Cybersecurity, Data Science and AI
Center for Cybersecurity Education and Research (CCER)
The University of Hawaii Maui College (UHMC) has achieved the distinguished status of a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) through the academic year 2029. This designation was first achieved in 2019 and has been renewed in 2024 for a period of five years. This prestigious designation has been awarded for the validated program of study for the Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Applied Business and Information Technology (ABIT) Degree. Details about the ABIT BAS here - A BIT B A S program (opens in a new tab). This acknowledgment serves to highlight UHMC's commitment to excellence in cultivating the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. For details about the CAE in Cybersecurity Community click here - C A E Cybersecurity Community (opens in a new tab).
The Center for Cybersecurity Education and Research (CCER) was inaugurated at the University of Hawaii Maui College in 2015, with the objective of furnishing the local residents and students with comprehensive cybersecurity education, training, and advisory services. The CCER's mission is to deliver expert cybersecurity guidance, training, and workforce development initiatives to the community at large, including K-12 students and educators, in addition to the student body of UHMC. Present research endeavors at the CCER encompass the application of advanced methodologies in data science and artificial intelligence to address the distinct challenges posed by cyber threats and vulnerabilities.
Points of Contact:
Dr. Debasis Bhattacharya, JD, DBA
Director of CCER
NCAE-C Point of Contact
Professor and Program Coordinator
Applied Business and Information Technology (ABIT)
808.984.3619 or debasisb at hawaii dot edu
Kaaike 114 (map)
@uhmcabit | LinkedIn
Key Information Security Information from UH ITS
- UH ITS Help Desk, available 24x7x365 - Check here
- UH ITS Internal Cybersecurity news - Check here
- Latest External Cybersecurity News from CISA - Check here
- Students – Check here for important information
- Faculty and Staff – Check here!
- Information on UH Security Policies, Personal Identifiable Information etc. – here
- For key security hygiene, resources, and awareness, check here
- For the current list of Security Alerts with UH, check here
Latest Grant News!
NSF CyberAICorps SFS (#2622701) - 2026-2029
CyberAI Innovation: AI-Enhanced Cyber Data Analytics Education
The University of Hawaii Maui College has recently been awarded a $441,645 grant from the CyberAICorps SFS program at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The United States faces a severe shortage of professionals who can both apply artificial intelligence (AI) to defend digital systems and secure AI systems themselves—a gap that threatens national security, economic competitiveness, and critical services. For more information, please contact the PI, Dr. Debasis Bhattacharya, at debasisb at hawaii dot edu. Details here!
NSF ATE Award (#2300867) - 2023-2028 (DCL Supplement)
Cyber Data Analytics Education, Curriculum, and Workforce Development
The University of Hawaii Maui College has recently been awarded a DCL supplement to its existing National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technology Education (ATE) grant (#2300867, $777,359.00) to develop a pathway to train cybersecurity technicians in data analytics and AI. The DCL Supplement award enables the delivery of AI Camps for middle and high school students in Hawaii during the summers of 2027 and 2028. For more information, please contact the PI, Dr. Debasis Bhattacharya, at debasisb at hawaii dot edu. Details here!
NSA GenCyber (2026-2028)
Cybersecurity Student Camps in Hawaii - Summer 2027
The University of Hawaii Maui College has recently been awarded an $89,537 grant from the National Security Agency (NSA) GenCyber program to host three cybersecurity camps in the summer of 2027. Two in-person student camps will be held on Oahu, and one virtual camp will target the entire state of Hawaii. For more information, please contact the PI, Dr. Debasis Bhattacharya, at debasisb at hawaii dot edu. Details here!
