The new Critical Infrastructure, Industrial Control System Cybersecurity Laboratory at the Georgia Cyber Center, 100 Grace Hopper Lane, is part of the national lab's growth and influence strategy, which considers the Savannah River Site home base.
“We are very excited to have Savannah River National Laboratory join the growing ecosystem at the Georgia Cyber Center,” said Michael Shaffer, the executive vice president for strategic partnerships and economic development at Augusta University. “Working collaboratively with Savannah River National Laboratory will provide benefits that will reach across South Carolina, Georgia and the nation.”
Initially, eight members of the Savannah River National Lab cybersecurity team will conduct research at the Augusta footprint. Research partners will be invited, as well.
The Georgia Cyber Center’s mix of of government, industry and academic players presented the national lab with near-perfect growing conditions, according to Dr. Vahid Majidi, the director of SRNL and the president of its management team, Battelle Savannah River Alliance.
“SRNL’s ability to conduct research and development in an innovative and collaborative environment with a full spectrum of partners opens up many opportunities to include cybersecurity solutions to enhance the resiliency of the national grid, training for soldiers, medical industry cybersecurity challenges, and a host of other challenges confronting our nation,” he said Thursday.
The lab already sports a significant partnership with Fort Gordon, home to the Army’s cyber center of excellence, and its budding portfolio includes computer simulation, modeling, and artificial intelligence. As Fort Gordon grows, Majidi said last month, “our programs also grow, because we have a lot of work that we do for the Department of Defense, in general.”
The lab director in the same August speech said he wanted to make SRNL “a cornerstone for our national security” — and that demands investments in the cybersecurity field.
“We want to be that go-to organization for everything that has to do with national security,” Majidi said.
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