Dr. Anzaldua is currently a Professor of Practice at UTRGV, where he “teaches and mentors students on real-world cybersecurity issues.” His research includes “spacecraft, industrial control, information technology, AI/ML, and autonomous vehicles.” He is also partnering with federal, state, and military organizations to advance “cutting-edge research in the Rio Grande Valley.”
Before joining UTRGV, Dr. Anzaldua worked on “special cyber projects within the Department of Defense,” focusing on “complex and cutting-edge cybersecurity problem sets.” According to the information provided, he “led several teams working on disparate technological issues, as well as offensive/defensive operations, including real-world and real-time issues.”
Earlier in his career, Dr. Anzaldua served as the Information Security Program Executive for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. His responsibilities included “managing all cybersecurity and electromagnetic spectrum threats to 205 NASA science missions.” These missions, he noted, ranged “from the original Voyager missions of the 1970s to today’s Mars rover,” with a portfolio covering “well over $4 billion in equipment and assets.”
In addition to civilian roles, Dr. Anzaldua is an Information Warfare Officer in the United States Navy Reserve, holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He has taken “numerous technical courses (honor graduate),” is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College, and has “held several leadership positions in varied units.” He also “developed/led the design of a large security operations center in the USSOUTHCOM AOR.” He is one of the few individuals to hold cyber qualifications in both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force.
Dr. Anzaldua grew up in Donna, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley. He describes his upbringing as coming from a “modest middle-class family and background.” His early fascination with technology began with chemistry and electronics kits that arrived as Christmas gifts “before the age of 10.” After “many small explosions and two burned eyebrows,” he discovered computers in the late 1970s. This early interest evolved into a 45-year path that led him to become “the head of information security for NASA missions and to lead special cyber teams for the US government.”
His career has ranged widely. According to the provided background, he has been a “technology company owner, college assistant professor, university professor of practice, US Navy LCDR, cybersecurity SME for the DoD/Intelligence community, cyber-forensic author, NASA cybersecurity executive, and enterprise technology director.” He holds multiple university degrees, including a PhD in Information Security.
Dr. Anzaldua’s areas of interest and expertise include general cybersecurity, space ground stations and spacecraft, and critical infrastructure such as “gas/oil,” “electricity,” “water plants,” and “telecommunications.” His military-related experience includes “offensive cyber operations,” “defensive cyber operations,” “information warfare,” and “strategic, operational, and tactical level leadership.” In education, he focuses on the “AI impact on education and society” and the “unique cultural aspects of the RGV concerning technology and education.” His background also gives him “unique insight into NASA operations at the highest levels.”
With his combination of technical expertise, national service, and local roots in the Rio Grande Valley, Dr. Anzaldua brings a distinctive and informed perspective to the Texas Border Business Guest Writers Team.
