Create 2017-08-06-A-Chat-with-Dr-Ben-Y-Zhao.md

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+layout: Post
+title: A chat with Dr. Ben Y. Zhao 
+author: Bhanu Bhandari 
+categories: trending 
+---
+
+Ben Y. Zhao is the Neubauer Professor of computer science at University of Chicago.  He is an alumna of University of California, Santa Barbara,  University of California, Berkeley and Yale University. His current projects are focused on three areas: data-driven models of user behavior/interactions, security of online and mobile communities, and wireless systems and protocols. He has various awards and accolades to his name, including the MIT Young Innovators (TR35) award. He has been published hundreds of times in various journals of repute, with over 23,000 citations. He has gotten the Top Writer award from Quora for the past four years in a row (2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014). 
+
+
+**Q. How should someone get involved in undergraduate research? What path would you suggest for a freshman?**
+
+In the top US schools, many faculty are aware of the benefits of working with undergraduate researchers. Many of us are actively recruiting undergrads. If you’re an undergrad, you should be bold and assertive, and approach professors whose research you have followed and have interest in, and directly ask them about research opportunities. For younger students, it’s still worthwhile to talk to faculty about research early on. But instead of asking about positions, it might be good to ask for advice on what are the key tools and building blocks you should learn well in order to pursue research in their lab. That will get you a head start for research in year 2 or 3.
+
+**Q. Which recent developments in the field of computer networks do you find the most interesting? What implications do they have for the common person?**
+
+There are the obvious answers like neural networks and advances in Machine Learning. Personally, I’m excited about the increased understanding we have of human behavior and the significant role it plays in information dissemination and development of online communities. These questions directly feed into issues of security and privacy online. For example, security tools today are pretty advanced, but the easiest way to compromise a network is by compromising through social engineering. Spam, malware, ransomware, so many of today’s security problems and tomorrow’s problems (IoT security) are really HCI issues.
+
+**Q. Blockchain is turning out to be one of the most innovative security solutions. How far do you think blockchain can be used in secure applications other than cryptocurrency?**   
+
+I think infrastructures like Ether for smart contracts are very interesting. The real question is not whether these will take off, but what form they will take when real adoption comes. I actually do not think today’s blockchains have solved the key problems required to take them into the real world at large. Issues like throughput and robustness against attacks are lingering. It might take a well funded effort, e.g. funded by a financial institution, to come up with an alternative that actually addresses these fundamental problems. In the meantime, BTC/ETH and other currencies have their niche uses, and will continue to gain value as alternative investments.
+
+**Q. What are your opinions on cryptocurrency?**
+
+ As I said above, I am a believer that blockchains will change the world, but it may have some real growing pains in the process, and require much more regulation and self-regulation (by miners and developers) to get there.
+
+**Q. Which areas of research related to cyber security would, in your opinion, be the most important and/or interesting for undergraduate students? **
+
+I think the interaction between traditional security problems and HCI and human behavior is a great area. It’s going to be key to determining whether we can secure the next generation of networked systems like IoT devices, and also how we can protect users as they use new tools like home digital assistants.
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+
+**Q. What are your views about the future of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, haptic targeting and holographic displays, and their implications on privacy from a technical viewpoint? ** 
+
+I think they will catch on and have a huge impact. The question is how long and how fast. They’re growing quickly in niche contexts like remote medicine, mobile gaming. But there are real social and psychological challenges ahead before they can be adopted as the norm (see Google Glass). I am reminded of the early scenes in the movie “Ghost in the shell.” It is a long ways for us to get there from here, and much has to change in social and economic problems we face today.
+
+**Q. What are some of the latest tech innovations which you find interesting right now?** 
+
+I find the rapid integration of ML into our daily lives fascinating. Facial recognition, computer vision, fingerprints are being put into daily items like padlocks and grocery stores. One of my interests is finding the vulnerabilities in these systems. It alarms me a bit to see some of the most unproven research ideas get adopted into real products. I can only hope security researchers can catch up in time to patch the holes before they cause real damage.
+
+**Q. Thank you so much for taking out the time to interact with us, Dr. Zhao. Your unrelenting devotion to quality research is something which inspires our readers. Do you have any final words of wisdom for them? **
+
+I urge patience and persistence. Success in research is not a staircase function. It’s a windy road with lots of detours. If you look closely at my publications, you’ll see that I had my share of detours for quite a few years after taking on a faculty position. It took me 4 years as a faculty to learn about my own strengths and abilities. Don’t be discouraged if you feel lost. Look for strong mentors with proven track records. Keep your head down and keep working. Given time, the right opportunities and problems will come, and you need to be looking when they do.
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