Keynote Address

CyberSecurity: Opportunities and Challenges
Pradeep Khosla
Dean
College of Engineering
Carnegie-Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pa.

Abstract
This talk will address the current state of cybersecurity and argue that this is one of the fields that requires an integration of technologies from various disciplines to create a solution. We will describe some results from the areas of software attestation, biometrics, packet tracing and bring these all together to show how no single technology can result in security but rather an integration of several technologies may offer the opportunity to create a solution. The talk will be motivated by several questions, such as, why can we not reduce spam, etc. In addition, the talk will make the case that cybersecurity is one of the few areas that require technology, policy, business, and legal issues to be addressed simultaneously in order to be effective.

Alumni speakers

Engineers in Financial Markets
Ali Hirsa
Head of Analytical Trading Strategy
Caspian Capital Management
New York, N.Y.

Abstract
This talk will focus on engineers and their roles in Wall Street and financial markets. I will discuss how different fields of engineering interact in building successful trading strategies. I will also talk about the differences between traditional vs. quantitative traders, facts and myths about models and markets, and finally address the issue of protection of intellectual property.

A Mathematician’s Journey from Theory to Systems Engineering
Wade Trappe
Associate Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept.
Rutgers University
North Brunswick, N.J.

Abstract
Technology has advanced significantly and rapidly over the past several decades and this fact has become deeply reflected in how both companies and universities must compete in creating new ideas. The traditional research model involved the gradual percolation of ideas, often separated from the very end products that employ such research.

Current technology trends, however, are leading to complex systems of interacting components, which not only necessitates rapid research cycles and interdisciplinary activities, but also a return to experimental methodologies and validation efforts. No longer should theoretical investigations be separated from the realities of real systems. In order to push the frontier of engineering further it is necessary to close the loop between theory and systems by creating interdisciplinary teams that share the common vision of an end-technology, rather than the separated goals of isolated disciplines.

This talk will support this thesis by examining wireless technologies and how wireless systems research is increasingly moving to cross-disciplinary efforts. The talk will examine several emerging wireless technologies that are being developed at the Wireless Information Network Laboratory (WINLAB) at Rutgers University, and that have successfully involved teams of researchers with diverse backgrounds.

Specific examples will include: the ORBIT wireless testbed, which was recently awarded the NSF Schwarzkopf Award for technological innovation for its contribution to the wireless research community; active RFID systems, which demonstrate how a mix of classical communications and computer engineering can lead to long-lived tags suitable for inventory monitoring; and wireless system security, where recently-theorized physical layer techniques have been demonstrated in the laboratory to support authentication and confidentiality services.

Throughout this talk, the speaker will reflect upon his career at the Institute for Systems Research at UMD, and how ISR happily (and irreparably) started his transition from being an applied mathematician to becoming a technologist.

Buno Pati
Chief Executive Officer
Building B
Belmont, Calif.