Purdue University Cyber Security

Tomorrow, July 1, 2025, ushers in two significant changes. For the first time in over 25 years, our fantastic administrative assistant, Lori Floyd, will not be present to greet us as she has retired. Lori joined the staff of CERIAS in October of 1999 and has done a fantastic job of helping us keep moving forward. Lori was the first person people would meet when visiting us in our original offices in the Recitation Building, and often the first to open the door at our new offices in Convergence. At our symposia, workshops, and events of all kinds, Lori helped ensure we had a proper room, handouts, and (when appropriate) refreshments. She also helped keep all the paperwork and scheduling straight for our visitors and speakers, handled some of our purchasing, and acted as building deputy. We know she quietly and competently did many other things behind the scenes, and we’ll undoubtedly learn about them as things begin to fall apart! We all wish Lori well in her retirement. She plans to spend time with her partner, kids, and grandkids, travel, and garden. She will be missed at CERIAS, but definitely not forgotten. The second change is in the related INSC Interdisciplinary Information Security graduate program, a spin-off of CERIAS. In 2000, Melissa Dark, Victor Raskin, and Spaf founded the INSC program as the first graduate degree in information/cyber security in the world. The program was explicitly interdisciplinary from the start and supported by faculty across the university. Students were (and still are) required to take technology ethics and policy courses in addition to cybersecurity courses. Starting with MS students supported by one of the very first NSF CyberCorp awards, the program quickly grew and was approved to offer the Ph.D. degree. INSC was never formally a part of CERIAS, but students and faculty often saw them as related. All INSC students were automatically included in CERIAS events, and they were frequently recruited by CERIAS partners (and still are!). CERIAS faculty volunteer to serve on INSC committees and to advise the students. It is a “win–win” situation that has resulted in some great graduates, many now in some notable positions in industry and government. The change coming to INSC is in leadership. After 25 years as program head, Spaf is stepping into the role of associate head for a while. Taking on the role of program head is Professor Christopher Yeomans. Chris has been a long-time supporter of the program with experience as the chair of the Philosophy Department. (If you’re interested in a graduate degree through INSC visit the website describing the program and how to apply.)