UCF, Army Spearhead Real-Time Rapid Research through New Cyberwerx Collaboration

A new initiative between UCF and the U.S. Army means researchers at the university’s School of Modeling, Simulation and Training will be able to rapidly and on demand help advance simulation and cyber training research and applications for our armed troops.

The initiative, named Cyberwerx, will focus on relevant research programs such as cyber operations planning, cyber data analytics, modeling and simulation, emerging technology evaluations, cloud technology support to network operations, and rapid prototyping with academia and industry partners. The objective is to identify, assess, and harness forthcoming capabilities for the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation.

The work completed through the Cyberwerx initiative aims to further the evolution of U.S. Cyber Command’s Persistent Cyber Training Environment platform. This is the way the Army conducts cyberspace-operations training. The training platform supports military cyberspace forces’ individual training, team certification, and mission rehearsals.

“We’re utilizing the depth and scope of UCF to support our ongoing mission to provide a robust PCTE platform for the Cyber Mission Force,” says Lt. Col. Thomas Monaghan, product manager, Cyber Resiliency & Training. “Cyberwerx will build upon our relationship with UCF by creating processes that enable rapidly prototyping injects into cyber training and mission rehearsals.”

Monaghan said that UCF has supported the PCTE platform from conception, providing valuable assistance in a variety of aspects, most notably in the software developmental-testing realm. This new initiative will enhance and speed up the process.

The initiative will pair UCF experts, both faculty and students, with those who need the tools being developed for real-world applications in real-time. The collaboration should not only provide potential solutions for current problems, but will help address future problems by providing a direct connection between the lab and practitioners.

“Cyberwerx directly addresses a need to enhance the collaboration between UCF, the Army, and industry to support the PCTE platform,” says David “Fuzzy” Wells, the interim director for the School for Modeling, Simulation and Training.

SMST’s mission is to conduct cutting-edge simulation research and execute a world-class transdisciplinary graduate program to create leaders in modeling, simulation and training. SMST houses IST in an internationally recognized interdisciplinary research institute that conducts basic and applied research in the art and science of modeling, simulation and training. IST partners with public and private stakeholders to apply and develop simulations for diverse applications and actively supports the university`s modeling and simulation-education initiative through SMST’s graduate program.