PRISM TEAM
University of Florida
Dr. Kevin Butler
UF Research Foundation Professor, Director of the Florida Institute for Cybersecurity (FICS) Research, Department of Computer Information Science Engineering (CISE)
Dr. Kevin Butler is the UF Research Foundation Professor and Director of the Florida Institute for Cybersecurity Research (FICS Research), as well as Director of the Center for Privacy and Security for Marginalized and Vulnerable Populations in the Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering at the University of Florida. His work focuses on advancing the security, privacy, and trustworthiness of computing systems across devices, networks, and critical digital infrastructure.
As part of the PRISM Center, Dr. Butler investigates how security and privacy challenges disproportionately impact vulnerable and underserved populations, and how technical interventions can better support equitable protection in digital environments. His research spans secure provenance collection, analysis of peripheral and device-level threats, secure Internet routing, and the protection of mobile and embedded systems.
Dr. Butler received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2013 and was named International Educator of the Year within the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering in 2017 for his work developing global standards for securing digital financial services in the developing world. From 2016–2021, he served as co-chair of the International Telecommunication Union’s Security, Infrastructure, and Trust Working Group within the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. His broader research provides rich opportunities for students and collaborators interested in cybersecurity, secure systems design, digital equity, and global technology policy.
Research Interests: Cybersecurity, Privacy Protection, Secure Systems Design, and Equitable Digital Security for Marginalized and Vulnerable Populations.
Dr. Eakta Jain
Associate Professor, Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering
Dr. Eakta Jain is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering at the University of Florida, where her work explores how people perceive and interact with digital systems. Her research bridges computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality, eye-tracking, and human–computer interaction, with a focus on building technology that models human behavior accurately and supports safe, equitable, and human-centered design.
As part of the PRISM Center, Dr. Jain investigates how visual perception, attention, and user modeling influence security, privacy, and fairness in interactive systems. Her work examines how computational tools, from VR environments to eye-tracking systems, can either mitigate or amplify bias depending on how they represent and interpret human behavior.
Dr. Jain serves as an Associate of Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH) Executive Committee Director, contributing to the leadership of one of the world’s largest and most influential communities in computer graphics and interactive technologies. SIGGRAPH Executive Committee, where she contributes to shaping global leadership in computer graphics and interactive techniques. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University and previously worked in research roles at Disney Research Pittsburgh, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Texas Instruments R&D Labs. Her broader research integrates visual perception, VR/AR/XR systems, behavior modeling, and human-robot interaction, creating rich opportunities for students and collaborators interested in the future of interactive technology, perception-aware computing, and responsible innovation.
Research Interests: Human-Centered Computing, Computer Graphics, and Interactive Systems
Dr. Patrick Traynor
Professor, John H. and Mary Lou Dasburg Preeminent Chair in Engineering, Interim Chair, Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE); Cybersecurity and Trustworthy Systems Research
Dr. Patrick Traynor is the John H. and Mary Lou Dasburg Preeminent Chair in Engineering and currently Interim Chair and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) at the University of Florida. His research focuses on the security, privacy, and trustworthiness of computing systems—from mobile and cellular networks to pervasive infrastructure and applied cryptography—aimed at protecting real-world systems and users at scale.
As part of the PRISM Center, Dr. Traynor investigates how security and privacy challenges in mobile, networked, and critical systems disproportionately impact diverse and vulnerable populations, and how technical interventions can support resilient, equitable protection in an increasingly connected world. His work has produced the first large-scale measurements of mobile malware infections, uncovered critical vulnerabilities in cellular networks, and developed mechanisms to detect and combat threats such as Caller-ID fraud.
Dr. Traynor has co-founded multiple cybersecurity startups, including Skim Reaper, CryptoDrop, and Pindrop Security, translating research innovations into deployed tools and services. His contributions have earned significant recognition—including a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, fellowship with the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, and designation as a Kavli Fellow. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University and has authored numerous influential publications that drive advancements in secure systems.
Dr. Traynor’s interdisciplinary expertise offers engaging opportunities for students and collaborators interested in cybersecurity, network security, mobile systems protection, trustworthy computing, and systems design that serves diverse and vulnerable populations.
Research Interests: Cybersecurity, Mobile and Network Security, Privacy Protection, and Trustworthy Computing for Diverse and Connected Systems.
Indiana University Bloomington
Dr. Kurt Hugenberg
James H. Rudy Professor, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Indiana University Bloomington
Kurt Hugenberg is a social psychologist in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences whose work explores how social group beliefs shape human perception, judgment, and behavior. His work bridges psychology, technology design, and human–computer interaction, focusing on how cognitive and social biases influence decision-making in both people and automated systems.
