Cukier Honored with SANS Difference Makers Award

Published December 19, 2018

Michel Cukier, director of the Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) undergraduate Honors College program and an associate professor of reliability engineering, has been honored with a 2018 SANS Difference Makers Award.

The award, administered by the SANS Institute, celebrates the most dedicated and innovative people who made a difference in security in 2018.

Cukier, who is a member of the Maryland Cybersecurity Center and holds an affiliate appointment in UMIACS, is one of 11 individuals who received the award at the SANS Cyber Defense Initiative conference in Washington, D.C. on December 17.

He was specifically recognized for reaching out to high school students interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity.

“Cukier established a pathway for the brightest and most talented high school students to have an intense, industry-supported focus on cybersecurity as early as their freshman and sophomore years,” according to a statement from the SANS Institute. “His efforts are paving the way towards providing [a] much needed answer to the question those talented young people will be asking when they start looking at colleges.”

The SANS Institute, established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization, provides intensive, immersion training designed to help security professionals master the practical steps necessary for defending systems and networks against the most dangerous security threats.