Navatek
and URI College of Engineering win $3.8 million contract for cyber-physical systems research
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| I took this photo at the 2013 ribbon-cutting at Navatek. The young guy at the far right is my nephew, Dr. Christopher O'Reilly (Will Collette) |
The U.S. Office of Naval Research has awarded Navatek LLC of Rhode Island a $3.8 million contract to develop autonomous systems to combat threats to cyber-physical systems (CPSs), bringing with it the University of Rhode Island’s College of Engineering as its partner in the project.
CPSs include marine vessels, unmanned vehicles, water treatment plants, power grids and smart buildings. The marriage of cybersecurity and systems engineering will ensure that these critical systems become more resilient to avoid or survive damage if attacked.
The
program goal is to advance research of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
resiliency in the face of physical and cyberattacks for shipbuilding and
manufacturing. It will include the development of autonomous systems that can
respond quickly to attacks that leverage machine learning, artificial
intelligence, and digital twin concepts coupled with hardware and software.
The result of this research will be a set of procedures, architectures, and devices that will be used to retrofit existing or new manufacturing processes for the U.S. Navy.
The result of this research will be a set of procedures, architectures, and devices that will be used to retrofit existing or new manufacturing processes for the U.S. Navy.
With
its extensive expertise in cyber security and micro grids, URI will construct
the lab facility and develop artificial intelligence systems for this project.
“Our
long-standing partnership with Navatek has brought University expertise,
faculty and students, together with industry leaders to strengthen an area
essential to the protection of our technological infrastructure,” URI President
David M. Dooley said.
“This is exactly the kind of critical work the University needs to be doing with a leading Rhode Island company, to help build a workforce in the state that can develop innovative strategies to mitigate these cybersecurity and infrastructure system threats.”
“This is exactly the kind of critical work the University needs to be doing with a leading Rhode Island company, to help build a workforce in the state that can develop innovative strategies to mitigate these cybersecurity and infrastructure system threats.”
“Navatek and URI will build on existing cyber-physical research, tailoring it to meet Navy requirements, for both shore-based and ship systems. With the growing cyber threats to our Navy’s systems and warfighters,
Navatek
is proud to partner with URI on this effort and hire new scientists and
engineers to build on our critical mass of talent in South Kingstown,” said
Martin Kao, chief executive officer at Navatek.
Brendan Conlon, director of cyber security at Navatek adds, “This is an exciting time for Navatek as it pursues ground-breaking research with URI. The tactics and techniques developed will undoubtably contribute to advances in critical infrastructure protection.”
“We
have always had an innovative and collaborative partnership with Navatek, and
are proud to continue to grow our research and development of critical
technology in cyber-physical systems resiliency and apply it to the Fleet,”
commented Dr. Raymond Wright, dean of the College of Engineering at URI.
“This
project has great potential to enhance the security of cyber-physical systems
and I commend URI and Navatek for partnering to win this Naval research award,”
said U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed
Services Committee and a senior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on
Defense.
“It’s
important that we continue to invest in the research necessary to defend our
military forces and facilities against cyberattack by increasingly aggressive
adversaries,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). “Rhode Island is at
the forefront of cybersecurity research and development. I’m excited to
see what this partnership between URI, Navatek, and the Navy will bring.”
“Our
Navy ships are the original connected cities,” said Congressman Jim Langevin
(D-RI), the Chair of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on
Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities and a member of the
Cyberspace Solarium Commission.
“Ships’ advanced systems keep our sailors safe and our adversaries at bay. But as onboard systems become increasingly interconnected, they also are more vulnerable to hacking. We need advanced research on the intersection of computer systems and physical processes so that we can protect our ships from cyber attacks that could disable their engines, weapon systems, or even their power plants. I’m proud that Rhode Island will continue to grow our blue economy by performing this cutting edge Naval research.”
“Ships’ advanced systems keep our sailors safe and our adversaries at bay. But as onboard systems become increasingly interconnected, they also are more vulnerable to hacking. We need advanced research on the intersection of computer systems and physical processes so that we can protect our ships from cyber attacks that could disable their engines, weapon systems, or even their power plants. I’m proud that Rhode Island will continue to grow our blue economy by performing this cutting edge Naval research.”
“This
new federal funding will provide critical resources to put Rhode Islanders in
good-paying jobs keeping our country safe,” said Congressman David Cicilline
(D-RI). “The University of Rhode Island and Navatek are second-to-none. I know
that this partnership will help develop new technologies that make our world a
better, safer place.”
The
Principal Investigators on the project are Haibo He, the URI Robert Haas
Endowed Chair in Engineering and the Director of the URI Computational
Intelligence and Self-Adaptive Systems (CISA) Laboratory, and Engineering
Professor Yan (Lindsay) Sun, the director of URI’s Network Security and Trust
(NEST) Laboratory.
He’s research interests include computational intelligence, machine learning and data mining, cyber-physical systems, human-robot interaction, smart grid, cyber security, and various application fields. Sun is considered a pioneer on addressing the power grid security challenges from the holistic view of information, signal processing, and networking.
He’s research interests include computational intelligence, machine learning and data mining, cyber-physical systems, human-robot interaction, smart grid, cyber security, and various application fields. Sun is considered a pioneer on addressing the power grid security challenges from the holistic view of information, signal processing, and networking.
About
Navatek
Navatek
is a leading provider of innovative research and development services for the
Department of Defense, NASA, and other government agencies. Historically a
provider of naval architecture and modeling and simulation services, its
portfolio has diversified to encompass digital twins, power and energy systems,
unmanned vehicles, robotics, autonomy, AI/ML, data science, inflatables,
composites, and additive manufacturing. Since its founding in Hawaii in 1979,
Navatek has grown to open offices in Rhode Island, Maine, Virginia, Michigan,
South Carolina, and Oklahoma.