Greg Morrisett: Academic Leader in Tech | Generated by AI
Greg Morrisett is a distinguished computer science scholar and academic leader, currently serving as the Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean and Vice Provost of Cornell Tech in New York City since June 2019. Cornell Tech is a campus of Cornell University focused on graduate education that integrates technology, business, law, and design to achieve economic and societal impact.
Education and Early Career: Morrisett earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computer science from the University of Richmond. He then pursued his graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University, where he received both his Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in computer science. His academic advisors were Jeannette Wing and Robert Harper.
He began his faculty career at Cornell’s Computer Science Department, where he taught for eight years (1996-2004).
Career Progression and Leadership Roles: After his time at Cornell, Morrisett joined Harvard University in 2004, holding the Allen B. Cutting Chair in Computer Science until 2015. At Harvard, he also served as the Associate Dean for Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and as the Director of the Center for Research on Computation and Society.
He returned to Cornell University in 2015 as the Dean of the College of Computing and Information Science (CIS), which encompasses the departments of Computer Science, Information Science, and Statistical Sciences. In this role, he was instrumental in faculty recruitment, integrating departments, and developing the new Department of Statistics and Data Science.
His extensive experience and leadership in computer science and academia led to his appointment as the Dean and Vice Provost of Cornell Tech.
Research and Academic Contributions: Morrisett’s research primarily focuses on the application of programming language technology to build secure, reliable, and high-performance software systems. A consistent theme in his work is the development of systems-level languages and tools aimed at detecting or preventing common software vulnerabilities.
Some of his notable research areas and contributions include:
- Typed assembly language: A type system for the Intel x86 assembly language that allows for static verification of type safety in machine code.
- Proof-carrying code: A mechanism for ensuring the correctness of code by attaching machine-verifiable proofs.
- Software fault isolation and control-flow isolation: Techniques for enhancing software security and reliability.
- Provably correct and secure software: More recently, his research has extended to building software that is formally proven correct and secure, with an emphasis on cryptographic schemes, machine learning, and compilers.
- Cyclone: A type-safe dialect of C that provides control over data representations and memory management without sacrificing safety.
He is a prolific author with highly cited works in programming languages, compilers, and theoretical computer science. He has also served as Chief Editor for the Journal of Functional Programming and as an associate editor for various other prestigious journals. He currently co-edits the Research Highlights column of Communications of the ACM.
Awards and Recognition: Greg Morrisett has received numerous accolades for his contributions to programming languages, type systems, and software security, including:
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2000)
- IBM Faculty Fellowship
- National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award (1999)
- Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship
- Fellow of the ACM (2014)
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Richmond (2023)
Morrisett is recognized for his academic achievements and his ability to build connections with industry and government leaders, fostering entrepreneurship in technology.