In April, the cyber laboratory in the Shelby Center for Engineering Technology was named the Lieutenant General Ronald Lee Burgess Jr., USA, Retired, Cyber Laboratory through a generous gift from Leslee Belluchie, ’83 mechanical engineering, and her husband Richard Knop. This advanced lab will enable the university to unify its cyber research and development efforts, while also providing students an interdisciplinary environment to produce evolutionary and revolutionary solutions to real-world problems.

Auburn Cyber Research Center Director Anthony Skjellum said the lab would have a local, regional and national impact, helping protect commercial and personal computers, data and critical infrastructures. Skjellum also said the lab being named for Burgess was fitting, as he’s one of the leading minds in cyber security.

Burgess joined the university as senior counsel for national security programs, cyber programs and military affairs following a decorated career in the U.S. Army. During his 38 years in the military, he held numerous high-ranking staff and command positions, including director of intelligence, joint chiefs of staff and director of the intelligence staff in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve in a dual appointment as the acting principal deputy director of national intelligence two times. His last position before retiring was serving as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he played a major role in establishing the foundation of the U.S. Department of Defense’s cyber operations.