CIRI Summer Research Team Member Spotlight: Max Garcia

This summer, the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI) is hosting research teams as part of the DHS Summer Research Teams (SRT) Program for Minority Serving Institutions. This ten-week program is a collaboration between three different universities and UIUC. Three groups of faculty and students will conduct research projects throughout the summer and host a virtual research workshop on August 3. Meet this week's team member spotlight, Max Garcia!

Where are you from?

I am from Mission, Texas.

What is your major and why are you interested studying/working in your field of study?

I am studying Electrical Engineering. I enjoy learning how things function and engineering is a great way to understand why things work and why they’re needed. Electrical Engineering is fun and has many interesting topics; for example, it's crazy to me that we’re able to send data through wires and magnetic fields.

What are you wanting to gain from your experience?

I wanted a taste of academic work involving research funded by organizations. In this case, any connections with DHS would be great; I think it would be great to work with them since I’m so interested in security.

What kind of work would you like to do in the future?

Anything to do with cybersecurity, networks, or communication technologies.

What other plans do you have for the future?

Working on finishing my master's of Science in Engineering and looking for opportunities in the industry. Considering pursuing a PhD.

Do you have any hobbies? Does this activity relate to your studies or influence what you want to do with your future?

Hobbies relating to my studies or future interests are coding and network penetration testing.