UB Net Defense is an independent study for students who want to learn about cyber security in an applied, hands-on fashion. This class is led by a team of UB faculty, staff and volunteer industry experts, who share their expertise with the students through guest lectures and mentoring. The capstone of this class is a student-run cyber security competition hosted at UB each semester which is designed to teach the participants about cyber security. Students from other colleges are invited to compete and industry experts are invited to assist with the competition.
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Cyber Security Outreach Workshops
Each outreach workshop is conducted during a class period at a local school where students learn about a variety of cyber security topics and careers. Topics covered include password security, basic cryptography, steganography and digital forensics. Middle school and high school students from Alden, Amherst, Buffalo, Clarence, North Tonawanda and West Seneca participated in these 70+ workshop sessions. An after-school version of the workshop held at the Buffalo Museum of Science was conducted for students from the Boys and Girls Club of Buffalo.
2015 UB GenCyber Camp
Thirty-six local students (ages 13-17) attended the week-long UB GenCyber Camp where they participated in many hands-on computer activities to learn about different cyber security topics and also hear from industry experts. All of these activities prepared the students for the final day of camp, when they attempted to defend the UB GenCyber network from a simulated cyber-attack. The primary purpose of the UB GenCyber Camp is to educate students about cyber security principles and cyber security careers. A two-day K-12 teacher workshop was also conducted during this time frame. Approximately 15 attendees learned about basic cyber security topics, cyber security careers and how to introduce their students to these topics in a fun and hands-on fashion.
Photographer at 2014 National Grid Leadership Camp
Kenneth Smith took photos of the participants (high school sophomores and juniors) in the National Grid Leadership Camp while they were engaged in the camp activites. The photos were provided online mainly for the parents to see as well as for news (e.g. a UB Reporter article) and future promotional purposes. Additional locations: North Campus; National Grid Offices
Photographer at 2014 Special Olympics USA Games
I volunteered as a photographer at the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games, which was a national-level competition event.
Photographer at Erie County SPCA
I volunteer as a photographer for the Erie County SPCA. Once a week I go to the SPCA shelter on Ensminger Road to take photos of animals that have recently arrived at the shelter. The photos are then placed on the SPCA’s website that lists animals currently available for adoption.
Photographer at Special Olympics New York
I volunteer as a photographer for various Special Olympics New York events, both competition and fundraising, at the local level up through the state-wide level. The photos I take are provided to Special Olympics New York and placed in online galleries where the athletes, their families and participants in fundraising events can view/download them. The photos also get used by Special Olympics New York itself for their promotional purposes. Additional locations: Rochester, N.Y.; Glens Falls, N.Y.; Lake Placid, N.Y.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Brockport, N.Y.