My thesis research looks at new operating system designs that improve reliability. Using language exceptions to handle both hardware and software errors within the operating system code allows developers to provide localized error handling. We have demonstrated that extremely high reliability can be obtained by partitioning and isolating the state maintained by operating system services and carefully controlling access to it. Our ideas are implemented in the CuriOS system which is a derivative of the Choices object-oriented operating system. For more information, please visit the Choices website.

I am also interested in several security topics in Computer Science. My most recent experiments involve investigation of malware that only manipulates hardware settings and features in order to conceal itself - extremely stealthy rootkits. We have written a paper on the topic, and I expect to make it available online sometime soon. My other security interests revolve around the topic of ensuring the integrity of system objects. This has reliability benefits as well.

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Last Updated: January 30, 2008