By: Bob Gourley

Bob Gourley — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:05:46 +0000

Spaf,
Those are really good points and they are most appreciated. Thanks. I read about CERIAS from time to time, but I have to admit, since completing my MS in CS in 2002 I have not tracked you guys as close as I should have. For a while when I was at TRW I interacted with associates who clearly saw the value in working with CERIAS, for several reasons, perhaps the most important being the quality of the brainpower there. I wonder if your current Northrop sponsors are my same friends (TRW was acquired Northrop in 2002).
After hitting your website again for an update I realized I should have been tracking you much closer. Something I should have e-mailed all my friends, for example, is the news release at: http://www.cerias.purdue.edu/site/news/view/ceria…
titled "CERIAS Ranked Top Information Security Program".
Anyway, I have to tell you I was really impressed at CMU, and I still really believe they are a national treasure. But I guess I should expand my thoughts to say they are one of many incredible resources we should track, and CERIAS, being 3 times larger, is also fueling my optimism for the future.
I guess the more important point, however, is which of you will generate the ideas/concepts/thoughts/leaders that will end the threat and power of botnets and significantly enhance the privacy and security of the nation's (and our personal) computer infrastructures.
Cheers and v/r,
Bob

By: Gene Spafford

Gene Spafford — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:23:13 +0000

Actually, Cylab is not the biggest. CERIAS is almost 3 times bigger than Cylab. We also graduate more PhD students, have been in operation longer, and many people (and independent rankings) tend to rank CERIAS as more productive than Cylab.
That isn't to take away from the many great accomplishments of the people at Cylab. But CMU gets lots of good press (as do the fine folks at Berkeley) from people who don't really seem to look much farther than a half-dozen universities to rank the "best" in anything related to CS. That's a little annoying to the rest of the community, many of whom are doing wonderful things that are too often overlooked because they aren't at one of those universities.
And btw, CERIAS is doing all that WITHOUT the dedicated resources of an SEI funded by the US government. It sure would be nice if all those CTOs and government leaders you mention would provide some resources to the rest of us….

Comments on: CMU: An impressive resource

By: Bob Gourley

By: Gene Spafford