FALLS CHURCH, Va., March 18, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Northrop Grumman Foundation, presenting sponsor of the Air Force Association's (AFA) CyberPatriot program, presented $50,000 in scholarships this weekend to students on the winning teams of the CyberPatriot V National Finals Competition, helping the nation's future cyber defenders further their education.
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The winners from the All Service Division were: first place, Marine Military Academy, Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC), Harlingen, Texas; second place, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, Marine Corps JROTC, Fitchburg, Mass.; and third place, La Cueva High School, Marine Corps JROTC, Albuquerque, N.M.
The Open Division winners were: first place, Chantilly Academy, Chantilly, Va.; second place, Marshall Academy, Falls Church, Va.; and third place, Marshall Academy, Falls Church, Va.
Each student on the winning teams received a portion of the total scholarship amount. First place winners were each awarded $2,000, second place winners each received $1,500, and third place winners each got $1,000. This is the third year Northrop Grumman has provided these scholarship funds. For more information about the event, go to:
http://www.newsinfusion.com/events/cyberpatriot.
"The United States is experiencing a growing shortage of professionals interested in science, technology, engineering and math, threatening our economic future and national security," said Sandra Evers-Manly, vice president, Corporate Responsibility and president of the Northrop Grumman Foundation. "Programs like CyberPatriot, which are increasing the pool of young people interested in STEM, are critical to our international competitiveness and our ability to defend ourselves from cyber threats."
The final competition brought 28 teams from around the country together to compete in two different divisions. The All Service Division included students from the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, Civil Air Patrol, and the Naval Sea Cadet Corps programs. The Open Division was made up of public, private and home-schooled high school teams. This year, the CyberPatriot competition included two additional teams from Manitoba province, Canada, that competed parallel to the American teams as international exhibition teams.
Following the keynote address delivered by Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley, Air Force Brig. Gen. Burke E. "Ed" Wilson, Deputy Commander, Air Forces Cyber, Fort Meade, Md., announced the winning teams in the All Service Division and Kathy Warden, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Information Systems, announced the winning teams in the Open Division.
The CyberPatriot V National Finals Competition was held outside Washington, D.C., on March 15. The AFA's CyberPatriot program is the largest high school cyber defense competition and is designed to excite, educate and motivate students toward careers in cybersecurity. Last week, the Northrop Grumman Foundation announced that it will continue as presenting sponsor of CyberPatriot, with a $4.5 million, three-year grant to AFA.
"These students continue to impress us with their skills and innovation throughout the CyberPatriot competition, which grows in complexity and size each year," said Diane Miller, Northrop Grumman program director, CyberPatriot, who presented the scholarship check. "I'm proud that CyberPatriot continues to challenge the competitors, and they continue to demonstrate their computer skills, leadership, teamwork, communication and critical thinking abilities to meet the challenge year after year."
In its third year as the presenting sponsor, the Northrop Grumman Foundation and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) have invested time, talent and resources to assist in coaching teams and mentoring students. In addition to the foundation's generous support, Northrop Grumman contributes employee volunteers, expertise and resources to CyberPatriot, as well as scholarship funds for the winning teams. The company also provides internships to a number of CyberPatriot competitors, as do other industry and government organizations. These internship opportunities serve both CyberPatriot participants and cybersecurity employers as the nation strives to fill the critical need for cyber professionals.
This is the fifth year of AFA's CyberPatriot competition, which included more than 1,200 teams representing all 50 states, U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Europe and the Pacific, and Canada. This year's competition represents a 21 percent increase in registered teams over last year. The competition began in October 2012 and included three virtual competition rounds over three months to qualify for the in-person final competition round.
Northrop Grumman is committed to supporting cybersecurity education, training and technology. In addition to CyberPatriot, the foundation supports other cyber STEM initiatives including the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) CyberScholars program. The corporation supports the University of Maryland Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students program, leads the Cybersecurity Research Consortium, is partnered with the UMBC Research Park Corporation on the Cync incubator program, and operates its own Cyber Academy. For more about Northrop Grumman in cybersecurity, go to www.northropgrumman.com/cybersecurity. For more about CyberPatriot, go to www.uscyberpatriot.org
The Northrop Grumman Foundation supports diverse and sustainable programs for students and teachers. These programs create innovative education experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. For more information please visit the Northrop Grumman Foundation website.
