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Joel Sommers, assistant professor of computer science, recently was honored with a prestigious $400,000 CAREER (Faculty Early Career Development) Award from the National Science Foundation.

According to the foundation, this grant is traditionally awarded “in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization.”

Sommers was selected to receive the grant for his research project to find ways of improving the functionality of Internet routers. In particular, the goal of the project is to develop programmable mechanisms on routers to better support future Internet applications and services.

His research proposal expresses the need for capabilities that are integral to Internet routers in order to provide better detection and response to security threats, and to improve monitoring and management of the Internet.

Additionally, Sommers’s work will include opportunities for four undergraduate students to help him set up the lab this summer, and the findings of the project will be made accessible for other researchers to build upon.

Philip Mulry, chair of the Department of Computer Sciences, said: “This is a rewarding recognition of Joel’s work and exemplifies the types of important research we do here at �Ա���Ƶ. We’re very pleased that the grant also allows several of our students to play a key role in this project.”