Caleb Gindelberger '25 claimed third place in the national 2025 U.S. Department of Defense Conquer the Hill® Command Competition, while Autumn Green '26 landed in the top 20 out of 100 competitors nationwide.
Baldwin Wallace University cybersecurity major Caleb Gindelberger '25 finished in third place out of 100 students from 56 universities competing in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Conquer the Hill® Command Competition, while fellow cybersecurity major Autumn Green '26 landed in 18th place.
It's not the first time Gindelberger, who has also interned with cybersec company Hurricane Labs, has outperformed the competition. Last year, he took first place in the same contest.
This was Green's first time in the competition, which the DOE describes as a "realistic and engaging cybersecurity competition that helps prepare collegiate students to protect vital energy systems."
The event is part of the CyberForce® Program hosted by the DOE's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) and conducted by Argonne National Laboratory.
Participants took on the role of a cybersecurity professional at an energy company and were challenged to perform tasks that gradually increased in difficulty.
According to a DOE news release, the event offered them "practical, hands-on experience in information technology by building and managing a simulated server and associated hardware."
Kenneth Atchinson, professor and cybersecurity program lead, was particularly proud of Gindelberger's and Green's outcome.
"At BW, we teach the fundamentals of networking, system administration and cybersecurity, which gives the students the tools to do well in competitions like this one, as well as Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition, Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, National Cyber League and Hivestorm."
In offering his congratulations to the top finishers, DOE Acting Under Secretary for Infrastructure Steven Winberg said, "This competition is a critical training ground for the next generation of cybersecurity professionals in the energy sector."
The CyberForce Program is aimed at developing the next generation of cyber defenders to address the growing need for skilled cybersecurity professionals to defend America's energy infrastructure and assets.
According to CyberSeek's 2024 Cybersecurity Supply and Demand Heatmap, almost 460,000 U.S. cybersecurity jobs are unfilled.
BW has a long history of success individually and in team competitions designed to test cybersecurity skills by allowing them to put classroom theory into practice.
BW students have participated in CyberForce since fall 2018, claiming eighth place nationally in 2019, 11th place in 2022, sixth place in 2023 and 21st out of 94 elite teams competing in the 10th annual face-off in fall 2024.
