CCI Research Areas
Research initiatives are at the very heart of CCI’s mission. As shown below, UNC Charlotte’s focus on research in the computing arena ranges from configuration analytics and automation capabilities, to strategies and new technologies for innovation in computing and informatics education, to applied robotics and sensing research for Homeland Security, to using applied research to address our society’s defense, intelligence, and security challenges.
Research Centers & Institutes
Center for Configuration Analytics and Automation
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and George Mason University have formed the Center for Configuration Analytics and Automation (CCAA) under the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) Program. The center enables collaborative industry and government directed research in configuration analytics and automation capabilities and their integration for the efficient, accurate, and timely operations management and defense of complex networked information technology systems and environments; and the encouragement and development of top-quality graduates with knowledge and experience in this field.
Complex Systems Institute (CSI)
The Complex Systems Institute (CSI) brings together academia, industry, and federal agencies to advance computing simulation, analysis, and modeling. Tools developed by CSI members help analysts model infrastructure and social networks, visualize and understand how individual networks behave and understand multiple-network interdependency behavior, including second and third-order effects and unintended consequences.
There are two centers within the Institute. The Complexity Laboratory which focuses on dynamic nonlinear systems and the Defense Computing Center which is responsible for defense-and intelligence-related research.
The Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER)
The Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER) focuses on computational and empirical research to counter the spread of current and emerging infectious diseases and addresses some of the most vexing societal challenges, including antibiotic resistance, food safety and ecosystem health.
The CCI Center for Education Innovation
The CCI Center for Education Innovation (CEI) is established in the College of Computing and Informatics for the development and coordination of externally funded projects that incorporate strategies and new technologies for innovation in computing and informatics education. This Center builds on and extends the efforts of DITI and STARS, where DITI has a focus on increasing diversity in the students that choose computing as a career path and STARS establishes educational practices and programs that broaden the skills of computing students.
The Ribarsky Center for Visual Analytics
The Ribarsky Center for Visual Analytics (originally called the Charlotte Visualization Center) strives to develop and promote the science of visual analytics and to advance interactive visualization as an integrative discipline that is indispensable for attacking key real world applications. The Center is one of five regional centers across the United States that is supported by the Department of Homeland Security and National Visualization and Analytics Center. The VisCenter is also a formal partner in conjunction with two of the Department of Homeland Security's Centers of Excellence.
Cyber Defense and Network Assurability Center
The Cyber Defense and Network Assurability (CyberDNA) Center offers high-impact quality research and education in network security, defense, assurability, and privacy. Specific domains of interest include: assurable and usable network security configuration, security automation, security evaluation and optimization, security policy synthesis, and problem/threat diagnosis. In addition, CyberDNA seeks novel scalable authentication, accountability and privacy techniques for emerging technologies as well as critical infrastructure networks. The CyberDNA offers an excellent educational environment through conferences, seminars, mentoring, and security labs and test beds, which attracts many graduate and undergraduate students to pursue rigorous research.
