Biography
Dr. Garcia holds a doctoral degree in Computer Science with a major in Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering from Texas A&M University. He has done postdoctoral work in Information Assurance at the University of Maryland University College. He holds a Master of Science in Computer Science with a major in Artificial Intelligence from Monterrey Tech (ITESM), a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, and certificates in Information Assurance from Purdue University and Carnegie Mellon University.
Garcia has taught in higher education since 1980. He has held faculty positions in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Tecnologico de La Laguna, Tecnologico de Piedras Negras, Tecnologico de San Luis Potosi, Tecnologico de Saltillo, and Monterrey Tech (ITESM), before joining TAMU-CC in 1999.
For 21 years, He worked as a professor of computer science and cybersecurity at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. In his last four years, he was the Associate Dean for Academics at the College of Science and Engineering. He was selected by TAMU-CC President, as the University representative to the Texas Academic Leadership Academy.
As a Visiting Scientist he spent three summers as at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; two Summers at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport RI; two summers at Carnegie Mellon University; one summer at Stanford University; one summer at the University of California at Berkeley; one summer at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and one summer at Purdue University.
Since January 2020, he has been professor of computer science and cybersecurity and the Director of the Institute for Cybersecurity at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO). He is the Point of Contact (POC) and leader in the designation as Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) of the Master of Science in Cybersecurity (MS CY) by the National Security Agency (NSA). He was the organizer of the Missouri NSA High-School Superintendents and Principals Cybersecurity Summit. Dr. Garcia Facilitated the SEMO partnership with EC-Council. He has been working with the team that are planning, designing, and constructing the 2.5 million dollar IBM-SEMO Cyber Range – Cyber Command Center.