Doug Jacobson

Security and performance analysis of a secure clustering protocol for sensor networks

Clustering protocols are often used in sensor networks. In many deployment scenarios, security is a key concern. In this paper we provide a secure solution to a commonly used clustering protocol, the LEACH protocol. We show that our protocol, the GS-LEACH protocol is more energy efficient than any of the secure flavors of LEACH. The GS-LEACH (grid-based secure LEACH) protocol uses pre deployment key distribution using prior knowledge of the deployment area. We also provide a detailed security analysis of our protocol and show that it is more secure than the secure versions of LEACH. Finally with the results of our simulation experiments we show that our protocol is very energy efficient and provides a longer network lifetime compared to the other flavors of LEACH.

IT-Adventures: A Program to Spark IT Interest in High School Students Using Inquiry-Based Learning With Cyber Defense, Game Design, and Robotics

The IT-Adventures program is dedicated to increasing interest in and awareness of information technology among high school students using inquiry-based learning focused on three content areas: cyber defense, game design programming, and robotics. The program combines secondary, post-secondary, and industry partnerships in educational programming, competitive events, and service learning projects targeted at high school students to accomplish its goals. This paper provides details about the IT-Adventures program as well as the capstone event for students-the IT-Olympics. Project assessment findings, such as differences between students who compete in different content areas, and descriptive measures about the participants are also provided.

Bounding delay on a multifarious token ring network

Interest in integrating voice and data on local computer networks has been building in recent years. Subsequently, much research has been devoted to various techniques that are implementable on existing networks using current standards. This exposition discusses the design issues in implementing a document retrieval system on a token ring network.

A security capstone course: An innovative practical approach to distance education

Information assurance is a growing field in the information technology world. While many individuals seek further education in this field, it is currently difficult to complete an entire program of study remotely. A capstone course at Iowa State University will enable distance education students to complete the requirements for a Masters of Engineering in Information Assurance from an accredited university without ever setting foot on a campus. This course will encompass all focal points of the degree and demonstrate a level of mastery sufficient for awarding of the degree (in accordance with other degree requirements). This course will consist of three parts: the planning & implementing phase, the defending & attacking phase, and the infrastructure assessing phase.

Teaching information warfare with lab experiments via the Internet

Iowa State University has offered a course in information warfare for the past 8 years to both on campus and off campus students via streaming media. The class looks at computer security from an attack/defend viewpoint. We study attacks and look at methods to stop the attacks. The course has several lab experiments where student try out attack tools and defense mechanisms. Both on-campus and off-campus students access the lab via the Internet which creates a unique set of challenges of trying to keep the attacks off the Internet. The largest lab experiment is where the students are given the Web site address to a company that was designed for the experiment. They are to break into the company and gather as much information as they can about the company and its employees. The students must submit a report where they document every step they took to break-in and then develop a plan to fix the problems.

An implementation of MLS on a network of workstations using X.500/509

We describe a project whose goal is to provide a secure distributed access control mechanism for user tasks in a heterogeneous network of computing resources. This is accomplished by implementing a UNIX-based multi-level security (MLS) scheme where users and resources are labeled with a security level and a group. Access control is enforced by an access list server that uses X.500 directory and X.509 authentication services. Groundwork is laid for the next step of the project, which is to extend the security services for migrating tasks so that workstations are protected from security threats posed by incoming tasks, and also to protect tasks from threats originating from the workstation.

Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling and Social Cognitive Career Theory to Identify Factors in Choice of IT as a Major

In the United States, the number of students entering into and completing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas has declined significantly over the past decade. Although modest increases have been shown in enrollments in computer-related majors in the past 4 years, the prediction is that even in 3 to 4 years when these students graduate, there will be shortages of computer-related professionals for industry. The challenge on which this article focuses is attracting students to select an information technology (IT) field such as computer science, computer engineering, software engineering, or information systems as a major when many high schools do not offer a single computer course, and high school counselors, families, and friends do not provide students with accurate information about the field. The social cognitive career theory (SCCT) has been used extensively within counseling and career psychology as a method for understanding how individuals develop vocational interests, make occupational choices, and achieve success within their chosen field. In this article, the SCCT model identifies factors that specifically influence high school students to select a major in an IT-related discipline. These factors can then be used to develop new or enhance existing IT-related activities for high school students. Our work demonstrates that both interest and outcome expectations have a significant positive impact on choice to major. Interest also is found to mediate the effects of self-efficacy and outcome expectations on choice of major. Overall, the model predicts a good portion of variance in the ultimate outcome of whether or not an individual chooses to major in IT.

IT-Adventures: Turning high school students “ON” to information technology

The IT-Adventures program is dedicated to increasing interest in and awareness of information technology among high school students using inquiry-based learning focused on three content areas: cyber defense, game design programming and robotics. The target audience for this project is high school students, especially those students who previously have not exhibited an interest in studying IT, as well as high school teachers, not necessarily information technology teachers, who would like to enhance their skills and teaching abilities in the IT area. The program combines educational programming, competitive events and service learning projects to accomplish its goals. This paper provides details about the IT-Adventures program, as well as the capstone event for students - the IT-Olympics. Lessons learned and demographic data from the first year are presented. Work being conducted in the second year of the program (the 2008–2009 academic year) is briefly discussed.

See one, do one, teach one . . . two faculty member's path through student-centered learning

The practice of using active learning as a teaching paradigm has been a mainstay of the K-12 community for a long time. Its success at keeping students engaged and learning has been well documented. In 1994, Iowa State University started a program called Project LEA/RN (Learning Enhancement Action/Resource Network) whose goal is to provide training, resources, and encouragement to faculty members who want to improve student learning by employing active learning techniques in their classrooms. Interested faculty commit to bi-monthly LEA/RN groups (workshops) where they learn and practice effective teaching strategies. Each workshop session gives a faculty member a new or refined strategy to try out in their next class. This paper describes the journey started by professors Davis and Jacobson, both faculty in Computer Engineering at Iowa State, to improve their classes from a traditional lecture format to a student-centered interactive learning experience. The paper addresses how the two made the transition from workshop participants to actually facilitating their own workshops. Issues discussed in the paper include: the importance of facilitator training, how to model active learning in the workshops and in class, methods for keeping faculty interest in the workshops, and methods to show other faculty members the benefits of learner-centered pedagogy.

Engineer of 2020 outcomes and the student experience

An NSF Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) program has provided scholarships for cohorts of undergraduate engineering students since 2009, giving specific attention to the National Academy of Engineerings vision for the engineer of 2020 (E2020). Four E2020 outcomes are emphasized in Iowa States program: leadership, global awareness and understanding, systems thinking, and innovation and entrepreneurship. These outcomes, or pillars, are being integrated into curricular and co-curricular activities. The four pillar areas are introduced in a one-semester first-year seminar and reinforced in a two-semester second-year seminar. These seminars supplement the regular program of study for engineering students. In this paper, we describe the curriculum and its planned integration beyond the scholarship program. We present student feedback about their experience in the program. We also introduce relevant core competencies associated with the outcomes as judged by faculty and industry representatives.