VMI’s cyber defense laboratory recently traveled to the Virginia Army National Guard’s 91st Cyber Brigade Readiness Center at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, to participate in Cyber Drill Weekend, immersing them to cybersecurity in real life scenarios.

VMI, in collaboration with Virginia Tech, has developed a project called, “CryptoQuest,” which uses cartoon animations and virtual and augmented reality to teach high school and college level students cryptography, post-quantum cryptography, and cybersecurity in a more engaging and interactive way.

Amber Strapponi ’26, a computer science major, took an internship with the Joint Special Operations Command. She focused on security policies on their platform development team and strengthening the security posture of ARK, their custom-built Kubernetes platform.

Business and computer science were two industries that Warner Collier ’24 saw opportunity in. Coming to Virginia Military Institute, he wanted to cast as wide of a net as possible, which brought him to major in economics and business, with minors in computer science and cybersecurity.

The Cyber Defense Laboratory (CyDef) at Virginia Military Institute, has developed a program with educational institutions to foster knowledge and interest in cutting-edge technology fields among high school and middle school students.

According to Dylan Palmer '24, the nature of unmanned systems inherently reduces the risk to operators conducting missions during wartime. He presented his honors thesis, “Drone Countermeasures, Ethics, and Drones’ Effects on a Modern Battlefield" during VMI's Honors Week.

The invitation-only event is for colleges that are National Security Agency (NSA) / Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-designated National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense. It was organized by the Center for Leadership and Ethics as part of its strategic engagement initiatives.

Once Virginia Military Institute came into view, John Barker '23 felt a surge of excitement. He had always dreamt of immersing himself in the world of information technology and making a mark in the industry.  

Hayden Rose ’26, a computer science major at Virginia Military Institute, used the skills he learned as a VMI emergency medical technician (EMT) to save a woman’s life recently while embedded with the 91st cyber brigade for a military activity at Camp Pendleton.

Under a picturesque blue sky, the change of command parade was held on the Parade Ground at Virginia Military Institute Sunday, May 14 at 2 p.m., as the 183rd Regiment handed over leadership of the Corps of Cadets to the 184th Regiment for the 2023-24 academic year.