Hawaii Immersive Workforce (HIW) Project -
NSA Workforce Development Award in Cybersecurity - 2024-2026
UH Maui College landed a partnership agreement with the University of New Haven (UNH) to develop a sustainable, skills-based, competency-focused workforce development program to educate and train existing and future workforce in four critical infrastructure sectors – energy, government facilities, finance, and telecommunication. UNH has awarded Maui College $500,000, funded by the US National Security Administration, to cover Hawaiʻi’s at-large region, complementing the Good Jobs Hawaiʻi initiative to create introductory and immersive cybersecurity certificates for state and local employees, small businesses, and nonprofits.
For more information, please visit the. Hawaii Immersive Workforce (HIW) project website or contact PI Dr. Debasis Bhattacharya at debasisb at hawaii dot edu
UH Cybersecurity Clinic - 2024-2029
UH was selected to receive $1 million in grant funding and wraparound support from Google’s Cybersecurity Clinics Fund to establish the University of Hawaiʻi Cybersecurity Clinics. It is one of 15 new clinics set to launch at higher education institutions across the country, thanks to a collaboration between Google and the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics.
Beginning in January 2025, the University of Hawaiʻi Cybersecurity Clinics will offer a free online course in introductory cybersecurity topics to 500 UH students over five years. It will provide information and access to internships and career opportunities in cybersecurity. UH faculty will work with the students and provide mentoring and guidance.
The University of Hawaiʻi Cybersecurity Clinics will be primarily based at UH Maui College but will collaborate with other campuses throughout the UH System. The project will also work with various organizations across the state, such as the CIO Council and local employers, to train workers to secure the critical infrastructure in Hawaiʻi.
For more information, please see the UH Cybersecurity Clinics website or contact PI Dr. Debasis Bhattacharya at debasisb at hawaii dot edu
Presentations, Workshops and Conferences
- 2026 National Summit on Artificial Intelligence, October 14-16, 2026, Chandler, AZ. Details
- 2026 NSF ATE PI Conference, October 21-23, 2026, Washington, DC. Details
- ACM SIGCITE 2026, November 12-14, 2026, Wilmington, NC. Details
- AHFE 2026 Hawaii International Conference, December 1-3, 2026, Honolulu. HI. Details
- DefCon 34, August 6-9, 2026, Las Vegas, NV. Details
- BSides Las Vegas, August 3-5, 2026, Las Vegas, NV. Details
- HI-TEC 2026, July 27-30, 2026, Austin, TX. Details: Presentation on Local LLMs (PDF). Lab 1 - Local LLM (PDF). Lab 2 - Privacy, Security, Governance (PDF). Presentation on Impact of GenAI in Classroom - Case Study (PDF)
- Cybersecurity Across Discipline (CyAD), June 23-25, 2026, Palos Hills, IL. Details: Integrating Local LLMs in Higher Education (PDF). Handout on Securing Hermes Agent and Ollama on Apple Silicon (PDF). Impact of GenAI in the Classroom (PDF).
- PCATT Summit 2026, June 4-5, 2026, Honolulu, HI. Details. Presentation on GenAI in the Classroom - Case Study (PDF).
- Hawaii STEM Conference 2026, April 15-16, 2026, Honolulu. HI. Empowering Educators: Navigating Generative AI in K-12 Classrooms Through Literacy, Safety, Privacy, and Security. Presentation (PDF).
- SIGCSE TS 2026, February 18-21, 2026, St. Louis, MO. Details. PD Workshop for New and Aspiring Educators (Link)
- Hawaii ACTE, January 23-24, 2026, Honolulu, HI. Details
Presentation Link (PDF), AI Integration Toolkit Link (PDF) - Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 58), January 7-10, 2026, Maui, HI. Details. Pre-Conference Workshop on Bridging the AI Gap: Seamless Integration Across Academia and Industry Sectors
- Homeland Security Forum, December 18, 2025, UH West Oahu, Kapolei, HI.Presentation on UH Cyberclinics here (PDF).
