ECE Student Ben Westgard Named RSAC 2025 Security Scholar

ECE junior Ben Westgard has been named a RSA Conference (RSAC) 2025 Security Scholar. The RSAC Security Conference is an annual event that brings together thousands of cybersecurity professionals to exchange knowledge on the most pressing cybersecurity challenges.

The RSAC Security Scholar program recognizes the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Participants in this prestigious program are among the brightest up-and-coming cybersecurity students, giving them an opportunity to share knowledge and develop connections with leaders in the field.

Westgard is majoring in computer engineering with a minor in Math. As a sophomore, he completed the UMD Design Cultures and Creativity Honors Program with a capstone project in digital art. He was a member of the Software Engineering @ Maryland (SEAM) research team. With this team, he participated in a machine learning project in collaboration with researchers from the UMD School of Medicine. He also conducted a computer networking project where he investigated an existing protocol called “Enhanced IP”, a modification of IPv4, through compiling custom versions of the Linux kernel and running network simulations with virtual machines.

Currently, he is a research assistant in the Center for Volume Electron Microscopy (CvEM) at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, a federally funded research and development center that supports the National Institute of Health. Its research focuses on creating new technologies through translational and applied research in collaboration with government, industry and academia. In this position, Westgard has been focused on building a command-line tool to remove artifacts from electron microscope images and has recently begun work on training an object detection model to identify organelles in 3D electron microscope scans.

His research interests include the intersection of computer science with other fields, such as using machine learning or protein simulation to answer medical questions. His interest in cybersecurity revolves around privacy technologies like zero-knowledge proofs. “I’m a big proponent of open-source, and I think enhancing privacy is important as our world gets more and more connected”, he explains.

In addition to his studies and research position, he plays the trumpet in the UMD Marching Band and enjoys cooking and playing the piano.

The RSAC will be held May 1, 2025 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. “I'm really excited to meet other students and experts in my field and hear more about the research they are doing,” says Westgard. “I'm also looking forward to some of the exclusive talks and behind-the-scenes tours to learn more about what the industry is really like and what people are actively working on.”

He sees the conference as an excellent opportunity to further determine what his future path in computer engineering and cybersecurity will be. In the meantime, he will continue his undergraduate experience this summer with a UMD sponsored study abroad trip to Taiwan to learn about the semiconductor industry.

Published March 28, 2025