The Center, made possible by a unique partnership between Florida Tech and Harris, houses the Harris Institute for Assured Information which is designed to research innovative solutions to global information security problems.
"Today’s dedication marks a milestone in this ever-changing field," said Florida Tech President Anthony J. Catanese. "Partnering with our colleagues at Harris is an excellent strategy to solve these difficult challenges. Florida Tech intends to be at the forefront of this research."
The Harris Institute for Assured Information was made possible by a $5 million gift from Harris Corporation through the Community Foundation of Brevard. An additional $2 million in corporate dollars is earmarked for research.
"Our work here at the Harris Institute for Assured Information is as practical as it is visionary. This institute is dedicated to developing advanced solutions to solve global information problems for businesses, governments and individuals," said Howard L. Lance, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harris Corporation.
Unlike other information research efforts that target classified government applications, the new Institute’s mission is to develop solutions for a wide range of real-world commercial and government applications. These include banking and finance, retail, healthcare, education, civil agencies and others.
The vision for the Institute is to create a national center of excellence for cyber research in Melbourne, leveraging high-tech partners locally and nationally. The Institute will strive to become the local center for ongoing workforce development in information assurance, and a thought leader in looking at the problems that users, companies and governments face with respect to using and storing information safely.
The three-story facility also includes space for biological sciences and computer sciences.
