Computer science professor Sean Smith has assumed directorship of the College's Institute for Security, Technology and Society, which seeks to advance information security and privacy.
Smith succeeds sociology professor Denise Anthony, who has headed ISTS since 2008 and is currently on sabbatical. Anthony will continue to research information privacy and security in health care and contribute to the institute's outreach initiatives.
"I'm just taking a break from the administrative work," Anthony said.
Smith came to Dartmouth in 2000 from technology firm IBM. His current work as principal investigator of the Dartmouth Public Key Infrastructure/Trustlab focuses on building trustworthy systems in the real world.
Smith has published over 90 refereed papers and has been granted over a dozen patents. His security architecture is used in thousands of financial, e-commerce and rights management installations worldwide.
"I have benefited greatly from my connection with ISTS for many years now," Smith said in a statement. "Through its interdisciplinary nature, I have been able to develop strong collaborative relationships with colleagues from across all schools at Dartmouth and from experts in disciplines outside of computer science beyond Dartmouth as well."
Smith declined to be interviewed.
Anthony said she expects that ISTS will start new initiatives under Smith's leadership.
"He is a leading researcher and educator interested in that multidisciplinary area of cybersecurity and info security, and he has been a key part of ISTS from the beginning, so I think he is really an ideal person to lead the institute," she said.
Founded in 2000, ISTS aims to design computer systems, protect them from attack and teach people how to share information securely. The institute has created several new courses for the Dartmouth curriculum and sponsored numerous workshops.
ISTS funding has supported 64 Dartmouth faculty members and 21 faculty at other institutions. The institute has also assisted Dartmouth faculty and researchers in earning over $20 million in competitive funding.
Anthony, who praised ISTS's interdisciplinary nature, recalled an event last year in which the institute partnered with the Dickey Center for International Understanding to invite panelists to speak about cyber risk and cyber war.
Smith's colleagues from the ISTS expressed excitement over his appointment.
"I've been involved with ISTS for many years and have seen that ISTS is a great resource for Dartmouth, especially considering how central security and privacy are to our society today," engineering professor George Cybenko said in an email. "Sean has incredible energy and enthusiasm that positively affects all those who work with him."
Computer science professor Andrew Campbell said Smith is a talented researcher and deeply respected by the computer security community.
"Given his strong security background and broader vision, I'd imagine he'll lead ISTS in new exciting directions," Campbell said in an email.
