Eugene H. Spafford

Research Areas

• Information Security and Assurance
• Networking and Operating Systems
• Software Engineering
• Distributed Systems

Education

BA, State University of New York at Brockport, Mathematics and Computer Science (1979)

MS, Georgia Institute of Technology, Information and Computer Science (1981)

PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology, Information and Computer Science (1986)

DSc (honorary), State University of NY (SUNY), (2005)

Dr. Spafford’s current research interests are focused on issues of computer and network security, cybercrime and ethics, technology policy, and the social impact of computing. He is a Purdue Distinguished Professor and the founder and emeritus executive director of the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS). This university-wide institute draws on expertise and research across many of Purdue’s academic disciplines.

Spaf (as he is widely known) has received recognition and many honors for his research, including being named a Fellow of the ACM, the AAAS, the IEEE, the (ISC)², the AAA&S, and as a Distinguished Fellow of the ISSA; he is the only person ever to achieve all six designations. Dr. Spafford has also been honored with all of the most prestigious awards in cyber security: the NIST/NCSC National Computer Systems Security Award in 2000, named to the Cyber Security Hall of Fame, and as a recipient of the (ISC)² Harold F. Tipton Lifetime Achievement Award, both in 2013; and recipient of the 2017 IFIP TC-11 Kristian Beckman Award.

In 2012, Spaf was named one of Purdue’s first Morrill Award winners for outstanding career achievements; the Morrill Award is Purdue’s highest honor for faculty. In 2016, he was awarded Indiana’s highest civilian honor, being named a Sagamore of the Wabash.

Among other honors for Professor Spafford are the 2004 ACM SIGCAS Making a Difference Award, a U.S. Air Force medal for“Meritorious Civilian Service” for his work with the USAF Scientific Advisory Board from 1999-2003, the 2005 IEEE Computer Society Technical Achievement Award, the 2006 ACM SIGSAC Outstanding Contribution award, and the notable ACM Presidential Award in 2007. In 2009, he received the prestigious CRA Distinguished Service Award, and in 2011, he was presented with a SANS Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been inducted into the ISSA’s Hall of Fame.

Professor Spafford has also been honored for his teaching, including receiving all three of Purdue’s highest honors for education: the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award in Memory of Charles B. Murphy, being made a Fellow of the Purdue Teaching Academy, and being listed in Purdue’s Book of Great Teachers. In 2001, he was awarded the Founder's Award by CISSE, and in 2003, he received the IEEE Computer Society’s Taylor L. Booth Medal for his outstanding contributions to information security education. In 2009, he was awarded UPE’s ABACUS award for contributions to excellence in teaching.

Among many current professional activities, Dr. Spafford is a member of the board of the Computing Research Association (CRA), is the Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier journal Computers & Security, and is the chair of Sandia National Laboratory’s DAHCS Mission Campaign External Advisory Board.

Selected Publications