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2024

News
Tuesday, December 17, 2024

INI Alum Kartik Chaudhari is Making Zero Gravity Safer for Space Travel

The screen came on and Information Networking Institute (INI) alum Kartik Chaudhari greeted us with a warm smile. He was at the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) in Ottawa, Canada, preparing for a two-week-long expedition to the Arctic Circle. “It’s more of a pleasure expedition,” said Chaudhari. “But it’s always encouraged for us to do things like this, where you force your body to acclimatize to very different environments.” For the past two years, Chaudhari has been training for a space mission with a group of organizations including the NRCC. It has been a long and challenging process, but Chaudhari took some time to share his journey.
Wednesday, December 04, 2024

Innovative New Program, TECH Fellows, Prepares Future Technical Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley

Meet the inaugural cohort of the Technical Entrepreneur Coaching Hub (TECH) Fellowship at the Information Networking Institute (INI). Launched this year, the TECH Fellowship combines coursework with hands-on experience working with startups and venture capital firms to prepare the next generation of technical entrepreneurs.
Friday, November 01, 2024

INI Celebrates Impactful Partnership, New EWF-INI Fellow at Executive Women’s Forum 2024 Conference

The Information Networking Institute (INI) marked an important milestone at the Executive Women’s Forum 2024 Conference (EWF): a recognition of its longest-running partnership outside of Ä¢¹½Av (CMU). Since 2005, the INI has collaborated with the women of EWF to inspire and support the young women in its programs and advocate for a more inclusive field.
Thursday, October 24, 2024

As 'Joannatron,' a Team of INI Students Make Top Five in 2024 IEEE Capture-the-Flag Competition

A team of students in the Information Networking Institute (INI) Master of Science in Information Security (MSIS) program joined forces under a unique banner to compete in the University of North Dakota (UND) CyberHawks National CTF qualifiers. Taylor McCampbell, John Samuels, Kiranbaskar Velmurugan and Rohan Viswanathan took their team, Joannatron, to first place in the qualifiers and the top five at the final competition during the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Cyber Security and Research Symposium (CARS) on October 28, 2024.
Friday, October 11, 2024

Students in Pittsburgh and Silicon Valley Deepen Industry Connections through Google Tech Treks

Students on both coasts at both the Ä¢¹½Av (CMU) Pittsburgh and Silicon Valley campuses made the trek to the Google offices last month to meet Googlers and learn about what it’s like to work at the leading tech company. The parallel Tech Treks were planned by Ä¢¹½Av (CMU) and Information Networking Institute (INI) alumni who work at Google, along with career services staff from across the university.   
Tuesday, October 08, 2024

Faculty Spotlight: Cynthia Kuo and the Power of Problem Solving

Cynthia Kuo is an associate professor of the practice based at Ä¢¹½Av in Silicon Valley (CMU-SV). From UX and healthcare sensors to GPS and safe search, Kuo has developed a diverse skillset that has served her well as an entrepreneur and faculty member at the Information Networking Institute (INI). At the INI, Kuo brings her experience in the startup world and her expertise in sensor technology and product design to teach courses and co-lead students’ industry projects in CMU-SV.
Tuesday, October 01, 2024

2024 Student Internship Spotlight

Every year our students have the opportunity to participate in internships with companies across a variety of industries. This gives students a chance to take the technical skills they've developed in their courses and use them in a real-world setting. Some of our current students shared their internship experience with us.
Thursday, August 29, 2024

INI Students and Alumni Propel Carnegie Mellon’s Hacking Team to Third Consecutive DEF CON Capture-the-Flag Title

Ä¢¹½Av (CMU)’s Plaid Parliament of Pwning (PPP) continues its winning at DEF CON’s Capture-the-Flag (CTF) streak with a third consecutive title and eighth victory in the past 12 years. Information Networking Institute (INI) students and alumni have been a consistent part of the PPP for years, contributing to the team’s remarkable success. This year they joined the combined team, Maple Mallard Magistrates (MMM), which included CMU alumni and the University of British Columbia’s team, Maple Bacon.
Friday, August 23, 2024

Faculty Spotlight: Professor Pedro Bustamante and Building a Stronger Internet

Assistant Teaching Professor Pedro Bustamante is a recent addition to the Information Networking Institute (INI) faculty. Bustamante, located at the Ä¢¹½Av (CMU) Pittsburgh campus, teaches several courses focused on networking and telecommunications. Pulling from his years of experience in government policy and telecommunication regulation, Bustamante brings his passion for policy and technology to the classroom.
Monday, August 12, 2024

INI Alum Vijeyta Aggarwal Joins the VentureBridge Program to Propel her Startup Forward