As part of the PRISM Center, Dr. Hugenberg studies how designers’ assumptions about users can unintentionally introduce or amplify bias in digital technologies, including security workflows, face-recognition algorithms, and emerging AI tools. His team’s research helps identify design biases and develops evidence-based interventions to support more inclusive, equitable, and secure technology.
Dr. Hugenberg joined Indiana University in 2018 and previously served in editorial roles at leading journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and Social Psychological and Personality Science. His broader research interests include stereotyping and prejudice, intergroup relations, face perception, social categorization, and person construal, as well as psychological approaches to understanding bias in AI and machine-learning systems. These interdisciplinary strengths offer engaging opportunities for students and collaborators interested in social psychology, technology ethics, and responsible computing.
Research Interests: Social Psychology, Technology Bias, and Human–Computer Interaction.
Dr. Apu Kapadia
Associate Professor, CISE
Apu Kapadia is a Professor of Computer Science at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington. He is a cybersecurity researcher particularly interested in how humans interact with emerging technologies. His recent work is centered on security and privacy in the context wearable cameras and mixed reality technologies, especially when people with visual impairments use these technologies as assistive devices and children use them to interact with others in virtual spaces. With smart voice assistants gaining popularity, he is also exploring security and privacy issues in the context of speech-based interactions with these devices, especially with vulnerable populations such as children.
Apu Kapadia has received several NSF grants, including an NSF CAREER award in 2013, and two Google Research Awards in 2014 and 2020. He was a recipient of the Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award in 2013, the Dr. James E. Mumford Excellence in Extraordinary Teaching Award in 2021, and the Distinguished Alumni Educator Award from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2015. For the years 2015 and 2016, he was Program Co-Chair of the Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium (PETS) and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the associated journal Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PoPETs). In 2020 and 2021 he was Sub-Committee Co-Chair for Privacy & Security at the ACM CHI Conference. He is currently the General Chair of the Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (2022-2024).
Georgetown University
Dr. Elissa M. Redmiles
Claire Luce Boothe Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, Georgetown University
Dr. Elissa M. Redmiles is an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University in the Computer Science Department and a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. She was previously a faculty member at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems and has additionally served as a consultant and researcher at multiple institutions, including Microsoft Research, Facebook, the World Bank, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Partnership on AI. Dr. Redmiles received her B.S. (Cum Laude), M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science — with a concentration in Survey Methodology — from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Redmiles uses computational, economic, and social science methods to understand users’ security, privacy, and online safety-related decision-making processes. Her work specifically investigates inequalities that arise in these processes in order to ultimately design systems that facilitate safety equitably across users. Dr. Redmiles current PRISM projects focus on ownership over intimate digital content, safety behaviors in digitally-mediated offline interactions, and developing programming to accelerate community-driven security and privacy research.
Dr. Redmiles’ research has been recognized with several industry and U.S. federal awards and has received Distinguished Paper Awards from premier computer science conferences such as USENIX Security and ACM’s Conferences on: Computers Communications and Security (CCS), Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), and Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization (EEAMO). Dr. Redmiles’ research has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, Scientific American, Forbes, Rolling Stone, and other international and cybersecurity-specific venues.
University of Washington
Dr. Tadayoshi Kohno
Professor, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington
Tadayoshi Kohno is a Professor in the Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. Adjunct Professor in Electrical & Computer Engineering, the School of Information, and the School of Law. Associate Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access in the Allen School. Co-director of the Security & Privacy Research Lab. Co-director of the Tech Policy Lab.
His research focuses on computer security and privacy, broadly defined.
Dr. Franziska Roesner
Associate Professor, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington
Franziska (Franzi) Roesner is an Associate Professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, where she co-directs the Security & Privacy Research Lab. Her research focuses broadly on computer security and privacy for end users of existing and emerging technologies. Her work has studied topics including online tracking and advertising, security and privacy for marginalized and/or vulnerable groups, security and privacy in emerging augmented reality (AR) and IoT platforms, and online mis/disinformation. She is the recipient of a Google Security and Privacy Research Award and a Google Research Scholar Award, a Consumer Reports Digital Lab Fellowship, an MIT Technology Review” Innovators Under 35” Award, an Emerging Leader Alumni Award from the University of Texas at Austin, and an NSF CAREER Award. She serves on the USENIX Security and USENIX Enigma Steering Committees (having previously co-chaired both conferences). She received her PhD from the University of Washington in 2014 and her BS from UT Austin in 2008.