MONTGOMERY – Troy University has been awarded one of 15 internationally competitive grants through a special program at the Microsoft Corporation.

The University’s Computer Sciences Department submitted a proposal aimed at strengthening and validating an already existing University course on reliability and security, said Mehmet Sahinoglu, TROY eminent scholar and professor of computer science on the Montgomery Campus.

The project, funded by a $50,000 grant from the Microsoft Research Trustworthy Computing Curriculum 2005 Awards, will benefit the University’s computer users on the four Alabama campuses, its 62 out-of-state sites and the University’s eCampus.

TROY’s proposal competed with 114 other proposals that focused on the “four pillars” of Trustworthy Computing and Secure Software Engineering. Three proposals were funded in each of the areas of security, reliability, privacy, business integrity and secure software engineering.

Through the project, a cyber-security laboratory will be developed in collaboration with the  Montgomery-based Integrated Computer Solutions, who is partnering with the University to create a working example of how to create a problem-solving team between the information technology industry and academia.

“We aim to provide our students with collaborative guidance by a local IT firm for hands-on-training through the creation of a cyber-security lab,” Sahinoglu said. “This brave endeavor will eventually take Troy University to the establishment of a center of advanced research in computer security and reliability.”

ICS is a two-time Small Business Administration award winner in computer security in the State of Alabama.

“We see this research funded by the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing grant as a great step in strengthening the bond between industry and academia,” said Steve Goldsby, ICS’ president. “It is our hope that it will provide the foundation upon which we can leverage the exceptional information technology capabilities in our area to make Montgomery a premier technology hub in the southeast."

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