Acronyms. The world, and especially the government, is overflowing with them. You’d be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. People might even look at you funny if you suggested that you had one. I’m lucky enough to have my favorite one on my business card: NICE—the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education.

While I’d like to think I was one even before I got the card, it’s been fun to be officially known as “the NICE guy” since I arrived at NIST a little less than two years ago. My 25-year career has been devoted to higher education, and for the past 15 years I’ve been focused on cybersecurity, so it’s fitting that I now have the opportunity to lead a program that uses my expertise and passion for cybersecurity and education simultaneously.

Figure 1: Securing the smart grid is just one of thousands of jobs for the next generation of cybersecurity warriors. ©Nicholas McIntosh

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