UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Anna Squicciarini, an assistant professor at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), has been awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor, effective July 1.
“Dr. Squicciarini has strengthened our college in research, education and service,” said Mary Beth Rosson, interim dean of the College of IST. “Anna's research is addressing important questions in the fast-growing area of information sharing and privacy, where her results have huge potential for broad society impact.”
Squicciarini’s research focuses on various aspects of data and system security. Currently, she is exploring security issues in the context of social networks with emphasis on users’ privacy and online deviance. Her teaching activities cover topics in security and database systems. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Army Research Office, Hewlett-Packard and a Google Faculty Research Award. She was recently awarded an NSF Career Award to explore collective access control models and mechanisms in collaborative systems.
In addition to her research and teaching activities, Squicciarini coordinates the Scholarship for Service (SFS) program at Penn State, which is designed to increase and strengthen the cadre of federal cybersecurity professionals who protect the U.S. government's information infrastructure. The SFS program provides scholarships to U.S. citizens that fully fund the typical costs that students pay for tuition and books while attending an approved graduate or undergraduate program. After graduation, participants must fulfill a government service obligation for a period equivalent to the length of their scholarship (up to two years).
“In her role as teacher and mentor, Anna has become a core faculty member in our Security and Risk Analysis major, regularly revising and delivering courses, online labs and supervising research for students at all levels,” Rosson said. “Her participation as a college community member has also been solid, including service on course committees, advisory committees, search committees and leadership within the Scholarship for Service mentoring program.”
Squicciarini earned her doctorate degree in computer science from the University of Milan, Italy, in 2006. In 2002, she received the equivalent of a combined bachelor’s/master’s degree in computer science, also from the University of Milan. From 2006 until the end of 2008, Squicciarini was a post-doctoral research associate at Purdue University, where she expanded her research interests to include security for grid systems and digital identity management.