U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Madera Cyber Innovation Center will officially open during a ribbon cutting ceremony on the U.S. Air Force Academy, beginning at 2 p.m. Friday, April 25.
The three-story facility adds nearly 48,000 square feet of auditoriums, classrooms and collaboration space to the Department of Computer and Cyber Sciences to serve more than 1,400 cadets who attend department courses annually. The Madera Center has space for 14 unique laboratories and classrooms where cadets will learn about everything cyber through hands-on opportunities and traditional classroom instruction.
“The Madera Center is a game-changer for our current and incoming cadets,” said Lt. Col. James I. Maher, Department Head, Computer and Cyber Sciences and Associate Professor. “This facility will increase the productivity and output of cadet research, specifically in cyber security and artificial intelligence. The secure facility downstairs allows us to provide our warrior-leaders with real world cyber training with the ability to connect with the rest of the Air Force and Space Force for cyber learning and competition.”
The meeting spaces will bring academia, industry, and military cyber operators together to educate and train future warrior-leaders of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. Air Force CyberWorx, an Air Combat Command team housed on the Academy that brings together government, industry, and academic collaboration alongside cadets to rapidly solve challenges, will also be housed in the new facility.
The Academy broke ground on the Madera Cyber Innovation Center in summer 2021. The center features a complex structural steel frame, a monumental spiral staircase, and a nearly all-glass exterior. Historic finishes used throughout the Academy have been incorporated throughout the facility.
-30-
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: News media planning to cover the ceremony must email the following information by 9 a.m. on Friday, April 25: media outlet, first name, last name, cell phone number. Information should be sent to: media.rel@afacademy.af.edu. Registered news media will be contacted with arrival instructions. For more information, contact Strategic Communications at (719) 333-7731