ACM, an educational and scientific computing society, has been selecting fellows annually since 1993. This year, Kohno is one of hailing from 14 countries chosen by their peers for outstanding achievements in the field. In its citation for Kohno, ACM praised him “for leadership in cybersecurity for emerging technologies, security ethics and sociotechnical security.”

, a professor in the computer science department, was named an ACM Fellow .

“For as long as I’ve been a computer scientist, the Association for Computing Machinery has stood out in my mind as one of the leading organizations in computer science,” Kohno said. “It is an incredible honor to be recognized as a fellow. None of this would have been possible were it not for all my amazing mentors, students, collaborators, family and friends.”

Kohno joined Georgetown University ������̳ of Arts & Sciences last August and came to DC from the University of Washington. His research spans different areas of security and privacy and has led to significant real-world impacts. 

This semester, Kohno is teaching Computer Security Ethics, where students are studying classical ethical challenges in computer security while gaining practical experience navigating new and emerging challenges. His course builds on his many years navigating ethical challenges in computer security research.

“For the Center for Digital Ethics, Professor Kohno winning this great distinction in our field is a testament to a deeper truth,” said , the director of the Center for Digital Ethics. “Intellectual leadership is not only about building technical systems but about building a more ethical and human future. We are so proud and honored to have him as a colleague.” 

Kohno is also studying advances in AI and AI systems, working to proactively identify potential harms these systems can create and to develop mechanisms to mitigate those harms. For the harms that cannot be mitigated, Kohno said, his focus is on helping people understand the risks so they can make informed decisions.

“Professor Kohno has worked on safety in technology for decades — from car and medical device safety to protection from surveillance devices or unwanted facial recognition,” said , professor and chair in the Department of Computer Science. “He has worked on scrutinizing emerging new technologies to understand their failure points, the impact of those failure points on people and society, and ways to reduce the negative impact of those technologies. He is an exceptional leader in the field.”

ACM has long been in Kohno’s orbit. When he was a high school student, he became involved in the student chapter of ACM at the University of Colorado Boulder. As a college student in 1999, Kohno competed in the , held at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. 

Kohno hopes to use his position as an ACM Fellow to inspire and support others.

“One aspect of this is to continue to do good work that is important and that has the potential to benefit society,” he said. “But there’s another aspect at a personal level, which is to work with, believe in and support junior scholars in the field.”

“I am an educator at heart,” said Kohno, whose first day was August 1. “I have been an educator throughout my adult life, and I am deeply impressed by Georgetown University’s commitment to the education of the undergraduate and graduate students.”

Prior to Georgetown, Kohno taught at the University of Washington as a professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. He was also the associate dean for faculty success for the university’s ������̳ of Engineering and held adjunct professor positions in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, the School of Information and the School of Law. 

Kohno’s research spans different areas of security and privacy and has had a wide range of real-world impact. His areas of study have included , , and artificial intelligence , and . 

At Georgetown, Kohno plans to continue exploring computer security and emerging technologies while building on his appetite for interdisciplinary research. 

David Edelstein, the dean of the ������̳ of Arts & Sciences, called Kohno the “ideal scholar and teacher” for the McDevitt Chair position. 

“Through his research and teaching, Professor Kohno is committed to understanding both the underlying technology driving change in our society and the effect that it is having on our society,” Edelstein said. “In addition to his deep commitment to appreciating the ethical dimensions of the technology he studies, Professor Kohno’s passion for not just researching but also teaching our students about how to understand this technology and its implications exemplifies our own commitments as a Catholic and Jesuit institution.”

An Early Passion

Kohno has always been interested in math and science.

His grandfather, an electrical engineer, inspired Kohno to pursue computing and he spent many hours in front of a computer learning how to program while growing up in a small town just outside of Boulder, Colorado. His parents gave him an introduction to computer programming book as a present before he was in first grade.

Kohno said he also had a strong desire to become a biologist as a child, but computer science ultimately called to him.

Kohno graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Science in computer science and received his master’s and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California at San Diego. 

After two brief stints as a computer security consultant, he moved to Seattle to start his faculty career at the University of Washington in 2006 and has won multiple research and teaching awards. Once he became a professor, Kohno couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“I take great joy in helping students uncover, embrace and grow in directions that support and align with their passions,” he said. 

Kohno also believes in the value of a strong liberal arts education and the essential role it plays for computer scientists in understanding the broader world in which computing technologies exist. 

“I am deeply, deeply excited to be at an institution that prioritizes not just strong and rigorous computer science as a discipline but the interplay between computer science and society,” he said.

Identifying Future Problems

One of Kohno’s expertise areas as a researcher is identifying cybersecurity risks with future technologies and mitigating them before they happen. 

Kohno explained it another way: If his research is successful, the general public will likely never hear about it.

“Because we would have done our job at identifying and then mitigating those threats,” he said. “I really do try to think five, 10, 15 years into the future, and understand what the next generation of technologies might be, and then try to proactively develop security solutions before those technologies become widespread.”

, the inaugural endowed chair in Technology, Ethics and Society and the director of the Center for Digital Ethics, said that Kohno is ideally positioned to advance the center’s mission to bring about a more ethical digital future for the good of humanity through teaching, research and public engagement.

DeNardis, who is also a professor in the Department of Communication, Culture and Technology, praised Kohno’s cutting-edge research on .

“Cybersecurity is a human concern as much as a technical one, shaping the future of human rights, the economy and national security,” she said. “Dr. Kohno’s research on cybersecurity, privacy and human safety resides at the cutting-edge ethical frontiers of emerging technologies.”

Kohno said that ideally those who create new technologies put the considerations of people and society first. That includes technological advances with artificial intelligence.

“In the modern AI space, companies seem to be asking, ‘What can we do?’” Kohno said. “The most important questions in my mind are: ‘What are the negative consequences if we do what we can do?’ ‘What should we not do?’”

A Way of Life

Georgetown’s tradition of cura personalis or care of the whole person, resonates with Kohno, a sixth-degree black belt, karate and aikido instructor and former yoga teacher who infuses martial arts philosophy and creative writing into his academic lessons.

For Kohno, martial arts are a way of life. They inform his teaching and philosophy.

“Some people think that martial arts are about fighting,” Kohno said. “To me, martial arts is a philosophy and an approach to interacting in the world. …Martial arts, as I train them, begin by observing and understanding our environment and the people around us. In martial arts, the ultimate goal is to never have to fight at all in the first place.”

Creative writing and science fiction also shape Kohno’s approach to academia. 

In his former Seattle office, Kohno hung a vintage poster of Yoda from Star Wars with various famous quotes from the films that he plans to bring to DC. He believes that fiction can help people think more deeply about the relationships between society and technology and has incorporated creative writing into his courses as a method of active learning. 

Outside of work, Kohno enjoys open water swimming, biking and running, and has already registered to run the Marine Corps Marathon in DC this October. 

Asked about his proudest achievements, Kohno points to his students. 

“There are research projects I’ve done, but my absolute greatest accomplishments are the lives that I have impacted and the careers that I’ve helped enable,” he said.

(Photos by Lisa Helfert for Georgetown University)