(Computer Science and Engineering)
Professor of computer science and engineering Todd Austin, a recognized leader in the area of computer architecture research, was recently recognized with the University of Michigan’s Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, which honors senior faculty who have consistently demonstrated outstanding achievements in the areas of scholarly research or creative endeavors, teaching and mentoring of students and junior faculty, service, and a variety of other activities. Up to five awards of $2,500 are made each year.
Most recently, Austin began work on with a $3.6M DARPA grant to design an “unhackable” computer that is inspired by the human immune system. He leads the project, called Morpheus, which uses an immunological approach that is dramatically different from today’s software approaches. The project outlines a new way to design hardware so that information is rapidly and randomly moved and destroyed. The technology works to elude the attacker from the critical information they need to construct a successful attack—it could protect both hardware and software.
