STUDENTS
University of Florida
PhD Student
Advised by: Dr. Kevin Butler, University of Florida
Research Interests: Censorship measurement and user experiences with deepfake audio
Anna is currently in her second year of pursuing a PhD at the University of Florida. She grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before venturing off to college. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Harding University. After completing her undergraduate studies, Anna’s passion for service and exploration led her to join the Peace Corp, where she spent two impactful years as a teacher in Ghana. Upon her return, Anna was so inspired to merge her background in computer science with her passion for humanitarian efforts.
Anna’s motivation drove her to further her education and pursue a PhD. Anna is eager to combine her technical expertise with her drive for human interest work, as she strives to make a positive difference in the world.
PhD Student
Advised by: Dr. Kevin Butler, University of Florida
Research Interests: Cybersecurity
Magdalena is a PhD student at the University of Florida. Her research focus involves security with large language models, deepfake detection, machine learning, and leveraging electromagnetic signals for obfuscated malware classification.
Email: mpasternak@ufl.edu
PhD Student
Advised by: Dr. Eakta Jain, University of Florida
Research Interests: Computer graphics, computer vision, machine learning, privacy and security
Ethan’s main research focus is in designing and evaluating generative algorithms for protecting facial privacy in video. He also explores other privacy solutions, such as adaptive personal space boundaries in virtual reality (VR) and operations to de-identify recorded VR motion data in real-time. In these projects, he leverages prior experience in game development to build highly immersive virtual scenes. Ethan is a recipient of the Generation NEXT scholarship and UF Graduate Research Preeminence Award. Ethan received a B.S. in Computational Media at Georgia Tech in 2019, graduating with highest honors.
Email: ethanwilson@ufl.edu
University of Washington
PhD Student
Advised by: Dr. Franziska Roesner & Dr. Yoshi Kohno, University of Washington
Research Interests: Computer security & privacy; human-computer interaction; surveillance; tech policy & law
Kentrell is a 3rd year PhD student who is still trying to figure things out. Through his research, he attempts to do impactful computer security/privacy research that fulfills his senses of curiosity, justice, and/or hope. He has previously published work on the risks of using smartphone applications for electronic monitoring (e.g., as a condition of probation/parole), surveillance of the communication of incarcerated people and their families, manipulative design patterns, and web authentication.
PhD Student
Advised by: Dr. Franziska Roesner & Dr. Yoshi Kohno, University of Washington
Research Interests: Sociotechnical approaches to security and privacy; structural (dis)empowerment; gender; race; social media; critical and feminist theory; surveillance; hate and harassment
Miranda Wei is a PhD student at the University of Washington, where she is a member of the Security and Privacy Research Lab as well as the Tech Policy Lab. Her doctoral research focuses on the application of sociotechnical lenses to security and privacy research, particularly as it relates to gender, structural (dis)empowerment, or modern technologies. She has studied security behaviors, data privacy, social media, and hate and harassment. Her work has been published in 12 peer-reviewed papers and recognized with two best paper honorable mentions. She received a BA in political science from the University of Chicago and an MS in computer science from the University of Washington.
Email: weimf@cs.washington.edu