Jennifer Linvill, an assistant professor in Purdue Polytechnic’s Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation, is co-leading a new federally funded project to examine how U.S. research institutions implement cybersecurity on research projects—a top priority for the U.S. government.
Linvill is the co-principal investigator on the two-year, $199,999 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project, titled "Planning Institutional Research Cybersecurity Readiness: Mapping Gaps and Maturity in Support of NSPM-33," is a collaboration with principal investigator Carolyn Ellis at Arizona State University.
The research directly addresses a mandate for universities to strengthen their defenses against the exploitation of research data. While federal policies like National Security Presidential Memorandum-33 (NSPM-33) have set new expectations for cybersecurity, institutions across the country vary widely in how they interpret and implement these requirements.
Linvill and Ellis will lead a structured, mixed-methods study to create a national synthesis of how universities are approaching their new cybersecurity responsibilities. The project will map the different strategies, governance structures, and maturity levels at a range of institutions to identify recurring challenges and gaps.
The research will produce several key deliverables, including an understanding of the current research cybersecurity readiness landscape, how institutions implement cybersecurity programs, common patterns and that shape institutional readiness and alignment with research security programs. The project will provide recommendations for adaptable guidance and scalable coordination strategies.
These findings will help federal agencies, policymakers, and academic leaders understand where to best direct support and clarification.
Linvill notes, “Cybersecurity is now a required part of research security under NSPM-33, yet institutions across the country still lack a clear, shared roadmap for what baseline readiness should look like. This project will help fill that national gap by examining how universities approach research cybersecurity and producing practical recommends supporting consistent, coordinated implementation.”
This work extends Ellis’ previous NSF-funded research that formed the Regulated Research Community of Practice (RRCoP), a peer network of more than 370 institutions collaborating to build knowledge, reduce duplication, and improve research-security readiness.
Linvill’s research also focuses on workforce development at the intersection of policy and technology, which has directly informed federal strategy in high-priority sectors like microelectronics, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. She has been recognized with numerous awards for her contributions to national workforce development, including the John P. Lisack Early-Career Engagement Award and a Bravo Award for her work with the Department of Defense-funded SCALE program.
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