Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Ramona Englund, faculty security officer at the Keweenaw Research Center, holds the plaque in a group photo of state, federal and Michigan Technological University representatives after Tech received the annual Jack Donnelly Award for Excellence in Counterintelligence Friday.

HOUGHTON — In the national security field, success doesn’t usually get a public celebration.

Friday was an exception.

Michigan Technological University received the 2024 Jack Donnelly Award for Excellence in Counterintelligence during Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting. Out of more than 10,000 eligible organizations, Tech’s Keweenaw Research Center is one of five recipients for this year’s award which is given out annually by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA).

“Michigan Tech’s collaborated for decades with state and federal partners, forging and strengthening solid partnerships along the way,” said President Rick Koubek. “Through these partnerships and through our counterintelligence efforts, Michigan Tech has built a reputation of being committed to excellence in research, security and counterintelligence, and we appreciate the DCSA for recognizing this commitment of excellence today with this award.”

The DCSA has been giving out the award since 2010, with the goal of rewarding cleared contractors and academic institutions that strove to detect and ward off foreign intelligence entities trying to steal classified or sensitive information.

In 2022, DCSA received more than 26,000 reports of suspicious activities from facilities guarding against possible foreign efforts to obtain critical information and technology or compromise employees with access to them, according to its 2023 annual report.

“The good news — we know what we are facing,” said Andrew Lochli, DCSA’s assistant director of counterintelligence and insider threat. “We are adapting, and so are you, by programs like the one we have here at Michigan Tech.”

Nominations for the award come from counterintelligence special agents who work with the research facility, and then from a regional level before they are vetted at the headquarters level, Lochli said. Tech stood out because of its commitment to counterintelligence, protecting the information and collaborating with government partners.

“They’re doing the innovative work that we need today, but they are ensuring that that work is protected for our national security, for tomorrow,” he said. “So it’s critically important. We want that innovation, but we also want to protect because we don’t want to erode that competitive advantage that the U.S. has in national security and defense.”

Tech is a “leader in risk mitigation,” Lochli said, getting buy-in at the highest levels of the university on the importance of protecting research and national security. In one preemptive measure, Tech added campus-wide insider threat training for all faculty and staff. That even includes students working on projects that could potentially be targeted, said Andrew Barnard, Tech’s vice president for research.

“We have a lot of in-person information sessions to help people understand the threats that they may face, so that they can approach those appropriately if they recognize them,” he said.

DCSA was also invited last year to brief both cleared and non-cleared professors traveling to foreign conferences, convention and trade shows.

Tech’s cyber team also partners with DCSA and other government agencies on cybersecurity issues such as ransomware and spoofing.

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, who chairs the Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, said the intellectual property attempts by China and other countries is driven by a desire to dominate other industries, whether airplanes or automobiles.

“As Americans, we don’t seek to be that colonial empire builder,” said Bergman, R-Watersmeet. “We seek to preserve our safety and security, but we also want to help other countries do the same. What Michigan Tech is doing here in this space is probably one of the fastest-changing battlefronts because of the rate of change of technology, and Michigan Tech is on the front end.”

It’s a prestigious award, said State Rep. Greg Markkanen, and one that reflects the work Tech is doing in the defense industry.

“I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that Michigan Tech is at that level,” said Markkanen, R-Hancock, who is also minority vice chair of the House’s Military, Veterans and Homeland Security Committee. “And getting that recognition is really important for the staff and for the faculty as well. I mean, how often do you have events like this in the Copper Country?”