Information Networking Institute (INI) alum and startup founder Vijeyta Aggarwal was excited about the possibilities when she heard the news that her startup Vectro was selected to join the 2024 cohort of the VentureBridge program. “We are still so early in our journey,” Aggarwal shared as we spoke with her about this opportunity. “Their backing will go a long way for the company. This opens a lot of doors as an entrepreneur in technology.”
Saturday, July 27, 2024

Faculty Spotlight: Professor David Varodayan and the Future of Artificial Intelligence

Since 2020, David Varodayan has been an Associate Teaching Professor at the Information Networking Institute (INI) at the Ä¢¹½Av (CMU) Silicon Valley campus. He teaches several courses from introductory courses in computer systems to Artificial Intelligence (AI) application use in information security. Varodayan is heavily involved in the college-wide initiative to build the first-of-its-kind program to train future AI engineers.
Wednesday, July 24, 2024

With Drata Acquisition, oak9 Founder and INI Alum Aakash Shah Welcomes a New Era of Security Automation

Information Networking Institute (INI) alum Aakash Shah is on a mission to make security engineering easier. With the recent acquisition of his startup oak9 by Drata, a compliance automation platform, that mission just got bigger.
How picoCTF is Preparing High School Educators to Teach Cybersecurity
Thursday, July 18, 2024

How picoCTF is Preparing High School Educators to Teach Cybersecurity

Ä¢¹½Av, with support from the National Security Agency, is helping to make cybersecurity education more accessible to high school teachers and their students. The NSA GenCyber grant offers CMU faculty and staff the chance to help expand the field by making cybersecurity curriculum and materials available to 10th- through 12th-grade educators, and the effort comes as the industry sees increased demand for qualified professionals.
INI Alum Sears Schulz Places Third in President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition
Friday, June 07, 2024

INI Alum Sears Schulz Places Third in President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition

Information Networking Institute (INI) alum Sears Schulz (’22) has secured a third-place finish in the fifth President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition. Hosted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the President’s Cup highlights and awards the technical prowess of the federal workforce through a competition based on real-world challenges faced by those in the field. Schulz currently serves as a Captain in the Air Force on a Cyber Protection Team, which conducts defensive cyber operations.  
INI Alumnus Siddharth Dhar Receives Top Honors for His Startup Leadership
Tuesday, June 04, 2024

INI Alumnus Siddharth Dhar Receives Top Honors for His Startup Leadership

Information Networking Institute (INI) alumnus Siddharth Dhar has been named one of Amplitude’s Most Innovative People in Product for 2024. Amplitude is a digital analytics platform that acknowledges leaders in product innovation with their annual Product50 awards. Dhar was named Best Product Leader at a startup or small company for his work with Innowatts, a data analytics company. 
INI Diploma Ceremony 2024 Reflects on Past Achievements and Looks Towards the Future
Friday, May 31, 2024

INI Diploma Ceremony 2024 Reflects on Past Achievements and Looks Towards the Future

Family and friends gathered on Sunday, May 12, at the Information Networking Institute (INI) diploma ceremony to celebrate the culmination of the hard work and dedication of the 2024 graduating class. 113 students gathered with loved ones and supporters at Rodef Shalom for the ceremony.  
INI Students Present Novel Research on Topics from Generative AI-Enhanced Cyberdefense to Deep Learning in Master's Thesis Projects
Tuesday, May 14, 2024

INI Students Present Novel Research on Topics from Generative AI-Enhanced Cyberdefense to Deep Learning in Master's Thesis Projects

The programs offered by the Information Networking Institute (INI) provide flexible, interdisciplinary curricula, allowing students to build skills while working with our expert faculty and leading industry partners. For students interested in pursuing rigorous academic research, completing a Master's thesis can produce publishable work and demonstrate advanced technical knowledge. Each of the INI’s programs allow for an advanced option that concludes with a thesis. 
Ä¢¹½Av Hacking Team Secures Third Consecutive Win at MITRE eCTF
Thursday, May 02, 2024

Ä¢¹½Av Hacking Team Secures Third Consecutive Win at MITRE eCTF

Plaid Parliament of Pwning (PPP), Ä¢¹½Av (CMU)’s hacking team, continued their winning streak by securing their third win at the 2024 MITRE Embedded Capture-the-flag (eCTF) cybersecurity competition. Information Networking Institute (INI) professor Patrick Tague served as a faculty advisor for a team of 13 CMU students, including five INI students, as they took on this year's challenge.
INI Alumni Karan Dwivedi and Raaghav Srinivasan Publish "Kickstart Your Engineering Career"
Friday, April 26, 2024

INI Alumni Karan Dwivedi and Raaghav Srinivasan Publish "Kickstart Your Engineering Career"

