 In 2016, the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security designated NYIT as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education.In 2016, NYIT received a $0.3 million grant for smartphone security research from National Science Foundation.Many celebrities visited NYIT including Patch Adams, Carey Mulligan, Gloria Steinem, Meryl Streep, Mark Ruffalo and Leslee Udwin, among others.