Cybersecurity Expert David Thaw to Join Pitt Faculties
February 19, 2014
The University of Pittsburgh School of Law has hired Assistant Professor David Thaw, a law and technology expert and frequent presenter on issues of cybersecurity, privacy regulation, and cybercrime. Thaw will hold a secondary faculty appointment at the School of Information Sciences (the iSchool). Currently an affiliated fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School and a visiting assistant professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law, Thaw will assume his new positions at Pitt on July 1, 2014.
Thaw earned his JD at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, School of Law. He holds a PhD in information management and systems and an MA in political science, both from UC Berkeley. Holding both a JD and PhD from an iSchool positions him exceptionally well for teaching, research and scholarship that spans the interests of the iSchool and Pitt Law. He earned undergraduate degrees in government and computer science at the University of Maryland, College Park. Professor Thaw practiced cybersecurity and privacy regulatory law at what was then Hogan & Hartson in Washington, D.C., was a research associate with the University of Maryland computer science faculty and Maryland Cybersecurity Center, and is a technology entrepreneur. Thaw has taught courses in the areas of cybersecurity, privacy, and administrative law while at the University of Connecticut.
“We have followed David’s academic trajectory now for a couple of years and have been consistently impressed with his scholarly insights and rigorous analysis of extraordinarily complex legal issues involving information systems,” says Ronald Larsen, Dean and Professor of the iSchool. “We are thrilled to welcome him to the Pitt faculty.”
The iSchool has been developing its Security Assured Information Systems (SAIS) program for more than a decade and is designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education for both teaching and research. Pitt is one of only 13 centers in the United States to hold five CNSS certifications by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Thaw’s focus on cybersecurity will add a new dimension to the capabilities of this program and to Pitt’s national reputation for excellence in security assured systems.
“I am absolutely delighted to be joining the University of Pittsburgh,” said Thaw. “There are very few universities in the world that could put together the research and teaching opportunities Pitt Law and the School of Information Sciences have developed. This collaboration will allow Pitt students to receive training available in very few places and both schools to collaborate on answers to important law, policy, and technological questions that have worldwide impact.”