Starting on the path to a new career can be a challenge for anyone. To help, Information Networking Institute (INI) alumni, Karan Dwivedi (’16) and Raaghav Srinivasan (’16) gathered their experience in their new book, “Kickstart Your Security Engineer Career” and shared that wisdom at their first book signing event at Ä¢¹½Av-SV.
Alumna Neha Gautam on Curiosity, Representation and Her Rewarding CMU-SV Experience
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Alumna Neha Gautam on Curiosity, Representation and Her Rewarding CMU-SV Experience

Solving complex technical problems has always been a passion of recent Information Networking Institute (INI) graduate Neha Gautam. As she prepared for the 2024 Women in Cyber Security Conference (WiCyS) to share the results of her research applying large language models to detect fake reviews in e-commerce, Gautam reflected on how her experience at the INI led to this point.
How INI Alumni Harshvardhan Chunawala and Hunter Wodzenski Helped Send the Iris Rover to Space
Tuesday, April 09, 2024

How INI Alumni Harshvardhan Chunawala and Hunter Wodzenski Helped Send the Iris Rover to Space

In a groundbreaking endeavor that harmonizes innovation with exploration, Ä¢¹½Av's (CMU) Iris Lunar Rover embarked on Peregrine Mission One on January 8, 2024, at 2:18 a.m. from Cape Canaveral SLC-41 that transcended beyond the confines of our world. The initiation of the Iris Rover Space Mission was a deeply emotional moment for the team, who gathered in Florida to witness the rocket launch at Cape Canaveral.
Scholarship for Service Alumnus Samuel Edoho-Eket Named 2024 Keynote Speaker
Monday, April 08, 2024

Scholarship for Service Alumnus Samuel Edoho-Eket Named 2024 Keynote Speaker

The Information Networking Institute (INI) is proud to welcome Samuel Edoho-Eket, a graduate and alumnus, as keynote speaker at the 2024 Diploma Ceremony on May 12. The ceremony will take place during Ä¢¹½Av’s Commencement Weekend and will honor the most recent class of INI graduates.
INI Alumnus Hao-Wei Chen named 2024 Tartan on the Rise
Wednesday, April 03, 2024

INI Alumnus Hao-Wei Chen named 2024 Tartan on the Rise

Information Networking Institute (INI) alumnus Hao-Wei Chen (’13) was named one of Ä¢¹½Av’s 2024 Tartans on the Rise, joining INI alumni Rohyt Belani ('02) and Hooman Radfar ('04) in this honor. This award recognizes alumni whose leadership and innovation have left an undeniable mark on their industries. 
Innovate in the Wild: Partner with the INI as a 2024 Practicum Project Sponsor
Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Innovate in the Wild: Partner with the INI as a 2024 Practicum Project Sponsor

Through this capstone experience at Ä¢¹½Av, sponsors work with brilliant and creative students to develop and improve ideas. The INI Practicum is a cornerstone of our two bicoastal programs: the M.S. in Information Technology – Information Security (MSIT-IS) and the M.S. in Mobile and IoT Engineering (MSMITE).
INI Alumnus Karthik Suresh’s AI-Powered Startup Streamlines Go-to-Market Operations
Monday, February 19, 2024

INI Alumnus Karthik Suresh’s AI-Powered Startup Streamlines Go-to-Market Operations

The world of technical startups can be thrilling and challenging; for Information Networking Institute (INI) alumnus Karthik Suresh, it was a passion that kept calling. Suresh began his startup, Ignition, to bridge the gap between engineering a product and marketing it. After only two and a half years, Ignition has raised $8 million in funding from Altman Capital, Audacious Ventures and other venture capitalists.
Nancy Doyle honored with Continuous Excellence Award
Monday, February 19, 2024

Nancy Doyle honored with Continuous Excellence Award

It is an annual tradition for the College of Engineering to come together to celebrate the dedication and hard work of staff at the Staff Recognition Awards. Those who have gone above and beyond in their work receive special acknowledgment. Four Information Networking Institute (INI) staff members were recognized at the awards celebration on January 18.
INI Director Dena Haritos Tsamitis Named to Pittsburgh Smart 50
Tuesday, January 23, 2024

INI Director Dena Haritos Tsamitis Named to Pittsburgh Smart 50

On November 29, the most innovative leaders and entrepreneurs from 50 of the region’s most brilliant organizations gathered at The Westin Pittsburgh for induction into the Smart Business Pittsburgh Smart 50 Awards Class of 2023. INI Director and Barbara Lazarus Professor in Information Networking, Dr. Dena Haritos Tsamitis is among the honorees and joins an esteemed list of presidents and CEOs.
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