Hello there! Thanks for thinking I'm interesting enough to check up on. If you've come this far, I encourage you to say hello before you leave :)
My name is Yixin Zou (pronounced "Yee-Shin Zoh"). I am a tenure-track faculty member at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy in Bochum, Germany. I completed my Ph.D. in Information at the University of Michigan, advised by Florian Schaub.
My research interests lie at the intersection of human-computer interaction, privacy, and security. I work on developing approaches that help consumers better adopt protective behaviors in the face of privacy and security threats, as well as understanding the unique barriers faced by marginalized/vulnerable populations in protecting themselves. My CV is available here.
If you are interested in joining our group or seeking any form of advising/collaboration, please read this page first before reaching out to me.
Selected Honors and Awards
- John Karat Usable Privacy and Security Student Research Award (2022)
- Annual Privacy Papers for Policymakers Award: Student Paper Honorable Mention, Future of Privacy Forum (2021)
- Best Paper Honorable Mention, ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2019, 2020)
- Facebook Fellowship Finalist (2020, 2021)
- NortonLifeLock Research Group Graduate Fellowship (2019)
- Distinguished Paper Award, Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (2018)
Updates
- Aug 2023 Giving two lectures at the Cornell, Maryland, Max Planck Pre-doctoral Research School (CMMRS)
- Jul 2023 I will be attending (my first) PETS in person in Lausanne, Switzerland. Come say hi :)
- Jun 2023 Upcoming talk at the Women in Security and Cryptography Workshop (WISC).
- Jun 2023 Attended the Security and Human Behavior Workshop, hosted at CMU this year. So many wonderful ideas and conversations floating around during the event! Here's a nice summary written by Ross Anderson.
- Mar 2023 The Human-Centered Security and Privacy group is growing! Check out my group page for more details :)
- Jan 2023 I am on the program committee for ACM CCS, ACM FAccT, PoPETs, and USENIX Security this year. Consider submitting your work to these excellent venues!
- Jan 2023 Settled down in Bochum and started my faculty position!