In This Story
This is the third of a three-part series about the NoVa Node’s three foci: workforce development, innovation and entrepreneurship, and research.
The CCI NoVa Node supports a portfolio of research projects across nine Northern Virginia institutions, as well as new faculty hires and undergraduate researchers. In FY25, CCI NoVa Node researchers received 68 external grants totaling $36.7 million.
Program Manager Jordan Mason said the NoVA Node funding often straddles research and workforce development. “CCI funds undergraduate research assistantships, where the students conduct research 15 to 20 hours a week alongside faculty on cyber challenges they would otherwise only read about in the classroom.”
“CCI NoVa Node often provides seed funding for faculty to generate results that are then leveraged to support larger proposals for federal funding,” said Liza Wilson Durant, CCI NoVa Node director and associate provost for strategic initiatives at George Mason. “Our impact on research is then amplified when our funded faculty bring back a 10-fold increase in funding over our initial investment.”
Whether a new professor or a veteran researcher, CCI NoVa Node helps many faculty explore new and existing avenues. “As a new faculty member, CCI and NoVa Node immensely helped bootstrap my research portfolio,” said Tanvir Arafin, an assistant professor in cyber security engineering. “The seed grants provided an opportunity for learning competitive grant preparation, as well as successful research execution with high-risk, high-reward projects. CCI events also helped me connect with fellow researchers across nodes, collaborate in active research, and pursue major research grants.”
Arafin said that those efforts directly translated into success for students, ranging from building their own 5G testbed for hardware security research to a Best Demo Award at ACM WiSec 2025, a major conference.
Samy El-Tawab, information technology professor and program director in the department of computer science at James Madison University, said, “Since becoming an R2 university in 2020, our engagement with CCI significantly contributed to enhancing research at James Madison. This partnership is vital for supporting faculty development, providing essential equipment, and fostering opportunities for undergraduate researchers. The CCI collaboration has truly been one of the key avenues for advancing our research capabilities and educational mission, and we're excited to be a part of this impactful effort.”
Duminda Wijesekera, a tenured professor in the Cyber Security Engineering and Computer Science Departments at George Mason and former recipient of a CCI Impact Award, said, "CCI brings together universities, businesses, and government in developing and enhancing Virginia's cyber capabilities. I have met participants across the commonwealth working with them on impactful projects. CCI's financial assistance played a major role in establishing the Living Innovation Laboratory at Mason Square and providing me a CCI fellowship.”
President and CEO of Fairfax County Economic Development Victor Hoskins stressed the geographic importance of having NoVA Node at George Mason. “This region is the sixth largest economy in the country at $600 billion annually, and $320 billion of that is in Northern Virginia. And George Mason is smack dab in the middle of that.”
About CCI
CCI was established in 2018 by the general assembly, according to its website, to “serve as an engine for research, innovation, and commercialization of cybersecurity technologies, and address the commonwealth’s need for growth of advanced and professional degrees within the cyber workforce.”
Other institutions in the CCI NoVA Node include James Madison University, the University of Mary Washington, Marymount University, Shenandoah University, Blue Ridge Community College, Germanna Community College, Laurel Ridge Community College, and Northern Virginia Community College.