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Newswise — Chris Strasburg is a systems analyst at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at Iowa State University. He started at Ames Laboratory in 1998 as an undergraduate, working in Ames Laboratory’s Information Systems group. In 2001, he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Iowa State University and joined Ames Laboratory full-time as a systems support specialist, and later was Ames Laboratory’s computer protection program manager for six years, a role he recently resumed. He earned a master’s degree in computer science in 2009, also from Iowa State University. Since 2012, Strasburg has been conducting security-related research. His research interests include artificial intelligence approaches, automation in a variety of computer languages, network intrusion detection and response, and vulnerability and risk assessment.
In your 17 years at Ames Laboratory, you’ve played a lot of different roles: starting with student worker installing software, then managing the lab’s cybersecurity programs as a systems support specialist, and later contributing to DOE’s Cyber Fed Model (http://web.anl.gov/it/cfm/) cybersecurity project as a researcher. What are you up to now?
I recently resumed my role as Ames Laboratory’s cybersecurity manager. I also represented Ames Laboratory to the Department of Energy’s Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium (http://energy.gov/articles/launch-grid-modernization-laboratory-consortium), a DOE-wide partnership to create a reliable, “smart” grid that delivers energy when and where it needs to go.
My role has been on the Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium’s security and resilience team. So, we have a cross-cutting goal to use computers to better identify and protect against threats to the grid system. Smart grids present an interesting challenge: as power generation becomes more decentralized, each one of those smaller power generators will likely use different devices, different software that generate different pieces of data. We’ll need a computer system that can, in near-real-time, sort all that input and put together a comprehensive picture of what’s going on in the grid.
One of your interests is artificial intelligence. How does that come into play here?
The power grid is a complex and very data-rich system, with potentially thousands of sensors producing continuous streams of information to be monitored, analyzed and tested for errors. Making that data sensible to grid operators and managers requires far more processing than a human could accomplish. Techniques from artificial intelligence and machine learning provide tools to make sense of the data and present it in a form that humans can easily understand and act upon. This was a natural extension of my work in the computer security domain where many of the same challenges are faced (far too much data for humans to monitor).
You’ve made the rare jump from the operations side of Ames Laboratory to the research side? How did that come about?
I joke that I looked for a job here at Ames Laboratory as a college student because I was tired of mowing lawns for a living. I couldn’t have imagined back then how valuable my experiences here at Ames Laboratory would be! When I was working doing desktop support, I loved going out and talking to scientists about what they were working on while I fixed up their computers. And in some of those conversations, especially with our computational chemists and supercomputing researchers, I began to see the possibility of pursing a science-oriented career. The support of the people at Ames Laboratory was probably one of the most influential aspects in my shift away from operations to getting a master’s degree, working toward my Ph.D., and becoming a researcher.
My story at Ames Laboratory is just a version of what I’ve always loved about working here. There’s a lot of support for creativity. There’s a lot of willingness to give people exposure to new experiences. That creates a lot of opportunity for Ames Laboratory employees, no matter what part of the organization you work in. I’ve always felt a lot of support here.
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