10/30/2026
Building a more secure digital future takes more than technical expertise. It takes collaboration across disciplines, institutions, and industries.
Last week, we had the pleasure of attending the launch of the Penn Engineering Schlein Center for Cybersecurity, which featured speakers who shared their insights and expertise about technology, security, and society in the age of AI.
While AI can make malicious adversaries more capable, it can also empower defenses and support the efforts of people working tirelessly to mitigate the impact of cyberattacks.
At the event, we were lucky to hear from Penn President J. Larry Jameson, Ted Schlein (C’86, PAR’20), Penn Engineering’s Dean Vijay Kumar, and Michael Hicks, Director of the Schlein Center for Cybersecurity and Director of our MSE in Software Systems and Cybersecurity (MSE-SSC) degree program.
Additionally, keynote speeches and remarks were delivered by General Timothy D. Haugh, Former Director, NSA, Jennifer Easterly, RSA Conference CEO, and Philip Yannella, Partner and Co-Chair of Privacy, Security and Data Protection at Blank Rome LLP.
General Haugh and Easterly shared perspective from their decades of experience working on the front lines of security for the United States military.
Additionally, faculty members Sebastian Angel, Eric Wong, Andre DeHon, Michael Hicks gave TED-Style Lightning Talks on their research and initiatives to address current cybersecurity needs and risks.
We applaud the work of these dedicated experts and researchers committed to serving as world leaders in security and privacy by design and advancing the future of the interdisciplinary field by educating Penn Engineering students.
