Westmont Wins Computer Science Research Grant

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected Westmont to receive a
prestigious $178,000 grant for computer science research over two years. The NSF’s
Cyber Trust Program will fund the Westmont project, “Survivable, Adaptive and
Scalable Distributed Systems.” NSF expects to fund fewer than 50 of the 487
proposals it reviewed this year.
“It’s exciting for such a small college like Westmont to receive this award,” says
Kim Kihlstrom, associate professor of computer science, “Although other Westmont
science departments such as physics and chemistry have received NSF research grants
in the past, this is the first for computer science, so I am thrilled and very grateful to
NSF.”
Kihlstrom will oversee work that involves undergraduate students. The research
will focus on finding ways to protect computer systems, such as the electric power
control grid, which have become critical in today’s world.
“It goes beyond security to what we call survivability,” Kihlstrom says. “The bad
guys are going to get into the system. We want to ensure that the system continues
to provide essential services even during an intrusion. It’s a different problem on the
cutting edge. We’re relying more and more on computer systems for many critical
functions and all are vulnerable to attack. Can we make them survive?”
The grant will fund eight new computers, provide support for undergraduate
students to engage in research and support a computer science summer program in
England. Overseas, students will study at the historic Bletchley Park, where the first
programmable computer was designed and where code breakers deciphered top secret
German messages during World War II.
Kihlstrom is also proud that the project provides opportunities to bring more
women into the computer science profession.
“I really have a heart for female students and faculty members emerging in
research,” Kihlstrom says. “There are too few women are in the sciences.”
Kihlstrom was recently honored by the Computer Journal with the Wilkes Award.
Her work, “Byzantine Fault Detectors for Solving Consensus” was named best paper
of the year for 2004. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford
University and a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Barbara.