Aleksandra Scalco (Senior Member, IEEE) is an author and Professor of Engineering with the U.S. Department of War (DoW) Warfighting Acquisition University (WAU), formerly the Defense Acquisition University (DAU). She holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Colorado State University (2022), an M.Eng. in Systems Engineering from Iowa State University (2012), an MBA from the University of Phoenix (2009), and a B.J. from the University of Missouri (1988).

 

Dr. Scalco is an International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) and a member of the seventh cohort of the INCOSE Institute for Technical Leadership. She is also an ITIL Expert–certified in Information Technology Service Management and holds Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Engineering Level III certification, along with Level I certifications in Science & Technology Management and Program Management.

 

Her career includes senior technical and leadership roles across the U.S. national security enterprise. From 2012 to 2016, she served as an Information Systems Security Designer and Client Advocate with the National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS). From 2016 to 2024, she was an Engineer with the U.S. Navy’s Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic, where she was designated a Navy Subject Matter Expert for mission-critical control systems, supporting Technical Warrant Holders in the development and assurance of cybersecurity requirements.

 

Dr. Scalco specializes in intelligence-informed mitigation of control system vulnerabilities and in transitioning advanced cybersecurity and resilience capabilities into operational systems. She is the author of numerous professional publications on control system cybersecurity and the author of Engineering Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (River Publishers), which examines the protection and resilience of cyber-physical systems supporting critical infrastructure. She is a coauthor of a book on control system cybersecurity mitigation with Dr. Steve Simske, published by River Publishers.

 

Her research interests include the cybersecurity of control systems, the digital transformation of engineering practice, and systems engineering approaches to developing cybersecurity capabilities. Dr. Scalco is also a Cyber Book Reviewer with The Cybersecurity Canon Project, a “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” for influential cybersecurity books.

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Her honors include the Department of the Navy Civilian Service Commendation Medal (2025), the NSA/CSS Crescent Performance Award for Mission Excellence (2013), and the Colorado State University Outstanding Dissertation Award (2022). She previously served as an Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Cyber and Computer Sciences at The Citadel, where she led curriculum development, instructional design, and course delivery for CSCI 490: Cyber-Physical Systems, funded by a National Security Agency (NSA) grant. She has also served as an Industry Advisory Board Member for the Department of Computer Science at Charleston Southern University.

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• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Senior Member (Credential ID 92089214)

• International Council of Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP), March 2021 (Credential ID 30251735)

• ITIL Expert Certificate in IT Service Management (Credential ID GR761012539AS)

• ITIL Managing Across the Lifecycle (ITIL-MALC) (Credential ID GR760026080AS)

• ITIL Service Operation (Credential ID GR754065360AS)

• ITIL Service Transition (Credential ID GR753062602AS)

• ITIL Service Strategy (Credential ID GR751058461AS)

• ITIL IT Continual Service Improvement (CSI) (Credential ID GR755025714AS)

• ITIL IT Service Design (Credential ID GR752048416AS)

• ITIL Foundation in IT Service Management (Credential ID 3220) 

• DOD Acquisition Corps (Appointment Date 27 October 2016)

• Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Certification in Engineering (ENG) Level 3, 2016

• DAWIA Certification in Science & Technology (S&T)

• Management at Level I, 2015

• DAWIA Certification in Program Management (PM) at Level I, 2015 

• DAWIA Certification in Information Technology (IT)