CAP: AI-SECURE: Expanding the Responsible AI and Cybersecurity Nexus at Norfolk State University through Research, Curriculum Development, and Training

This project is an ExpandAI Capacity building pilot (CAP), which focuses on establishing and expanding a nexus in education and research in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity at Norfolk State University (NSU). This enhances the institution's research capacity and facilitates AI-focused educational curriculum development and training. This project (AI-SECURE) focuses on the increased capabilities of AI in internet-connected smart devices.

AI-SECURE focuses on cybersecurity, explainable AI, and ethical AI in the Internet of Things. The project will also build a new curriculum around these principles and establish community and new centers of excellence in AI where such activities were not previously well developed.

This Capacity Building Pilot seeks to broaden the artificial intelligence (AI)-cybersecurity nexus at Norfolk State University (NSU) by expanding research, training, and curricula initiatives. The project has four major components. The “Curriculum Development” component will develop five new AI courses, a machine learning/AI minor, and six experiential learning modules to infuse responsible AI into NSU curricula.

The “AI-SECURE Lab” component seeks to expand an existing cybersecurity lab to incorporate AI research and experiential learning, especially on issues in the AI-cybersecurity nexus. The “Research Projects” component will provide research opportunities to students and faculty in AI and cybersecurity, including federated learning (FL) enabled network intrusion detection (NIDS), Explainable AI, Responsible AI, and Quantum Machine Learning (QML).

Finally, the “Training” component seeks to provide training opportunities in AI to students and faculty by leveraging existing relationships with partners, such as IBM, MITRE Inc., Brookhaven National Laboratory, and online educational resources, such as Udemy and Coursera. The ExpandAI Program supports AI-powered education and workforce development, infrastructure and research at Minority Serving Institutions to strengthen and diversify U.S. research and education pathways and provide historically marginalized communities with new opportunities in STEM careers.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.