- ACM SIGITE 2025 Conference, November 6-8, 2025, Sacramento, CA. Details. Paper on Panel Presentation (PDF). Panel Presentation Slides (PDF). ACM Papers Link1 and Link2
- 2025 NSF ATE PI Conference, October 29-31, 2025, Washington, DC. Details. Presentation on GenAI and Impact on Higher Education. (PDF)
- National Cyber Summit, September 23-25, 2025, Huntsville, AL. Details.
- National 3CS Conference, August 14-16, 2025, Columbus, OH. Presentation on GenAI as Teaching Assistant (PDF).
- HI-TEC 2025 Conference, July 21-25, 2025, Minneapolis, MN. Details. Presentation on GenAI and Impact on Higher Ed (PDF). Presentation on AI Assistant in a Programming Course (PDF).
- NSA GenCyber Spring Meeting and CAE Symposium, April 7-11, 2025, Charleston, SC. Full Presentation PDF.
- 2025 Hawaii STEM Conference - MEDB STEMworks, March 24-25, Honolulu, HI. Details. Teacher Presentation GenAI and Education PDF Student Presentation on GenAI Basics PDF
- Hawaii IT Career Summit, March 12, 2025, Honolulu, HI. Details.
- UH Community College System - HISSI 2025, March 7, 2025, Honolulu, HI. Presentation on GenAI and Impact on Education. PDF.
- HPCA - UH Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercise Online Presentation, March 7, 2025. PDF.
- ACM SIGCSE TS 2025, February 27-29, 2025, Pittsburgh, PA. Details.
- 2025 Hawaii Computer Science PD Summit, February 12-13, Prince Waikiki Hotel, Honolulu, HI. Presentation on Gen AI and Education (PDF)
- Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-58), January 7-10, 2025, Waikoloa, HI. Details.
Faculty Bio: Dr. Debasis Bhattacharya (Debāśiṣ Bhaṭṭāchārya, দেবাশীষ ভট্টাচার্য, देवाशीष भट्टाचार्य) is a tenured Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College and serves as the Department Chair of the Business and Hospitality Department and the Program Coordinator for the Applied Business and Information Technology (ABIT) baccalaureate program. He brings over thirty-eight years of combined experience in higher education and the technology industry. Before academia, Dr. Bhattacharya spent more than fifteen years at leading technology firms, including Oracle and Microsoft, working in enterprise systems development and technology integration.
He holds academic degrees from MIT, Columbia University, the University of Phoenix, and the Northwestern California University School of Law, reflecting multidisciplinary training across computing, business, and law. His scholarly interests include computer science education, cybersecurity, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, and technology policy.
Dr. Bhattacharya is a Senior Member of the IEEE and ACM and a member of the Academy of Management (AoM). His work focuses on aligning academic programs with workforce demands and advancing applied technology education.
Contact Info:
Dr. Debasis Bhattacharya, JD, DBA
Professor
UH Maui College
808.984.3619
debasisb at hawaii dot edu
Kaaike 114 map
@uhmcabit | Linkedin
Faculty Bio: Tom Blamey is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawai’i. Maui College, and Math Program Coordinator for the STEM department. Mr. Blamey has been working in the Data Science and higher education industry for 33 years, having worked for large corporations such as Liberty Mutual and SAIC for 15 years. A resident of Hawaii since 2015, he has been actively supporting Maui Nui and the University of Hawaii. As a former corporate actuary, he understands the needs and demands of companies, as well as keeping a business profitable. Mr. Blamey holds a BS degree in Mathematics, and a MS degree in Statistics, and has a passion for helping his students succeed in their academic and workforce endeavors.
Partial support for this work was provided by the following National Science Foundation grants:
–CyberAI Innovation under CyberAICorps SFS program under Award No. 2622701
–Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program under Award No. 2300867
–STEM + Computing (STEM+C) program under Award No. 1738824
– Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program under Award No. 1700562
– Scholarship for Service (SFS) program under Award No. 1437514
– Scholarship for Service (SFS) program under Award No. 1516178
– Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program under Award No. 1204904
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. University of Hawaii Maui College is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.