News and Highlights
MC: A Center of Academic Excellence in Computer Defense (CAE-CD)
On January 31, 2022 the National Security Agency (NSA) designated Montgomery College a "Center of Academic Excellence in Computer Defense (CAE-CD)". The award recognizes Montgomery College as superior in the creation of highly skilled cybersecurity professionals who can help strengthen the vulnerabilities in our national infrastructure. As cyberattacks increase in both quantity and lethality, and target individuals as well as entire organizations, the demand for well prepared cybersecurity professionals has never been so great.
The Montgomery College Cybersecurity Program went through an intensive assessment and it was determined that students receive high quality technical training that will help them become leaders in a variety of cybersecurity disciplines. It was acknowledged that program graduates obtain extensive knowledge on how to address the varied cybersecurity threats that our nation currently faces.
The CAE-CD designation is an important achievement for Montgomery College. It recognizes that students are being educated in a manner that is endorsed by two of the most prominent cybersecurity employers in the nation: NSA and DHS.
As a result of this designation, students will be able to enrich their cybersecurity degree program by participating in studies and academic collaborations with government entities as part of their school’s CAE-CD designation.
Earn a Bachelor's Degree in Embedded Systems and Internet of Things or Biocomputational Engineering
Montgomery College offers several seamless transfer pathways to the University of Maryland, College Park at The Universities of Shady Grove. Earn an AS in General Engineering at MC, then transfer to earn a BS in Biocomputational Engineering or a BS in Embedded Systems and Internet of Things. Learn more about these and other transfer agreements with UMD at USG.
Earn a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Cybersecurity (BACS)
Montgomery College has partnered with SANS Technology Institute, the best college in cybersecurity, to create an affordable, high-quality pathway to a cybersecurity career: the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Applied Cybersecurity (BACS)new window.
MC's Associate in Computer Science Degree Program Ranked One of the Nation's Best
Seeking to help prospective students find the best online and on-campus colleges and universities at all degree levels, The Best Schools website researches degree options and issues information about their rankings.
We are happy to report that the Montgomery College online associate in computer science degree programs were included among the top 30 for 2018. Here's what The Best Schools says: "Unlike some schools, MC allows students to select which programming language they want to specialize in. Candidates can choose between general computer science and information sciences concentrations. Distance learners who follow the college's suggested course sequence typically graduate in two years."
We are proud of this distinction, and we know it takes more than luck to earn it. Our Computer Science faculty includes program advisor Alla Webb, professor of computer science and technologies, who earned a doctorate at The George Washington University; David Kuijt, associate professor of computer science, who earned a doctorate at the University of Maryland; and Robert Alexander, professor of computer science, who earned a doctorate at the Naval Postgraduate School, among others. All of our faculty have years of industry experience, bringing real-world experience to their classes.
In addition, all of our computer science courses transfer seamlessly to most four-year institutions, including the University of Maryland, College Park.
Congratulations to the fine faculty and staff who help give our computer science and technology program the outstanding reputation it deserves.
Montgomery College First Community College to Participate in NAE's Grand Challenges Scholars Program
The Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) is a National Academy of Engineering
(NAE) initiative to create an
honors program that will develop the students who will solve the largest problems
facing engineering and the world
in the 21st century—problems like better medicines, solar power, reverse engineering
the brain, clean water, fusion, and carbon sequestration.
On October 30 at the NAE annual meeting in DC, Montgomery College was accepted as the first community college to have a Grand Challenges Scholars Program. Dean Muhammad Kehnemouyi spoke at the conference about the demands and rewards of developing a GCSP at a two-year institution. The MC program will serve as a paradigm for other community colleges to develop their own programs. Prof. David Kuijt will be the director of the GCSP program at MC.
More than 150 universities in the United States and internationally have Grand Challenges Scholars Programs. Nearly half of all undergraduates in engineering start their academic career at community colleges, so the NAE has made it a high priority to expand the GCSP initiative to community colleges. Over the last year MC has worked closely with the NAE in developing the model for how community colleges will participate in the GCSP initiative, and in designing a GCSP for Montgomery College to allow MC students to participate in this honors program both at MC and when they go on to UMD, UMBC, or other receiving institutions.
