The University of Akron will establish a cybersecurity simulation lab with the help of a $200,000 gift from the Timken Foundation in Canton.

The lab will allow corporate information technology professionals to "practice identifying and quarantining threats on an emulated network," according to a news release. And it will offer more realistic learning opportunities for students in the bachelor of science in cybersecurity degree, which launched last fall.

The lab, also known as an "industrial control systems testbed," will be located on the fourth floor of the Polsky building. It will have a controller station and about 30 workstations in about 2,000 square feet. Planning for construction is expected to begin later this year.

"We understand the critical importance of keeping our manufacturing infrastructure protected from cyber intrusions," said Ward J. Timken, chairman of the Timken Foundation, in the release. "The creation of an industrial control system testbed, as one of the few of its kind in the country, helps achieve this goal through threat exercises and learning in simulated manufacturing environments."