The U.S. Department of Energy has commissioned New York University to establish a research center to help combat cyber threats to sustainable infrastructure, and seven universities across the country are currently receiving federal funding to study the issue. The center was added to the network.
The center’s research will focus on developing systems to detect cybersecurity risks in the city’s power grid, which is used to charge electric vehicles, manage utilities, and supply energy. New York University will work with national energy laboratories, owners, operators, and vendors to lead collaborative research as part of an initiative titled “Innovating in Grid Security Through Research and Education.”
Six other universities, including the University of Connecticut and Illinois Institute of Technology, shared a $15 million grant from the DOE, announced in late March. Each school was assigned a different research topic related to protecting clean energy infrastructure, with some focusing on rural power grids with wind and solar farms.
These research centers were selected by DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Preparedness to expand the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to reduce cyber threats to sustainable infrastructure. In a press release announcing the center, U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand said the center will support national efforts for global security and sustainable infrastructure. We reevaluated the role of
“This positions New York University to conduct cutting-edge cybersecurity research and train energy employees in cybersecurity skills,” Schumer said. “We are proud to support New York University’s upcoming Cybersecurity Center to combat growing cyber threats and build a more secure and resilient energy sector.”
Yesterday, DOE announced eight additional projects in which CESER will allocate $23 million to eight more projects aimed at discovering the intricacies of energy resources and power distribution technologies. The focus on this area comes amid continued concerns that modernized power grids are more complex and therefore more susceptible to attacks that endanger public health and safety.
Earlier this year, New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering hired the DOE to develop a program aimed at identifying software and hardware vulnerabilities in technologies that control power grids, utilities, and other renewable energy infrastructure. received $3.34 million from Tandon’s project uses virtual reality to simulate potential cybersecurity threats and is one of 16 projects selected by CESER.
New York University is stepping up efforts to meet its goals of cutting building emissions in half by 2025 and becoming carbon neutral by 2040. President Linda Mills recently hosted a climate policy committee meeting and announced that the university will work to reduce food-related carbon emissions. in 2025 as part of a new citywide law. Local Law 97, announced Sept. 9, will be implemented with funding from the DOE as a partnership between the city and New York University’s Marron Institute for Urban Management.
The university launched a major center for cybersecurity in Tandon in 2009. Since then, research and career opportunities in this field have expanded exponentially worldwide, with revenues expected to grow by 7.4% annually. Unlike the Tandon Center, New York University’s new cybersecurity initiative focuses specifically on applications to sustainable energy development.
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