Description:
Southern Utah University is recruiting senior-level Cybersecurity students to support the DOE Hydropower Collegiate Competition (HCC) 2026-2027 in-conduit hydropower project. The project studies how energy can be recovered from existing water conveyance infrastructure while protecting the primary purpose of the water system: safe and reliable water delivery. The Cybersecurity student role will focus on secure data, cyber-physical risk, dashboard protection, sensor communication, access control, and data integrity. Modern water and energy systems increasingly depend on sensors, controls, dashboards, and data communication. The work should consider how data are protected, how users access the system, how sensor information is trusted, and what cyber risks could affect operation or decision-making. This Fall 2026 position is intended for students who will continue the same work as their Spring 2027 capstone. Selected students will receive scholarship-supported or paid project support during Fall 2026, conditioned on their commitment to prepare a complete cybersecurity and secure-data component during the Spring 2027 capstone.
Responsibilities:
- Review the DOE HCC rules.
- Study the basic operation of in-conduit hydropower systems, including sensors, monitoring, dashboard communication, and system-operation data.
- Work with Computer Science students to identify cybersecurity considerations for the dashboard, database, user access, data transmission, and system monitoring.
- Prepare a preliminary cybersecurity risk assessment for the proposed in-conduit hydropower monitoring system.
- Identify possible risks such as unauthorized access, weak passwords, data tampering, sensor spoofing, incorrect readings, unsecured communication, loss of data, poor backup procedures, or dashboard misuse.
- Develop recommended cybersecurity practices for secure data handling, authentication, access control, data integrity, file organization, and safe communication between sensors, dashboard, and users.
- Support the HCC design documentation by contributing to risk identification and risk minimization. The HCC rules specifically expect teams to include risk identification and risk minimization, including cyber risk where applicable.
- Coordinate with engineering students to understand what measurements will be collected and how those measurements may affect system operation.
- Coordinate with Computer Science students to ensure the dashboard and software workflow include basic cybersecurity and data-protection features.
- Help prepare a cyber-physical system diagram showing sensors, data paths, users, dashboard, storage, and possible risk points.
- Document cybersecurity assumptions, limitations, recommended controls, and Spring 2027 capstone tasks.
- Support responsible use of AI tools if the team uses AI for documentation, coding support, or analysis. The HCC rules allow generative AI use, but require disclosure of its use and place responsibility on competitors for accuracy, authenticity, and authorship.
- Maintain organized files and provide weekly progress updates to the faculty mentor.
Qualifications:
- Must be a senior-level Cybersecurity student or closely related major.
- Must be planning to complete a capstone project in Spring 2027.
- Must be willing to continue the in-conduit hydropower cybersecurity and secure-data work as the Spring 2027 capstone project.
- Must be available to work consistently during Fall 2026.
- Must have experience or strong interest in cybersecurity, secure data handling, risk assessment, access control, networks, databases, dashboards, or cyber-physical systems.
- Experience with security documentation, threat modeling, basic network security, authentication concepts, data integrity, or secure software practices is preferred.
- Must be able to work with Computer Science and Engineering students to connect cybersecurity requirements to a real engineering prototype.
- Must have strong organization, documentation, communication, and teamwork skills.
- Interest in renewable energy, water infrastructure, critical infrastructure protection, responsible AI, and applied cybersecurity is preferred.