This year’s DOE Cybersecurity and Technology Innovation Conference in Dallas welcomed nearly 20 UNLV computer science students studying cybersecurity to participate in conversations and workshops with top thought leaders from across the Department of Energy (DOE) enterprise, federal interagencies, academia, and private industry on topics ranging from critical infrastructure protection, to workforce development, and modernizing IT and OT environments.

From roundtable discussions with national laboratory representatives including Oak Ridge, Idaho, Argonne, Sandia and Pacific Northwest, to a virtual keynote by DOE Deputy Secretary David Turk, and a review of Top 10 Tech Trends of 2024 from Gartner, students had a chance to hear directly from experts and network with those who may become future collaborators and colleagues.

“I had a great experience attending DOE (Cybersecurity and Technology Innovation Conference), especially with it being the first conference I have attended," said Hareign C., UNLV Cyber Clinic Member and conference attendee. "I gained a ton of knowledge in the field of how AI is innovating cybersecurity in the government and how they are trying to utilize it more and more. Additionally, I learned and developed my people skills: talking to strangers, asking questions, and being more extroverted.”  

UNLV attendees were also able to meet up with fellow Consortium on National Critical Infrastructure Security (CONCISE) members from University of Texas at San Antonio, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Savannah State University during the conference. CONCISE is sponsored through the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) support of the Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program.

“My first-time exposure to an event of this scale was truly eye-opening,” said Thien N., UNLV Cyber Clinic Member and conference attendee. “I had the opportunity to meet with fantastic engineers and representatives from leading companies in the cyber industry, such as IBM, GitLab, Cloudflare, and more. This experience has significantly influenced my perspective, encouraging me to step out of my bubble and better prepare for similar opportunities in the future.”