Xiaoyan (Sherry) Sun, a computer science professor at Sacramento State, will lead the Digital Forensics Academy and introduce students to one of the fastest growing fields in information security. “The worldwide prevalence of electronic devices has increased the need for digital forensics and created high demand for skilled digital forensics investigators,” said Sun.

Law enforcement and prosecutors rely on forensics investigators to “uncover tremendously valuable digital evidence that may be involved in numerous criminal and civil cases.”

Sun has published articles on information security and cyberattacks and presented at conferences around the country. She earned her doctorate in information sciences and technology at Pennsylvania State University, with her master’s degree in pattern recognition and intelligent system and her bachelor’s in electronic and information engineering.

Sun joined the faculty in the Department of Computer Science in 2016 and the Summer Academies in 2018 when she filled in and taught the Cyber Security Academy. (Professor Jun Dai returns to the academy in 2019.) Sun enjoyed the program so much, she developed our new Digital Forensics Academy, expanding our offerings in computer science and security.