Jacob Lorch

About Jacob Lorch

My research focuses broadly on computer systems, with particular emphasis on distributed systems, software verification, trusted computing, privacy, cloud computing, and energy management.I love projects that involve building systems, and a major interest of mine is achieving fault tolerance in those systems. I\'ve shown how to deal with server failures in SMART and Shroud, trusted-component power failures in TrInc and Memoir, and improperly behaving participants in decentralized systems like GreenUp and FARSITE. I\'m an expert in Paxos and its many variants, having used it in several systems; most recently, in the IronFleet project, my team and I produced the first-ever implementation of Paxos with a machine-checked proof of both its safety and liveness.In much of my work, I leverage the power of trusted computing to solve difficult problems in security and privacy. The TrInc work shows how a simple trusted device could be leveraged for a great variety of purposes, including efficiently tolerating Byzantine faults, preventing Sybil attacks, preventing BitTorrent under-reporting, and allowing untrusted entities to provide trusted services. The Shroud system demonstrates how a server can use secure hardware to hide difficult-to-hide information hackers can otherwise glean from access patterns, such as who\'s friends with whom and where someone is looking for local information. And, the Ironclad project shows how to use full-system software verification to enable provably justifiable trust in services that run on trusted platforms in the cloud.

Experience

1. Senior Principal Researcher

   Microsoft

   Jan 2019 — Present · Redmond, WA, US

   My responsibilities include:* leading, and participating in, research projects advancing the state of the art in systems and security;* writing and publishing papers in top-tier scientific conferences on operating systems, distributed systems, networking, and security;* incorporating research advances into company products and services; and* mentoring summer interns working on research projects.

Education

• University of California, Berkeley

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Computer Science

  2001

• Michigan State University

  Bachelor's degree, Mathematics and Computer Science

  1988 — 1992