GCSP scholars will develop competencies in research, multidisciplinary, service learning, entrepreneurial, and multicultural approaches, and apply them to their chosen Grand Challenge Problem. Each student chooses their own Grand Challenge; they interact with mentors who advise them on choosing activities (like Engineers Without Borders, a NIST internship, Study Abroad, certain coursework, the Raptor Tank Entrepreneurship competition, and so on) that will allow them to develop skills in several of the above competencies.
NASA MIND competition
NASA MINDS is an undergraduate research program / competition associated with NASA’s
Artemis mission to put men and women on the moon by 2024.
Early in Fall 2020 SET unit put together a large group of interested students and
some faculty mentors. David Kuijt – Gary Thai – and Jennifer Lee from English department
(truly interdisciplinary work STEM and Non-STEM)
The students brainstormed research ideas, picked ones to work on, coalesced into groups, and were off. By the end of November, we had about 30 students in three groups working on 3 projects:
- Dust Mitigation
- Underground Greenhouses
- Thermoelectric Generators (TEG)
Two teams (TEG and Greenhouses) were among seven asked to present their proposals to a team of NASA engineers and scientists in April. The TEG team won first place for the best technical paper; the Greenhouse team won best presentation and first place overall.
The presentation of 4 students at MIT technology conference on Oct, 2021
Four members of the Artemis mission team lead by Ellie Montemayor over the summer,
decided to redo their project and make it better, spending June and July conducting
experiments, and simulations,
This past October, the team presented at the 2021 MIT Undergraduate Research Technology
Conference. This was an international conference co-hosted by MIT and IEEE. The MC
team’s work was featured side-by-side with other groundbreaking research from schools
like MIT, Cornell, West Point, Northeastern, and more, and will be published on the
IEEE Database.
MC is participating at UMD data Science competition
MC Students and faculty volunteers under the leadership of our ECE faculty, Dr. Palma Catravas are gearing up to participate in the upcoming UMD Info Challenge this February, hosted by the College of Information Studies at UMD. Organizers at UMD have gone out of their way to welcome MC students as part of the competition, which last year had over 200 participants from multiple institutions.
In Spring, 2021, a team of UMD students, all four of whom were MC alums, won the Outstanding Undergraduate Project award for their analysis of the dataset, Behavior Changes During Covid 19. They are currently all working on their Bachelors in Information Science at the USG. During the awards ceremony the students were asked to acknowledge someone who had inspired them and they thanked and acknowledged their mentor, Prof Gary Thai! – CS faculty
This year, the theme of the 2022 UMD Info Challenge is “Going Beyond Data” and competitors may choose from three tracks: Data Analysis, Cybersecurity and Design. 57 MC students have registered to participate and our very own Jason Lee has volunteered his expertise as a mentor or judge. Thank you to everyone here who encouraged students to sign up. We wish them all good luck.
Visiting faculty from Aruba (Nov 2021) and Easter European countries (April 1, 2022)
Presentations by faculty and chair and tour of the Cyber lab.
Alumni Presentation - April 23 2021
The SET area held its annual Computer Science and Engineering Alumni Event on Friday, April 23, 2021, This event provided current Montgomery College students an opportunity to network with, and receive advice from our computer science and engineering alumni. Alumni were available to answer questions about the real world after graduation; and what it is like to transfer to a four-year institution.
Read past news from the Science, Engineering, and Technology (SET) area.
- National Science Foundation's Scholarship for Service Awarded to MC Students (PDF,
) - October 19, 2018 - Kam Yee Named Part-Time Faculty Member of the Year (PDF, )
- Montgomery College Computer Science and Engineering Students Compete in 2018 NASA
Swarmathon (PDF, )
- Engineering Faculty from China Visit Montgomery College (PDF, )
- Cybersecurity Faculty and Students Present on the Dark Net Markets (PDF, ) - September 14, 2018
- Montgomery College Computer Science Student Team Wins National Competition at NASA's
2017 Swarmathon (PDF, )
- Java Competition Builds Relationships (PDF, ) - April 21, 2017
- Computer Science and Engineering Host Alumni Panel (PDF, ) - April 20, 2017
- Magruder High School Students Visit Montgomery College (PDF, )
- Montgomery College Students Attend GW IRES Program (PDF, )