News
Anne Haake

Matt Huenerfauth has been named dean of the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. Huenerfauth, who is an expert in computing accessibility and served as chair of RIT’s School of Information (iSchool) for the past two years, was chosen after an international search.

Ersin Uzun, former vice president and head of Global Internet of Things (IoT) Business at Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and Xerox, has been named the Katherine Johnson Endowed Executive Director of RIT’s Global Cybersecurity Institute.

In 2001, the dot-com bubble was bursting and investors had lost confidence in internet companies. Twenty years later, data has become a new currency, and people can access just about anything from their smartphones. Throughout all these changes, Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences has evolved into the largest college at RIT, with more than 4,600 students this year. Since its creation 20 years ago, GCCIS has awarded more than 14,000 degrees—in a growing number of computing disciplines.

The Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences earned RIT’s annual award for success in diversifying the university’s faculty ranks and helping to advance RIT’s overall commitment to diversity.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of RIT’s Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, the college is holding a series of events throughout the year. GCCIS has evolved into the largest college at RIT with 23 degree programs and advanced certificates in a growing number of computing disciplines. Internationally, GCCIS is highly-ranked for its specialties in game design and development, computer science, cybersecurity, and more.

Anne Haake is stepping down as dean of RIT’s Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences (GCCIS) at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year. She plans to join the faculty following a sabbatical to refresh her research.

For too long, cybersecurity has been an afterthought. In a preemptive strike on cyber­security threats across the world, RIT has created the Global Cybersecurity Institute (GCI). Late last fall, the GCI opened the doors to its 52,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility on campus. With the institute, RIT is on its way to becoming one of the best places in the world for cybersecurity education, training, and research.

Cybercrime is costing the world trillions of dollars, and analysts say that there aren’t enough qualified professionals to prevent those attacks. To address this problem, RIT is creating the Global Cybersecurity Institute (GCI), aimed at meeting the demand for computing security and artificial intelligence professionals, while developing future technologies, protocols and human understanding needed to address the global cybersecurity crisis.

A team RIT computing professors are finalists in the National Science Foundation 2026 Idea Machine competition for their proposal on Integrated Human-Machine Intelligence, beating out more than 800 other ideas.

The National Science Foundation received more than 800 idea submissions for the NSF 2026 Idea Machine competition. Entries were judged and 33 are still in the running for the grand prize, including a submission from an RIT team on Integrated Human Machine Intelligence.