Undergraduate Research

Eyes on your own screen!

As an undergraduate student in computer science and engineering, Adam Champion chose a research project that enabled him to explore not only the technical aspects of computer security but the policies related to it.

Champion investigated trusted computing standards that inhibit security threats, such as spam, and the impact such technologies have on computer users’ civil liberties and the economy.

His undergraduate research project gave him a good understanding of the interconnections among computing technology, intellectual-property law, business models and economics.

“I enjoyed the freedom to work on and learn about a topic in more depth than I’d learn in a class,” he said of his undergraduate research experience. “But with this freedom comes the responsibilities of pacing myself, setting goals and achieving them, and, ultimately, the paramount importance of doing good work, not just passing a class. It’s a real challenge but an enjoyable one.”