Trilogy Innovations, Inc., a nationally recognized SBA Certified 8(a) small and minority-owned systems and software engineering company, will donate funds for the creation of a cybersecurity laboratory at the West Virginia University Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
The gift will include the naming of the cyber lab, build-out, equipment, and creation of an endowment. Trilogy Co-Founders Brandon Downey, CEO, and Randy Cottle, President, said the donation will create the first-ever cyber lab at WVU’s engineering school and will place an emphasis on cybersecurity engineering. Renovation at the college to accommodate the new lab will begin soon.
The Trilogy gift was made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University. The company is headquartered in Bridgeport, West Virginia, and has offices in Morgantown.
The company will also work to lay the groundwork for establishing a statewide network at higher education institutions and in K-12 to enhance interest, develop educational offerings, and bolster cybersecurity human capital.
“We want to create the next generation of professionals for the cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence industries, and we want to start at West Virginia University,” Downey said. “I recently spoke to an engineering class here at WVU and told students that there were 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs worldwide in 2024, and 500,000 of those jobs are in the U.S. We at Trilogy want to do everything we can to enlarge the talent pool at WVU and, eventually, across the state. Cybersecurity jobs are there, and the work is there if students want to pursue these careers.”
The dean of WVU’s engineering school said the Trilogy gift would help open up opportunities for students in the cybersecurity arena.
“We are thrilled about the opportunities that Trilogy is providing our cybersecurity students with the establishment of this new cybersecurity lab,” said Pedro Mago, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the Statler College. “We are incredibly grateful for the support from industry leaders and our loyal alumni. Their recognition of our students’ potential and talent, coupled with their generous contributions, enables us to offer state-of-the-art resources that prepare our students for in-demand, frontline cybersecurity positions.”
Downey and Cottle met while they were students at WVU in the 1990s and created Trilogy in 2010. Cottle said the new lab will be just one component of what he envisions for WVU cyber engineering students.
“We want to create pipelines for Trilogy to NASA, the FBI, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), DOE/NETL (U.S. Department of Energy/National Energy Technology Laboratory), and the Department of Homeland Security,” said Cottle. “All of these agencies have locations within 30 minutes of the WVU campus and they are agencies with whom Trilogy has valuable relationships. You take this new lab and add our relationships and that results in opportunities.”
Trilogy’s vision also has more components in creating a cybersecurity network in West Virginia:
- enhance K-12 interest and access to the cybersecurity field;
- connect more students interested in cybersecurity throughout the state;
- convert seasonal internships into micro-internships that could last an entire academic year; and
- create an entire network of cybersecurity labs at various higher education institutions across West Virginia.
“We want to make investments that have purpose,” Downey said, “investments that will support the Trilogy mission to create an organization that can compete in a full and open market. Given the rapid growth of the tech industry in West Virginia, which is currently the #3 industry in the state, this investment and commitment could certainly open up new opportunities to expand the number of tech companies or the number of workers in the tech sector. Committing to the K-12 and higher education systems paves the way for students to be involved in a growing industry.”
Cottle said recent statistics show that IT accounts for 4.3% of the state’s current workforce, but as a sector comes in 92% higher than the median state wage.
“Helping to grow the IT/tech industry in West Virginia gives our college graduates options to stay and live in this state,” said Cottle. “Out-migration in the past has been substantial, but growing this industry can help change that for the better.”
Trilogy was recognized by Inc. Magazine as the fastest-growing IT services company in West Virginia in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and the fastest-growing West Virginia company overall in 2022 and 2023. Trilogy’s areas of expertise include software integration, cybersecurity, data analytics, application modernization, cloud services, and biometrics. For further information about Trilogy Innovations, please visit trilogyit.com.
About Trilogy Innovations, Inc.Trilogy Innovations, Inc., located in Bridgeport and Morgantown, West Virginia, is an SBA Certified 8(a) small and minority-owned systems and software engineering company that delivers superior technical solutions for a variety of industries across private and public sectors. By applying a strong work ethic and an unwavering commitment to excellence, Trilogy’s highly skilled and talented personnel have successfully applied these core values across a multitude of government agencies and businesses. Inc. Magazine has named Trilogy the fastest-growing IT services company in West Virginia for three consecutive years, and in 2022 and 2023 recognized Trilogy as the overall fastest-growing company in the state.
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