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Daniel Zappala
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Daniel Zappala
Professor
zappala@cs.byu.edu
TMCB 2224
LinkedIn

I lead the Usable Security and Privacy Lab, where our goal is to help people protect their security and privacy online. Our research is human-centered, meaning we collaborate with people to understand and design for their needs.

I currently teach CS 110 How to Program, CS 465 Introduction to Security and Privacy, and lead the Early Research Scholars Program.

I have been a professor at Brigham Young University since 2004. Prior to that I was a professor at the University of Oregon. I received my PhD from the University of Southern California in 1997, where I was advised by Dr. Deborah Estrin. I was also very fortunate to work with Lixia Zhang, Scott Shenker, and Bob Braden. I received my B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

One of the beautiful things about life in academia is you can change your research interests over time. I orginally started in networking, especially focused on new network services such as multicast and resource reservations. Over time this led to research in peer-to-peer networking and wireless networks. Later in my career I switched to security research, which has included projects in network security, applied cryptography, and usable security and privacy. I am currently trying to focus on helping people first, with technology being secondary to that goal.

I did not start out imagining a career in academia and feel lucky to have found my way here, because I enjoy helping students grow and reach their potential. I highly recommend figuring out life as you live it. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and explore new things.

Advising and Office Hours

I am the CS Faculty Advisor. I can help you with:

If I am your instructor for a class this semester, you are of course also welcome to come to office hours for help with the class you are taking from me, or any other advice.

Department Advising

Lynnette Nelson is the CS Undergraduate Advisor. If you have questions about classes, CS graduation requirements, department resources, retake policy, 142 waivers, etc. please make an appointment. If she cannot directly help you with your question, she can point you to the right person.

The CS belonging mentors are an amazing resource. They meet with students that are struggling, provide help with homework, give advice on resumes and job opportunities, connect students with other resources on campus, and often just provide a listening ear.

Jen Bonnett is the CS Graduate Advisor. If you have questions about BYU’s CS graduate program, you can reach her at jen [at] cs.byu.edu. Jen is also the leader of the Computer Science Belonging efforts. She leads the CS Belonging mentors.