About Me

My name is Aaron Massey. I am an Assistant Professor of Software Engineering in the Department of Information Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. My research focuses on Regulatory Compliance Software Engineering (RCSE). In particular, I’m interested in computer security, digital privacy, and legal compliance in software systems. I am the Co-Director of ThePrivacyPlace.org You can find more information about my research on my publications page.

Prior to my current position at UMBC, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech. While there, I applied natural language processing techniques to RCSE concerns, primarily privacy policy analysis.

I completed my Ph.D. at North Carolina State University in the Computer Science department focusing on legal compliance in software systems. My Ph.D. advisor was Dr. Annie Antón. You can learn more about my dissertation here.

During the summer of 2010, I worked with Dr. Travis Breaux at the Institute for Defense Analysis on a software prototype to manage software requirements as a part of the United States export control process for militarily critical technologies. In 2009, I worked with Dr. Eugene Spafford at CERIAS on legal compliance and auditing in software systems. As a recipient of a 2008 Google Policy Fellowship, I spent the summer of 2008 working with Jim Harper, Directory of Information Policy Studies at the Cato Institute.

I won the 2008-2009 Walter H. Wilkinson Graduate Research Ethics Fellowship, which allowed me to study the ethics of behavioral advertising technologies. I am a student member of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP.) I am also a member of the USACM Public Policy committee

I’m originally from Noblesville, Indiana, which is just northeast of Indianapolis. I have a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Purdue University and an M.S. in Computer Science from North Carolina State University. While at Purdue University, I did undergraduate research with Professor Carla Brodley in network intrusion detection.

After graduating from Purdue, I worked for Advanced Micro Devices in Austin, Texas. During my three years at AMD, I worked as a Software Engineer focusing on Embedded Systems. Primarily my work consisted of writing Linux device drivers for the MIPS based Alchemy line of processors. The Alchemy business unit was sold to Raza Microelectronics

Last, and certainly not least, I’m a fan of Indianapolis area sports teams.

Short Biography for Speaking Engagements

Aaron Massey is an Assistant Professor of Software Engineering at UMBC and the Co-Director of ThePrivacyPlace.org. His research interests include computer security, privacy, software engineering, and regulatory compliance in software systems. Aaron is a recipient of the Walter H. Wilkinson Graduate Research Ethics Fellowship and a recipient of a Google Policy Fellowship. Before coming to UMBC, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing. Aaron earned a PhD and MS in Computer Science from North Carolina State University and a BS in Computer Engineering from Purdue University. He is a member of the ACM, IEEE, IAPP, and the USACM Public Policy Council.

If needed, I also have a high resolution publicity photo

Colophon

I built this website using nanoc, a static site generator written in Ruby. I wrote this site using a combination of TextMate and Vim. Frankly, I’m using Vim far more than I’m using TextMate these days.