School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems

The School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems (SICCS) integrates a range of educational programs and interdisciplinary research. Our programs integrate computational and data sciences with engineering, natural and social sciences, arts, and business. Our faculty and academic programs combine expertise in environmental and ecological informatics, health and bioinformatics, computer science, and electrical engineering.

Director’s Welcome

Who We Are

Our Degrees

We offer undergraduate and graduate programs in Informatics, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science. Our students are involved in a broad range of research and applied experiences. Explore our programs below!

Undergraduate

Graduate

Research & Emphasis Areas

Our school’s faculty, students, and staff bring interdisciplinary expertise to bear on applied and basic research problems in several emphasis areas, and in partnership with a variety of local and global partners. SICCS currently emphasizes five major areas of research.

Enquist, B. J., Abraham, A. J., Harfoot, M. B., Malhi, Y., & Doughty, C. E. (2020). The megabiota are disproportionately important for biosphere functioning. Nature communications, 11(1), 1-11.
Richter, B.D., et al. Water scarcity and fish imperilment driven by beef production. Nat Sustain (2020).
Schmitz, Oswald J., et al. “Animals and the zoogeochemistry of the carbon cycle.” Science 362.6419 (2018): eaar3213.
Ogle, Kiona. “Hyperactive soil microbes might weaken the terrestrial carbon sink.” Nature (2018): 32.
Richardson, Andrew D., et al. “Ecosystem warming extends vegetation activity but heightens vulnerability to cold temperatures.” Nature 560.7718 (2018): 368.
Buermann, Wolfgang, et al. “Widespread seasonal compensation effects of spring warming on northern plant productivity.” Nature 562.7725 (2018): 110.
McManamay, Ryan A., et al. “US cities can manage national hydrology and biodiversity using local infrastructure policy.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114.36 (2017): 9581-9586.
Lu, Xiankai, et al.“Plant acclimation to long-term high nitrogen deposition in an N-rich tropical forest.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115.20 (2018): 5187-5192.

Our research is supported through collaborations with other university entities such as:

Our regional research partners include:

News

Take a look at what’s currently happening in the world of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems.

NAU hosts industry and military partners to discuss multimillion-dollar cybersecurity project

Dozens of industry and military partners came to NAU in February to discuss a multimillion-dollar cybersecurity project headed by professor Bertrand Cambou, principal investigator on a grant from the U.S. Air Force to develop nanotechnology solutions to cyberattacks and cyber warfare. Read more.

Save the giants, save the planet: NAU professor finds large animals, plants key to a healthy Earth

Assistant professor Chris Doughty and Ph.D. student Andrew Abraham worked with institutions around the world to conduct research on the role megabiota play in our ecosystem, and more importantly, what their dwindling numbers mean for the planet. Read more.

Debates series on Information Theory in Earth Science published in WRR

Water Resources Research has published a “debate” series on the role of information theory in Earth Science, led by Praveen Kumar and Hoshin Gupta. There are five papers in this collection, three of which were co-authored by SICCS’ Ben Ruddell. Serious information theory, modeling, and statistics geeks should consider diving in! Also, read more about what this community is doing. Read more.

Fallowing cattle-feed farmland simplest way to alleviate western water shortage, FEWSION-based study finds

A new study published in Nature Sustainability co-authored by NAU researchers Ben Ruddell and Richard Rushforth finds that irrigated crop production accounts for 86 percent of all water consumed in the western US—and of all the water used on western farms, by far the largest portion goes to cattle-feed crops such as alfalfa and grass hay. To alleviate the shortage of water in the region, the study’s authors suggest that fallowing could be a simple and affordable means of reducing water use in the region. Read more.

Innovative greenhouse gas detection software to help cities improve air quality

Professor Kevin Gurney of NAU’s School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems is building a detailed three-dimensional map of the urban Washington, D.C. area that will reveal every source of greenhouse gas being emitted into the atmosphere down to individual buildings, like the Pentagon, and roads such as Pennsylvania Ave.

NAU scientists help chart a path to understand how Arctic vegetation is changing

Professors Scott Goetz and Logan Berner from School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems are involved in an effort that brings together a variety of science institutions around the world to look into what the warming planet means for vegetation productivity. Read More

NAU TV covers exciting developments in new SICCS degree programs with Director Ben Ruddell

Can open source software be gender-biased? Yes, say NAU professors who are working to eliminate gender-biased ‘bugs’

SICCS professors Igor Steinmacher and Marco Geraso are half a team that aims to identify gender bias in code, then propose ways to redesign the OSS documentation and eventually create a list of best practices for fixing gender-bias bugs in both products and processes. Read more

Inside NAU covers Dr. Andrew Richardson and PhenoCam

A new paper by Northern Arizona University professor Andrew Richardson published in the journal Scientific Data describes a vast network of digital cameras designed to capture millions of images documenting seasonal changes of vegetation across North America. The network, dubbed PhenoCam, is the result of a 10-year collaboration between Richardson, who led the effort, and scientists from the University of New Hampshire and Boston University to develop a reliable continental-scale observatory of phenological phenomena.

SICCS is looking for a Lecturer in Computer Science and Informatics

We are hiring a Lecturer in Computer Science and Informatics. Job ID: 604646 More details

SICCS is looking for a Lecturer in the area of cybersecurity

We are hiring a Lecturer in the area of cybersecurity . Job ID: 604738 More details

SICCS is looking for Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Cybersecurity Engineering and Electrical Engineering

We are hiring an open-rank faculty in the area of cybersecurity. Job ID: 604642 More details.

By the numbers

1025

Undergraduate Students

87

Graduate Students

53%

International & Minority Students

$4.8M

Research expenditures (11% increase from 2018)

School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems