Category Archives: competitions

2025 Upsilon Pi Epsilon Scholarship Winners

Congratulations to Jorge Pinzon and Kelson Bowman on being selected as the 2025 scholarship recipients for Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE), the international honor society for the computing and information disciplines.  This is a prestigious honor with competition from applicants at universities across the country.

The UPE Scholarship Challenge: Annually, the Executive Council of Upsilon Pi Epsilon evaluates submissions from our most promising undergraduate and graduate students, nationwide. The application process is rigorous: candidates must present a clear vision for their long-term professional plans, showcase their impactful contributions to their UPE chapters, and document their college-level activities. Successful applicants will have also secured a key recommendation from their UPE faculty adviser and provided all official transcripts.

Please join us in congratulating Kelson and Jorge!

For more information on the Honor Society and the annual scholarship opportunity, click here: Upsilon Pi Epsilon

Dr. Jamie Pinchot Receives Ben Bauman Award for Excellence at IACIS 2025


Dr. Jamie Pinchot received the Ben Bauman Award for Excellence at the International Association for Computer Information Systems (IACIS) 2025 Conference in Clearwater, FL, on October 3, 2025.  (conference link here)

The Ben Bauman Award for Excellence honors faculty members who have demonstrated significant contributions and dedication to the field of information systems, including service to their university and community.

Dr. Pinchot was recognized during the ceremony as a distinguished academic who has taught at the university level for over 20 years with a teaching portfolio that spans undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral courses. Her scholarly research has focused on the areas of information privacy and security, mobile technologies, social media and online human behavior, and human-centered design in software development. Further, she has chaired 15 doctoral dissertation committees and served on an additional 33 dissertation committees during her tenure at RMU. Dr. Pinchot has also served RMU as Director of the Ph.D. in Information Systems and Communications and currently serves as Department Head for the Computer and Information Systems department, where she oversees 5 undergraduate programs, 6 Master’s degree programs, and the Ph.D. program. She has also served as Co-PI on two NSF grants and has been RMU’s representative for the National Center for Women & Technology (NCWIT). Dr. Pinchot’s full bio can be found here.

(left to right, Evan Kinney, Dr. G. Alan Davis, Dr. Natalya Bromall, Dr. Sushma Mishra, Dr. Jamie Pinchot, Dr. John Stewart, Shadrack Oriaro, Dr. Karen Paullet, and Amy Kulikowski)

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Pinchot on this award, honoring her impressive record of service as a teacher, scholar, and administrator in the field of information systems.

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Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition

We are recruiting students to participate in the 2025-26 RMU team for CCDC (Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition).

See more information at https://maccdc.org/ and https://www.nationalccdc.org/

If you are interested in participating in this cyber competition, please contact the team faculty coach Dr. Nader Kesserwan by email at kesserwan@rmu.edu no later than this Thursday, September 18 , and attach a brief 1-2 page resume including any technical background and cyber competition experience for consideration. Team size is limited. 

Fall 2025 Case Competition: Trusted AI for Banking

Sponsored by PNC Bank and hosted by Carnegie Mellon University, Corporate Startup Lab is proud to announce its Fall 2025 Case Competition! 

The theme for the Competition is Trusted AI for Banking.  You will attempt to provide a solution through transformative innovation ideas, products, or services.  

Registration closes September 20th: Registration Link for CSL Case Competition

Registered teams will receive the full prompt on September 21st, with the first round of submissions due on October 4th at 11:59PM

Finalists will be announced on October 9th, with Final Presentations given on CMU’s campus on October 23rd

Following a celebratory lunch and a brief ceremony, the top three teams will be publicly recognized and will receive cash prizes totaling $20,000, including $12,000 for the first-place team.

The competition is open to all Graduate and PhD students at any U.S. based college or university. You must have a team consisting of 3-4 students to enter.

For more

AI in Action Hack-a-Thon

The Massey Center is launching the  AI in Action Hackathon: Solutions for Small Business Success! Students from RMU and other universities will team up with local businesses and industry leaders to build real-world, AI-powered solutions. the deadline is September 22!

Friday, September 26th – Virtual Launch Day

Saturday, October 18th – Pitch Day at Field Day Co-working space in Lawrenceville

This initiative invites students of all academic backgrounds and schools to develop AI-enabled solutions for 4 founders in the region.  Adopting a human-centered approach, teams meet with founders and mentors during the innovation process. The Grand Prize is $1000 for the winning team,  with additional recognition categories.

Special thanks to visionary, Data Science Major William Fullerton, in partnership with Duquesne student, Benjamin Irwin,  and Faculty Champion and Massey Center Advisory Board Member, Dr. Albena Ivanova, for your energy and big thinking! 

Content provided by The Massey Center.

To register, visit: https://apicspgh.starchapter.com/meetinginfo.php?id=76&ts=1757623402

Department of Defense Scholarship Winners

Larry Luther and Jesse Marks are the latest RMU cybersecurity students who received a generous scholarship as part of a competitive grant award to RMU from the US Department of Defense Cyber Service Academy (DoD CSA) program. Dr. Ping Wang is the Faculty PI (Principal Investigator) of the grant. The DoD CSA scholarship provides full tuition, a stipend, book and laptop allowances, travel support, and future DoD employment for selected students to complete a cybersecurity-related degree at designated National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) institutions like RMU.

Larry and Jesse are among only 50 DoD CSA Scholars selected nationally this year. They both attended this year’s DoD CSA boot camp with PI Dr. Wang in Washington, DC, in July, participating in a realistic multi-challenge cyber competition.

Congratulations, Larry and Jesse! We are very proud of your amazing accomplishment!

Jesse (left) and Larry (right), with PI Dr. Wang (center), attended this year’s DoD CSA boot camp in Washington DC

SteelHacks XII Hackathon

Unleash Your Inner Innovator at Steelhacks XII!

Get ready to dive into a world of innovation, problem-solving, and collaboration at Steelhacks XII, happening on September 20-21, 2025, at the University of Pittsburgh.

Steelhacks is more than just a coding competition; it’s an opportunity to challenge yourself, learn new skills, and connect with like-minded individuals.

  • 24 hours of coding, creativity, and collaboration
  • Speed Friending with various companies (networking opportunities) and Guest Speakers
  • Prizes for several different tracks
  • Free food and fun activities to keep the energy high

Mark your calendars and get ready to turn your ideas into reality.

Register now: at the Steelhacks website for registration and updates on all the exciting activities and more details as the event approaches!