Ernesto Zaldivar Becomes A Non-Resident Fellow At West Point’s Army Cyber Institute
- Posted by Robayet Hossain
- on Nov. 6, 2024
Brown CS faculty member Ernesto Zaldivar was recently selected to join the Army Cyber Institute (ACI) at West Point as a Cyber Law, Policy, and Strategy Non-Resident Fellow. The ACI bridges the public and private sectors to explore challenges through multiple disciplines, engaging military, government, academic, and industrial cyber communities through partnerships to enable effective Army operations throughout cyberspace. Some topics that the ACI researches include cyberspace operations, electromagnetic warfare, and cyber law and policy.
“My courses at Brown – particularly Human Factors in Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity and International Relations – aim to help students understand cybersecurity as a combination of both physical and virtual elements,” Ernesto says. “I’ve been studying and teaching about undersea telecommunications cables and their landing stations for over two years, but I hadn’t been able to visualize a research project that would make a contribution until now.”
For the ACI, candidates are selected for their notable achievements, scholarship, or connections to the Army cyber functions, and fellows provide independent or interdisciplinary research that support ACI’s proposal recommendations to Army leadership and organizations. Ernesto is joining seven other fellows supporting the Cyber Law, Policy and Strategy research division for this current academic year.
Fellow Brown CS Faculty Vasilis Kemerlis states, “This prestigious appointment places Ernie among a highly select group of experts. As a Fellow, Ernie will have the opportunity to represent Brown and showcase the innovative work being done at Brown CS at the forefront of cybersecurity.”
“In preparation for my fellowship with ACI, I wanted to develop a project that would blend the cyber and physical worlds, while also contributing to the ACI mission,” Ernesto adds. “Around the time that I was reflecting on the ACI fellowship, I saw an opportunity to complete the Geographic Information Systems Institute, whose application process requires a project proposal, and thinking about GIS and cybersecurity led me to design a project examining the value that GIS methods could offer to the cybersecurity field.”
As part of the fellowship, Ernesto will regularly meet with other fellows in a format that allows each person to share what they are currently working on. These meetings are also opportunities for fellows to hear about new ACI priorities and to join efforts to address them.
“I’m honored to join the West Point and Army Cyber Institute communities,” Ernesto says. “I’m looking forward to being able to share ideas, get feedback, and participate in ongoing discussions with other members of the ACI. The nature of cybersecurity demands rapid thinking and innovation, and I view the ACI as a unique, action-oriented intellectual community that seeks to nurture the types of solutions that are necessary for the U.S. Army to maintain a deep understanding of the cyber domain that ultimately enables freedom for all users of the internet.”
In addition to the ACI selection, Ernesto was also recently selected for and completed the Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy International Fellowship at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in May of this year.
For more information, click the link that follows to contact Brown CS Communications Manager Jesse C. Polhemus.
