Badge is hiring! If you like to build cool systems and want to work on privacy enhancing technology, shoot me an email!

My name is Albert Kwon, and I'm currently a software engineer at Badge Inc. We are a startup focused on enabling biometric-based authentication and key management without a centralized biometric database. I'm specifically working on fuzzy extractors that can derive stable private-public key pair from fuzzy inputs, like biometrics. Generally, I'm interested in designing and building systems where cryptography meets practice.

Before Badge, I completed my Ph.D. at MIT advised by my wonderful advisor Srini Devadas. My thesis was focused on scaling anonymous and metadata private communication with cryptographic privacy guarantees to millions of people. Before MIT, I got my Bachelor of Science from University of Pennsylvania in EE and CIS. At UPenn, my undergrad research advisor was Andre DeHon, and my research was on designing computer architecture that can automatically protect against the most common software vulnerabilities.

Email: kwonalbert [at] badgeinc [dot] com
CV (Updated Feb 2019)

portrait

Interests

I'm interested in security and privacy broadly, but I'm especially interested in designing and building systems that use cryptography in an interesting way. Currently, I'm most interested in personal key management, authentication using fuzzy data, and private communication. Previously, I've done research on anonymous communication, cryptocurrency, side-channel attacks, ORAMs, and secure computer architecture.

Conference and Workshop Publications

Courses

I enjoy teaching computer science, and have been part of a few classes as a TA. I've helped teach these courses at MIT and UPenn:

  1. 6.858: Computer Systems Security (MIT, Fall 2015)
  2. 6.046: Introduction to Algorithms (MIT, Spring 2015)
  3. CIS320: Introduction to Algorithms (UPenn, Spring 2013)
  4. CIS380: Operating Systems (UPenn, Fall 2012)
  5. CIS240: Introduction to Computing Systems (UPenn, Fall 2011)
  6. CIS192: Python Programming (UPenn, Spring 2011)

Mentoring

I've also had the pleasure of mentoring very smart high school students at MIT as part of the MIT PRIMES program. Most recently, I've mentored two brilliant students Sanjit Bhat and David Lu, who did great research on anonymous communication systems and machine learning that led to two first author publications.

Hobbies

When I'm not working, I spend as much time as I can with my better half. We currently raise two adorable cats, Teru and Hoji, and a white fluffy dog, Bao, together. When I'm not spending time with her or the pets, I'm usually part taking in one of my less productive hobbies, like playing video games and board games, or watching basketball, TV shows, and movies.