Meet the Professor: Paul M. Di Gangi, information security professor at Loyola University Maryland

This is Technically Baltimore’s Meet the Professor, a new, regular series highlighting the research of professors at universities in the Baltimore region.
Paul M. Di Gangi is the first professor we’re covering in our Meet the Professor series. An information security and information systems professor at Loyola University Maryland, Dr. Di Gangi has certifications in Security+ and CISSP.
In his research, he looks at the potential security risks associated with passing information over open social networks. (So, perhaps there’s something a little more substantive to criticisms of VinePeek beyond just making sure it limits access to porn.)

Age: 32
Gender: Male
Neighborhood you live in: Federal Hill
Tell us how long you’ve been a professor, and what you presently teach: 
I have been a professor at Loyola University Maryland for two years and teach strategic information systems and information security. Prior to Loyola, I was on faculty at Western Carolina University teaching project management.
Tell us about the research you’re doing now: 
My research explores the intersection of digital social networks and organizations with a focus on three areas: user-generated content business models, crowd-based innovation processes and information security risks associated with open forms of organizing.
What does an average day at work look like for you?
On days that I teach, I am typically up at 5 a.m. to read current events from my class micro-news site so that we can discuss the news that my students find interesting for the week and relate it back to the concepts discussed in our classroom. After teaching, I hold my traditional office hours to handle any questions or feedback from students. I then move into checking in with my research teams (USA, Norway and Sweden) to see our progress on our research papers and work toward either refining papers based on feedback from reviewers or getting papers submitted. In the evenings I grade any course assignments, write reviews on manuscripts submitted to journals by other researchers, or read journal articles that will be applicable to my research. This typically puts me in bed around midnight or 1 a.m.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned from your time as a professor that’s applicable to people who don’t have to grade papers and tests? 
Patience and perseverance are two of the most important attributes in great workers and future leaders.  Taking the time to reflect on all that you absorb each day and continue to strive to do better than you have done before leads to success every time. I’ve seen it in my classroom teaching, my students, and the businesses that I engage with for my research.
Can you recommend someone—not from your industry—in the Baltimore scene that we should know about? 
Two individuals I worked with on the Baltimore Business Journal’s Biz Buzz Awards panel:  Patti Neumann, CEO of Citipeek.com; and Greg Cangialosi.  Both Patti and Greg have a deep understanding of what local Baltimoreans are doing with social media.
A contact for readers who might want to reach out: On Twitter, @pmdigangi