Director’s welcome

Meet Northern Arizona University’s SICCS Director, Dr. Paul Flikkema

Welcome to the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems (SICCS) at Northern Arizona University.

We are new—founded in 2016—but we are already establishing a reputation as a highly innovative school that provides unique opportunities in education and research, in some of the most cutting-edge disciplines today. SICCS is a hub of expertise in computer science, electrical and computer engineering, and informatics; our faculty work together, and with researchers around the globe, on important problems requiring new, interdisciplinary collaborations.

We pride ourselves on the quality of our undergraduate programs. Our graduates pursue rewarding careers at companies such as Intel, Raytheon, Micron, W.L. Gore, and government laboratories. Our Bachelor of Science in Informatics offers students a curriculum that integrates knowledge in computer science, statistics, and an area of natural science in a two-year undergraduate research experience.

Our graduate programs are tied closely to our growing research portfolio. Our faculty research is funded by many agencies and foundations, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and NASA. What we do ranges from the scale of nanometers to the solar system and beyond, with work on cybersecurity, smart buildings and cities, software design and engineering, high-performance computing, ecology and climate change, pathogens and infectious disease, UAV technology, remote sensing, and the discovery of planets in our galaxy that may support life.

NAU is located in Flagstaff, Arizona—one of the most livable small cities in one of the most picturesque regions of the United States. We also benefit from rich collaborations with research institutes and centers. Our faculty work with researchers from NAU centers, including the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, the Center for Bioengineering Innovation, the Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, and the Center for Health Equities Research.

I invite you to browse the SICCS website to learn more about our school, and keep informed on our activities and events via Twitter and Facebook.

Paul G. Flikkema
Director and Professor