External Advisory Board

The Computer Science Department offers a BS, Masters and a Doctoral program in Computer Science. The BS program is accredited by ABET and NSA/DHS Centers for Academic Excellence program. The programs are designed to prepare students for employment and continuous learning in rapidly changing technical environments. It is therefore critical that the department establishes and maintains partnerships with knowledgeable individuals and employers in the field. The success of our programs depends, to a large extent, upon the activity and involvement of our advisory board.

The members listed below also serve as Industry Advisory Board members for the Center for Cyber Security and Emerging Technologies.

Dr. Josiah Dykstra
Technical Director and member of the Senior Executive Service, National Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Operations Organization

Dr. Aaron Ferguson
Technical Director, Cryptographic Solutions office, National Security Agency (NSA)

Dr. Ferguson is a Senior Executive Technical Director for the National Security Agency where he drives the planning, analysis, development, and operation of high assurance cryptographic solutions as well as the use of commercial solutions to protect classified information. He is also responsible for the application of Data Science and Machine to NSA cryptographic solution mission.

Dan Higgins
Technical Director (Engine) at BioWare

Dan is a seasoned technical leader with a wealth of experience in the gaming and technology industries. Dan serves as Technical Director (Engine) at BioWare, a studio under the Electronic Arts umbrella, and helps drive innovation in the AAA gaming space. With a background that includes serving as a Technical Director, CTO, Principal Software Engineering Manager, and co-founder of multiple companies, Dan is well-versed in the intricacies of software development and architecture. Dan is also an accomplished speaker and author and has made a name for himself as an expert in gaming, simulation, finance, R&D, AI, streaming, and performance. Prior to joining BioWare, Dan led the simulation team at Microsoft's Studio Alpha, where he was instrumental in building a high-performance, headless, distributed, and deterministic C++ simulation engine to tackle complex global problems at scale. An avid teacher, Dan is passionate about sharing his decades of experience in programming, innovation, gaming, and performance with others, helping them see that nothing is impossible or out of reach.

Dr. William Butler

Seasoned technologist and educator with over 30 years of solid IT industry experience, both civilian and military. Held challenging positions in education, Information Assurance and Strategic C4I. Doctoral research focused on countering illegal cell tower surveillance. 
Experienced in strategic IT operations and planning. Specialties: Network Planning and Assessment, Information Assurance, Wireless Networking (4G/5G and WIFI), Contributor to the Federal Enterprise, Architecture Framework Version 2.0. (FEAF v2). , Contributor to NIST Cloud Computing Security, Working Group Security Reference Architecture (SRA) and NIST-SP 500-291, NIST Cloud Computing, Standards Roadmap , CSFI Board Member, Reviewer Broadband Telecommunications Opportunity Program (BTOP) Department of Commerce (DoC).

Dr. Lashkar Kashif
Senior Director of Data Science, Cvent

Data scientist, thought leader and team leader with 10 years of experience beyond Physics PhD. Expert in machine learning and data product design & delivery, passionate about data storytelling and data science team building. 

Dr. Paul Wang
Professor and Chair, Department of Computer Science, Morgan State University

Pamela K. Isom
Business Technology Executive, Walden University

Executive leader in artificial intelligence including ethics, strategy, governance, test and evaluation and risk management; emerging technology strategy and roadmap development; and cybersecurity compliance. Blends AI, cybersecurity and climate resilience, advising and establishing policy and practices that strengthen critical infrastructure and national security. Former US Government Senior Executive known for instilling equity into futuristic technology principles and practices to prevent societal harm, leads organizations through responsible innovations and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) risk mitigations. Coach, mentor, and change-agent who provides thought leadership in collaboration with professionals, industry leaders, and academia. Inventor and recipient of numerous patents and author of a book and several publications. Strong energy advocate, business entrepreneur and Chief Innovation Officer.

Tina C. Williams-Koroma
Chair of External Advisory Board

Tina C. Williams-Koroma, Esq., CISSP, PMP, is a serial entrepreneur – Founder/CEO of TCecure, and most recently, Founder of CyDeploy (https://www.cydeploy.com). She is a Maryland licensed attorney and possesses a BS in Computer Science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), a MS in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a JD from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.  This cybersecurity expert is extremely community-minded, having partnered with local institutions and contributed to several boards. Tina Williams-Koroma is excited about her entrepreneurial ventures, and looks forward to continued growth, as she continues to equip the next generation of cybersecurity experts by supporting Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education initiatives.

Massood Towhid
Professor of Software Engineering, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Massood Towhidnejad is a Professor of Software Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  His research interests includes; STEM education, software engineering, software quality assurance and testing, autonomous systems, and Air Traffic Management. He has secured over four million dollars in research funding, as a PI and an additional nine million dollars as Co-PI or Lead Investigator from various government agencies including, NSF (National Science Foundation), NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and industries.  The results of his research have been published in over one hundred twenty technical reports, journal articles, book chapters, and refereed conference papers. Throughout his career he has contributed to the Software and Systems Engineering profession by serving as an author for the Graduate Software Engineering Reference Curriculum (GSwE2009), the Software Engineering Competency Model (SWECOM 2014), the Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSE), and as a subject matter expert for IEEE Certified Software Development Associate (CSDA) training material. He is the co-author of the “Software Engineering Practice: A Case Study Approach” textbook. In addition to his university position, he has served as a Visiting Research Associate at the Federal Aviation Administration, Faculty Fellow at NASA Goddard Flight Research Center, and a Software Quality Assurance Manager at Carrier Corporations. He is a senior member of the IEEE, a former ABET CAC Commissioner, and current ABET CAC/EAC Program Evaluator.

Risa Lin

Dr. Risa Lin is the Managing Principal of Vigenère Technologies, a consulting company that advises Aerospace & Defense companies and Federal Contractors on strategic technologies that will transform their supply chain and manufacturing operations to increase resilience, improve efficiency, and make better use of data for rapid decision making. Previously, she was the Vice President of A&D Industry & Solution Strategy at Infor, where she helped guide the development of their cloud-based ERP platforms to meet the business process and security requirements of the defense industry. Prior to Infor, Risa was a cyber systems architect at Northrop Grumman, focused on big data solutions for logistics and intelligence missions. She received her Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology, with a thesis focused on real-time, closed loop methods for neural electrophysiology experiments.

Moses Garuba

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) Howard University

Wren Sigrest

Wren Sigrest joined Battelle in April 2016 as a Senior Program Manager and assumed the role of Cyber Business Line Manager in 2018. The Cyber Business Line is comprised of three divisions: Cyber Solutions, Microelectronics Trust and Analytics, and Mission-Focused Tools. He oversees this rapidly growing organization of more than 230 employees who are responsible for developing and delivering innovative embedded cyber solutions for a largely business sensitive customer base. Under Wren’s leadership the cyber business line has expanded to multiple regional locations in Ohio, Virginia, and Florida. Wren came to Battelle from Lockheed Martin where he spent twenty-three years serving multiple IC agencies and the DoD leading portfolios of medium to large programs. Wren has extensive experience as a Capture Manager with a demonstrated ability to grow business across Science & Technology and Information Technology programs. Wren is a graduate from the University of Virginia with an M.S. in Applied Mechanics (Mechanics of Composite Materials) and a B.S. in Civil Engineering.

Bahirah Adewunmi

Bahirah is a cyber and analytics thought leader and Lead of Booz Allen Hamilton’s Black Analytics Group (BAG). BAG which develops research and engagement projects devoted to the advancement of equity and inclusion in and via STEM. Bahirah designed and led the execution of Booz Allen’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Capstone Initiatives to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with HBCU STEM departments and dynamically engage underserved STEM talent. She is a Certified Ethical Hacker and works as Advanced Data Scientist and Researcher within Booz Allen’s Chief Technology Office (CTO). She is a multi-coastal transplant by way of Oakland, California; Atlanta Georgia; and Bronx, New York and holds degrees from Cornell University and Carnegie Mellon University. She’s an avid wiener dog mom, cook, outdoor gardener, Pittsburgh Steelers fanatic, and collector of orchids and Lego sets.

Sean Guillory

Sean Guillory attained his Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Dartmouth College. He primarily worked with neurosurgery patients to help improve the mapping for brain functions that were personally important to their lives. After taking that experience to help build up a start-up business incubator aimed at helping humanity (Fruition Tech Labs) and working on data science efforts to help catch online scammers (ConsumerAffairs), he now focuses on ways of utilizing his background in automation, biometrics, and social science methodology to help with issues within Defense and National Security. He is also a proud member of the Information Professionals Association, the Mind Science Foundation’s Science Committee, and a Thematic Task Force lead for the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA).