U of I celebrates first graduating cybersecurity class

After establishing Idaho’s first Bachelor’s in Cybersecurity degree in 2020, the University of Idaho College of Engineering will recognize the state’s first cybersecurity undergraduates as they head off to positions in Idaho and beyond.

Cybersecurity graduates Sean Devine, of Pocatello, Oscar Michua-Zarate of Caldwell, Idaho, Matthew Neel of Idaho Falls and Hunter Squires of Lewisville, Idaho, will be recognized during the spring commencement ceremony in May on the Moscow campus.

Sean Devine

Devine has accepted a position as a cybersecurity researcher at Idaho National Laboratory and will graduate debt-free as a Cybercorps: Scholarship for Service (SFS) student.  

“Cybersecurity at the University of Idaho is about secure code development,” said Devine.  

“We’re not identifying cyber attacks as they occur, we’re engineering novel critical energy, water, transportation, healthcare systems to make them inherently secure and impenetrable well into the future.” 

For over 20 years, the U of I Center for Secure and Dependable Systems (CSDS) has maintained its status in the National Science Foundation program, securing more than $20 million in total funding to train students to work at the highest levels of government. Since 2001, over 110 students have graduated from the program.

Funding covers all tuition and degree-related fees for participants in the SFS program. Program participants are assigned to a faculty-led research project investigating cybersecurity and cyber defense issues.   

“I am proud to work at INL and to be part of the national laboratory system,” Devine said. “I know I will learn a lot getting to work alongside other professionals at INL. It’s an environment and an experience like nowhere else.”

Oscar Michua-Zarate

As president of the Cyber Defense Club, Oscar Michua-Zarate graduates with many success stories. 

The club competes nationally in events year-round, including the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Cyber Games and the National Cyber League Fall Competition, placing in the top 9% against 454 teams this year.  

“Most people think computer science students don’t talk, but I like talking about what we do,” he said. “Our team is successful because we can bounce ideas off each other. If I do something wrong, and say it out loud, I get immediate feedback. It’s the fastest way to learn.”   

He said the same dynamic applies to cybersecurity classes at U of I.  

“My classmates are super upbeat, everyone knows each other and talks,” he said. “If one of us is struggling, we’re all struggling. It makes asking questions easier, and faculty are always willing to help.”  

Matthew Neel

Matthew Neel remembers the rolling Palouse on the drive into Moscow as a freshman.

“U of I is really a city built around a university,” he said. “That’s not normally how it goes, but you can tell the difference in Moscow.”

Neel lived on the engineering floor of the Theophilus Tower, and said engaging with his peers helped overcome academic challenges and get him out of his shell.

“It’s OK not to know things. You can ask questions, and there are so many resources to help,” he said. “Living in the Tower, I could always knock on doors for help with homework. Access to faculty is also a game-changer. At first, you worry about bothering them, but after the first few interactions you realize faculty are just people, too, and they want to help you.”

Neel said cost and scholarships were some of the main factors in choosing U of I’s unique program. For the past four years, U of I has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the No. 1 best value public university in the West four years running.

Hunter Squires

Squires interned with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) as a student and will continue in his role with the global power systems protection leader.   

Squires, Devine and Neel worked together to develop a small-scale model of an industrial control system that is low-cost, modular, and can be run in a virtual environment to perform cybersecurity-related research. Their project was part of the U of I’s Interdisciplinary Capstone Design Program, recognized by the National Academy of Engineering as one of the top seven in the nation for infusing real-world scenarios into engineering education.   

The team spent the majority of their project work in the Reconfigurable Attack-Defend Instructional Computing Laboratory (RADICL), modeling experiments that are quick to set-up and modify.   

Working in RADICL is familiar for Squires, who said many of his classes are also taught there.   

“What I’ve loved about studying cybersecurity at U of I, it’s the way the classes are taught,” Squires said. “We talk about business practices, compliance, how to handle data, but faculty also focus on technical control, how to enforce password complexity and other safety protocols, and the social aspect of doing so. You really start to understand how large systems work and how computers behave.”  

Leading the Northwest for over 30 years

Devine, Michua-Zarate, Neel and Squires join U of I’s growing number of cybersecurity master’s graduates. U of I launched its master’s program in 2021, one of the first in the nation to do so.  

As one of the National Security Agency’s first seven National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, U of I has led advanced cybersecurity education and research for more than three decades.

U of I offers innovative programs that have evolved with the rapidly changing landscape of digital security. Cybersecurity courses focus on the development and maintenance of secure control systems to safeguard critical infrastructure and industrial operations.

Through partnerships with leading industry, including SEL, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Power, POWER Engineers and Avista, the U of I College of Engineering has developed a network of state-of-the-art equipment, labs and resources to give students direct access to lab exploration and research aimed at strengthening cybersecurity and developing inherently cyber-secure industrial control systems.

Students receive 1-on-1 mentorship from nationally and internationally recognized professional faculty with Ph.D.s in the field of cybersecurity, with expertise in power engineering, information assurance, industrial control systems and transportation.