College of Science, Engineering and Technology

Cybersecurity expert Mark Pribish said that retired Gen. Michael Hayden, the former director of the CIA, told an international cyber audience in 2017 that when it comes to cyber threats: “Here’s a fact. You can’t stop it,” at least not 100 percent. With the news of data breaches, identity theft and the like always making headlines, the possibilities of building a career in the cybersecurity industry are strong. He was the first speaker in the Dean’s Speaker Series in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, talking this week to technology students about “Cybersecurity Career Opportunities Outside of IT.”

Increasingly, students at Grand Canyon University are adding minors. These extra concentrated courses give students deeper knowledge in a branch of their major, an increased skill set, a complement to their major, or a completely different academic area to explore.

Grand Canyon University will hit another milestone in 2019, when its first engineering graduates will walk the stage. But before then, those students are busy brushing up their resumes and getting connected with industry, such as at Friday’s Engineering and Technology Job/Internship Fair at GCU Arena. Students spoke with companies such as Paradox, whose flagship product is an artificial intelligence human resources tool named Olivia, as well as Kroger, which was looking for engineers for its project management team, and Benchmark Electronics, which is developing an Engineering Center of Excellence in Tempe.

Rice University synthetic organic chemist Dr. James Tour’s research spans from nanomachines that can drill into cells, such as cancer cells and super bacteria, and kill them, to graphene nanoribbons used in spinal cord repair. But his College of Science, Engineering and Technology One Foundation talk on Friday also focused on his faith and how it has played the biggest role in his life and his scientific success.

The College of Science, Engineering and Technology is taking a unique approach in helping their freshmen engineering students “find their God-given purpose,” as CSET Dean Dr. Mark Wooden calls it. As part of their curriculum, those students take a comprehensive personality and career assessment called the Indigo Assessment. “We were looking for something that would help incoming students determine early on whether their choice of an engineering major was truly in line with their internal motivators and capitalized on their unique strengths,” said Wooden.

Little did GCU’s Robotics Club members know what competing at a recent event would lead to. Not only did the Thunderbots bring home the Judges’ Award from the VEX Robotics World Championship in the spring in Louisville, Ky., they also received certificates of participation from Guinness World Records. The event recently was certified as the world’s largest robotics competition.

GCU is always evolving, with new buildings rising up and offices and colleges moving to new spaces. All the change makes for an interesting first-day of class. The GCU News team fanned out on Monday to talk to students, professors and even the Success Patrol and Academic Career Excellence Centers, who there there to make sure students found their classrooms.

In the Technology Building, students played games via the glow of computers powered by tons of RAM and sharp graphics. Meanwhile, across campus, gaming took on a different look at the Modern Board Gamers Guild’s Game Night, where old-school tabletop board games was the call of the day. Either way, students networked and connected with each other during Welcome Week through high-tech and old-school gaming.

GCU eSports is roaring into its new clubhouse this week after winning a 16-team, invitation only Overwatch tournament. Club President Justen Johns says the new facility on the second floor of the Technology Building is three times the size of the old Thunder Alley room. The club is hosting an internet cafe during welcome week so interested students can come see what all the hype is about. “I think the bond that we have is more than just the game. We’ve grown as friends and we are probably going to be friends for the rest of our lives, hopefully, so it was really luck that this club brought us together,” Johns said.

It was just a few months ago that Grand Canyon University Honors College biology student Adesuwa Osayaren won the title of Miss Africa Arizona. Now she can tout one more title — she was crowned the Miss Nations of the World queen.