Charles Clancy is the new director of the Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech College of Engineering
The Virginia Tech College of Engineering has named Charles Clancy the director of the Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology, and associate professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering http://www.ece.vt.edu/. Administered jointly by the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) and the College of Engineering, the Hume Center heads the university's educational and research programs in national security, and has taken a leading role in the university's growth in cyber security.
Since July 2010, Clancy has served as research fellow for Virginia Tech’s National Capital Region and associate director of the Hume Center, shepherding it through its formative stages and establishing key strategic relationships with industry and government partners that will be vital to the success of the center. Before joining Virginia Tech, Clancy worked in a number of research, scientific, and engineering positions within the United States Department of Defense. He is credited with a wide range of successes, from promoting significant advances in open-source software radio technology to architecting and brokering agreements in the Middle East that brought the Iraqi commercial Internet backbone online.
“We are very fortunate to have Charles as director,” said Roop Mahajan, director of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science. “He brings a special energy and enthusiasm to innovation and research, complemented by the ability to motivate others to push the envelope of science and engineering in the intelligence research area.”
Clancy’s current research is in wireless security. Over the past few years, wireless spectrum policy has been shifting toward open, opportunistic access, made possible by cognitive radio technology. Ensuing secure and fair access to the airwaves is of key importance, and the focus of Clancy’s work. As a leading expert in this field, his research directly supports defense and military spectrum technology and policy, but will have significant impact to the commercial wireless industry as cognitive radio becomes mainstream with other technologies.
“Dr. Clancy and the Hume Center will provide important leadership as we increase our expertise and capabilities in cyber security research and education,” said Scott Midkiff, professor and head of Virginia Tech’s Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Through the support of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science and Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, the Hume Center is the hub for national security research and education at Virginia Tech. A generous gift from Ted Hume a 1975 electrical engineering alumnus, and his wife Karyn provides scholarships and fellowships to students interested in careers in national security. With the support of the Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence program, students have access to a wide range of national security-related activities on campus, ranging from guest speakers to internship opportunities, and even a summer study abroad program. Through these diverse resources, the Hume Center expects to be a national resource for educating future government leaders.
In order to promote collaboration and strategic partnerships with government and industry in the Washington DC metropolitan area, Clancy will be based at Virginia Tech’s new research center in Arlington, Va., which opens in June 2011. The Hume Center leads the research collaboration between the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, the College of Engineering, Virginia Tech’s National Capital Region, and the Naval Postgraduate School in establishing a significant cyber security research laboratory focused on applied systems and network security in the new Arlington research facility. Although headquartered in Arlington, the majority of the Hume Center’s activities will take place in Blacksburg, focused on the large student population interested in careers in national security.