Congratulations to Dr. Peter Draus on receiving the inaugural College of Business and STEM Teaching Excellence Award! Dr. Draus was honored with the award at the UPMC Events Center on May 13, 2025. The teaching award, presented by Dr. Daria Crawley and Dr. Sushma Mishra, is given to someone who demonstrates a deep commitment to fostering a positive and engaging learning environment.
Thank you, Dr. Draus, for going above and beyond to guide and empower the students at RMU. Way to go!
Dr. Yonas Kassa has been honored with the Best Full Paper Award at the 2025 ACM Southeast (ACMSE) Conference, which took place from April 24-26, 2025, at Southeast Missouri State University. As the oldest continuously running annual conference of the ACM, ACMSE serves as a vital platform for students, faculty, researchers, and industry professionals to share their latest research across all facets of computer science.
Dr. Kassa’s award-winning paper, a collaborative effort with four other researchers, is titled “Secure Edge Computing Reference Architecture for Data-driven Structural Health Monitoring: Lessons Learned from Implementation and Benchmarking.” You can access the paper here.
Congratulations to Dr. Kassa and his co-authors on this significant achievement!
The FBI Honors Internship Program will be opening Summer 2026 applications starting soon. This program is ideal for undergraduate students between their junior and senior years, as well as graduate students pursuing a Master’s degree, JD, or Ph.D. This paid internship can be a direct pipeline to full-time employment after college.
The program is highly competitive. You can set up a job alert on the website to be notified when postings open. The link to the website can be found here.
The air was filled with excitement, a few nerves, and a sense of accomplishment this semester as we held our first-ever induction ceremony for the RMU Chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE), the international honor society for computing and information disciplines. It was a truly inspiring event, celebrating the hard work, dedication, and exceptional talent of our charter members.
The Wheatley Atrium was filled with bright minds – the inductees themselves, their proud families and friends, and esteemed faculty members.
We were also honored to have Dr. Ioan Raicu, our guest speaker, deliver a brief welcome. Dr. Raicu is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Illinois Institute of Technology and is a National Council Member of UPE. We are thankful for his being able to join us and help guide us through our first UPE induction ceremony.
The heart of the event, of course, was the formal induction of our members. One by one, their names were called, and as they stepped forward, you could feel the collective pride in the room. Each inductee has demonstrated outstanding scholastic achievement and a passion for the computing sciences, making them truly deserving of this recognition. It was a powerful moment, symbolizing the passing of knowledge and the welcoming of these bright individuals into the UPE family. Three CIS faculty members were inducted as charter members of the chapter as well: Dr. Karen Paullet, Dr. Sushma Mishra, and Dr. Jamie Pinchot. Dr. Paullet will serve as the Faculty Advisor for our UPE chapter. In addition, student officers are: Kate Shannon (President), Kelson Bowman (Vice President), Sean Miller (Secretary), and Jesse Marks (Treasurer).
A huge congratulations to all our newly inducted members of UPE! We are incredibly proud of your achievements and look forward to seeing the great things you will accomplish.
RMU’s Career Center hosted an internship showcase on April 23, 2025 called Spring into Success: A Professional Experience Celebration in the UPMC Events Center. A number of students in the department participated to highlight their amazing internship experiences.
Nana Akua Osei-Sarfo, Applied Mathematics, Data Analytics (M.S.), Capital One
Kendall Battles, Criminal Justice, Organizational Leadership (M.S.), Defender Association of Philadelphia
Peyton Lutchkus, Cybersecurity, Cyber Security (M.S.), University of Maryland (ARLIS)
Connor Gitzen, Criminal Justice, Zimmer Kunz PLLC
Nasia Edwards, Criminal Justice, Fiffik Law Group
Aaron Picon, Criminal Justice, Cyber Investigations & Intelligence (M.S.), Allegheny County Youth and Family Services
Payton Hostetler, Cinema and Photography, Stephen Mancini Productions
Emma Cantwell, Criminal Justice, Charleston, SC Police Department
Sean Miller, Cybersecurity, Cyber Investigations & Intelligence (M.S.), Calgon Carbon Corporation
Robert Pava, Cybersecurity & Digital Forensics, Cybersecurity (M.S.), 38th Engineering Squadron
Sai Naga Mallikharjun Yerra, Data Analytics (M.S.), Body by AIM360
Let’s give a huge round of applause to our incredible students who’ve just wrapped up some truly valuable professional experiences and internships! We’re so proud of the skills they’ve gained and the hard work they’ve put in. A massive thank you also goes out to the amazing employers, dedicated staff, and supportive faculty whose guidance and mentorship are absolutely essential in shaping these future professionals. Keep shining!
Dr. Karen Paullet, nominated by student Katherine Shannon, won the RMU 2024-2025 Student Government Association Engagement with Students Award. Dr. Paullet was recognized at the Student Excellence Awards Program on Tuesday, April 22.
Katherine Shannon, left, pictured with Dr. Paullet, right, with the SGA Student Engagement Award for 2024-2025.
An “Engagement with Students Award” from the SGA (Student Government Association) recognizes individuals, often faculty or staff, who demonstrate exceptional commitment to student engagement and well-being.
Thank you, Dr. Paullet, for recognizing the importance of faculty-student interaction and the role it plays in building a strong, vibrant, and inclusive campus community. Congratulations!
Members of the Top Secret Colonials (TSC) collectively donated $655 to a scholarship fund at RMU. Pictured left are members of TSC presenting a check to club advisor Dr. Karen Paullet at the club’s annual trip to a Pirate Game.
The donation was made to the Craig Paullet Making a Difference Scholarship which is dedicated to helping students in computing majors who are academically talented and economically challenged. The scholarship fund honors Dr. Paullet’s late brother, Craig Paullet, by making a difference in the lives of students who might not otherwise be able to pursue their educational goals. If you would like to give to the fund, you can donate here.
Members and alumni of the club had fun cheering on the Bucs on Friday, May 2, 2025, all while making a difference for future computing students. Thank you, TSC, for this generous donation!
RMU honored a select few SDIT students at the SDIT Awards Ceremony in the Wheatley Atrium on April 16, 2025. Opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Daria Crawley, Dean, College of Business and STEM, as she highlighted the dedication and hard work of the students being recognized. Awards were presented by SDIT faculty members. Dr. Crawley presented the Dean’s Scholar Awards. Closing remarks were made by Dr. Joseph Zimmer, Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs. Congratulations to all the deserving students!
GRADUATE STUDENT EXCELLENCE AWARDS:
Alexandria Moreland, Robert Pava, William Challingsworth, Reed Greco, Nikil Settipalli, and Chelsea Horne
OUTSTANDING COMPUTER & INFORMATION SYSTEMS STUDENT AWARDS:
Computer Information Systems Endowment Award:
Sean Miller
The Computer Information Systems Student Award:
Isaac Arnold
CRIMINAL JUSTICE STUDENT AWARDS:
Errisa George and Michele Russell
CYBERSECURITY STUDENT AWARDS:
Reese Martin, Robert Pava, Steven Zalenski, and Brent Rose
DEAN’S SCHOLAR AWARDS:
Peyton Lutchkus, Reese Martin, Rylie Milanovich, Robert Pava, and Trey Reichenfeld
Thank you to all the students, faculty, and staff for their hard work and never-ending RMU spirit!
More pictures from the recognition: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCaCwD
The RMU Analytics Club had a spectacular time at the fifth annual ASA DataFest™!
Imagine a weekend fueled by caffeine, collaboration, and the exhilarating challenge of unlocking hidden stories within a massive trove of data. That’s the essence of the American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest™! This isn’t your typical classroom exercise; it’s a dynamic event where teams of 2 to 5 students plunge into a large, intricate, and fascinating dataset, embarking on a quest to extract meaningful insights and share their discoveries. Think of it as a data scavenger hunt, a statistical hackathon, and an opportunity to flex your analytical muscles in a supportive and exciting environment.
Congratulations to Tula Sah, MS Data Science (pictured right), Bernard Dondo, MS Data Analytics (far left), and Prithvi Raju Mekala, MS Healthcare Analytics (center). Their team won the Best Overall Analysis Award at RMU DataFest 2025! This is a significant achievement and a testament to their hard work and analytical skills.
RMU was redesignated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (NCAE-CD) at a special ceremony during the national cybersecurity symposium in Charleston, SC on April 9, 2025.
The redesignation for RMU is based on the BS in Cybersecurity degree program and valid through academic year 2029. The current government sponsors of the NCAE-CD designation are DoD, NSA, CISA, and FBI.
RMU Provost Dr. Joseph Zimmer and NCAE-C Coordinator/PoC Dr. Ping Wang received the NCAE-CD certificate for RMU at the designation ceremony.
CIS @ RMU 