to multiply the impact and leading industry engagements to increase the number of women and underrepresented populations in manufacturing.

Panelist #3, Laurie Williams

Laurie Williams is a Distinguished University Professor in the Computer Science Department of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Laurie is a co-director of the NCSU Secure Computing Institute and the NCSU Science of Security Lablet. She is also the Chief Cybersecurity Technologist of the SecureAmerica Institute. Laurie's research focuses on software security; agile software development practices and processes, particularly continuous deployment; and software reliability, software testing and analysis. Laurie has more than 240 refereed publications.

Laurie is an IEEE Fellow. Laurie was named an ACM Distinguished Scientist in 2011, and is an NSF CAREER award winner. In 2009, she was honored to receive the ACM SIGSOFT Influential Educator Award. At NCSU, Laurie was named a University Faculty Scholars in 2013. She was inducted into the Research Leadership Academy and awarded an Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award in 2016. In 2006, she won the Outstanding Teaching award for her innovative teaching and is an inductee in the NC State's Academy of Outstanding Teachers.

Laurie leads the Software Engineering Realsearch research group at NCSU. With her students in the Realsearch group, Laurie has been involved in working collaboratively with high tech industries like ABB Corporation, Cisco, IBM Corporation, Merck, Microsoft, Nortel Networks, Red Hat, Sabre Airline Solutions, SAS, Tekelec (now Oracle), and other healthcare IT companies. They also extensively evaluate open source software.

Laurie received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Utah, her MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business, and her BS in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University. She worked for IBM Corporation for nine years in Raleigh, NC and Research Triangle Park, NC before returning to academia.