Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and the U.S. Army Reserve Information Operations Command (ARIOC) has launched a new partnership that will give the Army Reserve access to world-class resources developed by the SEI to provide protection and defense of critical infrastructures.

The partnership, funded by $1.5 million secured U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), was announced at an April 17 news conference at the SEI.

At the press gathering President Jared Cohon emphasized that Carnegie Mellon is the nation's leader in information security and information technology, with world-class programs spanning education, research and security reporting. He added that the university is committed to helping the city and region cement its reputation as the worldwide headquarters for cybersecurity research.

The ARIOC brings Army Reservists with high tech skills developed in their civilian occupations to support the Army and the rest of the Department of Defense in the critical areas of information assurance. The new partnership will enhance these skills by training Reservists to act as teams, conduct information assurance operations, and respond to threats.

"Senator Santorum is a leader in the U.S. Senate in the high-technology arena, and he has routinely supported the work of Carnegie Mellon and the SEI in the critical domain of information-assurance technologies," said Stephen E. Cross, CEO and director of the SEI. "This joint partnership will enhance the ARIOC's ability to support the Army and the rest of the DoD in the areas of information-assurance training, operations, and threat assessment and response."

"The SEI continues to make Pennsylvania a leader in the field of information assurance through their study and dissemination of information-assurance standards and practices," said Senator Santorum, a champion of cyber security. "As we continue to rely on information technology to support our civilian and military needs, we must guard against non-traditional threats and address our cyber vulnerabilities. The partnership between the SEI and the U.S. Army Reserve will equip our military to counter these threats."

The ARIOC is composed of five regional information operations centers that were established based on their proximity to national information-technology centers, with the North Central IOC headquartered in Pittsburgh.

The SEI is a U.S. Department of Defense federally funded research and development center operated by Carnegie Mellon University. The SEI helps organizations improve their software engineering capabilities by providing technical leadership to advance the practice of software engineering.

Kelly Kimberland