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2021 Research for Intelligence & Security Challenges (RISC)

Summer Internship for Hard Security Problems 

June 1 – August 6, 2021

The Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) at the University of Maryland, College Park is hosting in Summer 2021 the virtual Research for Intelligence & Security Challenges (RISC) Initiative internship program, building off the success of the 2020 AI Research for IC Challenges (AIRICC) program.  This exciting 10-week paid program pairs students with mentors from the UMD campus and the Department of Defense (DOD) and Intelligence Community (IC) community.

Students are introduced to career opportunities with the DoD and IC as well as develop their technical capabilities through hands-on real-world problems, posed by government operators and supported with realistic data sets and other materials. Over the 10-week period, students will participate in lectures and regular team development meetings in a shared virtual work environment. The summer program will conclude with a demonstration event and workshop, with a panel of visiting experts from DOD/IC to discuss the results.

    While specific topics change each cycle, the missions supported are likely to include augmenting intelligence with machines, geospatial analysis, human geography, disinformation, insider risk, and critical technology protection, supporting by interns with expertise in one or more of the following disciplines:

    1. Computer Science, Information Science & Engineering: AI/ML algorithmic development, HCI, data science, data and knowledge engineering, software engineering, systems engineering, media analysis and forensics, information systems design, GIS;
    2. Mathematics and Statistics: Data analytics, quantitative modeling, experimental design, graph analytics, data visualization;
    3. Social & Behavioral Sciences: anthropology, human geography (e.g., pattern of life and mobility modeling), cognitive/neuroscience & psychology, criminal justice, teamwork, and group dynamics, communications, disinformation, and misinformation;
    4. Library Science: Data curation, tagging, metadata, repositories, social media analytics;
    5. Additional topics may include: Measurement and evaluation of learning outcomes, environmental modeling and remote sensing, human factors, regulatory public policy.

    2021 RISC Internship Topics

    National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Projects

    Improving Solid 3D Modeling From Point Clouds

    Algorithms for Threat Detection

    Open-source research to support permafrost mapping

    Defense Intelligence & Security Projects

    Framework to Transform DoD Declassification Program and Processes
    Security Enterprise Oversight Metrics

    Evaluating and Optimizing Security Training

    C2IE Strategic Messaging Effects

    Office of the Director of National Intelligence Projects

    Inferring Implicit Structure from Explicit Format

    Threats and Opportunities of Open Source AI/ML for the IC

    Analyzing Water Sector Vulnerabilities and Securing SCADA Systems

    ARLIS Research Topics

    Assessment and Evaluation of Defense Applications for Emerging AI Hardware

    Adversary Perceptions of U.S. Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Cognitive Security Social Media Simulation

    Defining Insider TRUST (Trustworthy, Reliable, and Useable Systems and Teams)

    Crowdsourced Forecasting for Modeling Insider Risk