A senior Computer Science major spent her summer conducting research on Cybersecurity through a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Mokrenko presenting her research                             

Valeria Mokrenko attended a 10 week program where she was able to work along other students to conduct research on various aspects of Cybersecurity. Held at Wright State University, the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) allowed student attending to create and manage their own research project and meet with a mentor to aid in their research progress.

Mokrenko’s project focused on public opinion on the new General Data Protection Regulation privacy policy that passed in Europe over this summer. This policy imposed strict new rules on controlling and processing personal identifiable information, and replaced the outdated policy from 1995.

Mokrenko spent her time gathering data from social media platforms like Twitter, and examining them using techniques like topic modeling and and sentiment analysis. These methods allowed Morkenko to assess the volume and content of the discussion around the topic. She then compared her findings to the other highly controversial topics.

At the end of her time there, she was able to present her findings to other people within the program. “I really enjoyed being able to manage my own research project, and met many inspiring and committed students through this program,” explained Mokrenko.

She learned a lot through this program and research experience, but Mokrenko’s biggest takeaway was “having the right data [for a project or study] is extremely important, and without it the results [of the project] may not provide a clear indication of being noteworthy.”

This program allowed Mokrenko to create connections with faculty and other students that could aid in her future career. She is currently publishing a paper about her research with the aid of her mentor.

By Maggie Cavanaugh, CEC Reporter