James Goosby, director of business technology, planning, and strategic initiatives at Southern Company, joined Auburn University’s McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security as the Southern Company Executive in Residence for Electric Grid Security, effective May 1.

Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute, said Goosby “brings a wealth of expertise and hands-on experience to the institute.”

“Having him on board in a full-time capacity will be invaluable as we continue our work to develop and deliver practical solutions to some of the toughest security problems faced by those on the frontlines of the electricity sector,” Cilluffo said.

“This role is about having somebody from industry work closely with the institute, academia, and federal partners, including national laboratories and the Department of Energy,” said Goosby, who serves as a McCrary Institute senior fellow, and has served in various capacities at Southern Company, including engineering manager, maintenance manager and instrumentation and controls field support manager where he was responsible for the non-nuclear generating plant cyber security program.

Goosby, a New Brockton, Alabama, native earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Auburn in 2000.  He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps and parlayed his experience with Auburn Engineering’s co-op program into employment at Southern Company subsidiary Alabama Power.

“Electricity is critical to everything we do every day,” he said. “I want to be a value-adding partner to those that are working diligently to advance the security posture of our critical infrastructure.”