Title: Georgetown Faculty Honored for Outstanding Research, Teaching at Fall Convocation

On Oct. 28, Muthu Venkitasubramaniam processed through Gaston Hall alongside other newly promoted faculty.

In his arms he carried his 2-year-old daughter with a big smile on his face. 

The computer scientist had just been promoted to the rank of professor for his work advancing the field of cryptography, a cybersecurity practice that encrypts and protects data. He also had just picked up his daughter from Hoya Kids Learning Center. 

“I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with emotion, but having her in my arms brought a sense of calm and joy,” he said. “Walking across the stage with her made the moment even more meaningful and unforgettable.”

Professor Venkitasubramaniam was part of 80 newly promoted and tenured faculty who were celebrated at Georgetown’s annual fall convocation.  

“Faculty are really the beating heart of the university,” Interim President Robert M. Groves said at the ceremony. “It is they who push the frontiers of human understanding. And they who lead the formation of the young people who come to us to learn and invest in their own futures. … These promotions that we honor today are the result of years of hard work and persistence. We know more about our world because of you … And I want to thank you in my current role for what you’ve done to make this university a better place. Thank you so much.” 

As part of the ceremony, Ted Mitchell, the president of the American Council on Education and former under secretary of education, presented the Aims of Education address. The annual lecture on higher education has previously included speakers like Teresa Sullivan, president emerita of the University of Virginia; Barbara Snyder, president of the Association of American Universities; and Carla Hayden, librarian of Congress.

“[Georgetown] is a true beacon for teaching and for research and service to the nation and to the world,” he said. “We have relied on Georgetown for the work you have done in teaching and scholarship but also for the resource you have become over the years to policymakers and practitioners here and across the globe.”

“You’re essential to what makes Georgetown Georgetown,” Mitchell said to the faculty gathered there. “It’s together in the collective act of scholarship that you shape Georgetown students and Georgetown itself.”

Protecting Data Privacy

Professor Venkitasubramaniam joined Georgetown in 2021, drawn to its computer science department and commitment to public policy and law. The computer scientist had devoted his career to designing and implementing secure systems that effectively protect users’ data. 

In 2017, he co-invented a system that enables users to verify their identity online without revealing underlying sensitive data. For example, the technology can prove that someone is over the age of 18 without exposing all the personal details on their driver’s license.

He has since co-founded a start-up, Ligero, Inc. based on the security design, and in July, Google Wallet adopted the technology.

As he steps into the role of professor, Venkitasubramaniam wants to continue to advance the field of cryptography while ensuring these advancements protect privacy, guide regulation and help make emerging technologies safer. He recently collaborated with Georgetown Law on these goals.

“I am grateful for the recognition and for the opportunity to continue contributing to Georgetown through my research and community engagement,” he said. “As President Groves noted at the ceremony, such a promotion reflects not only personal effort and accomplishment but also the unwavering support of family, mentors and colleagues and that sentiment truly resonated with me.”

Advances in Neuroscience

Associate Professor Tingting Wang was also recently promoted and received tenure for her teaching and research on the nervous system and homeostasis regulation. 

Wang researches how homeostatic regulation — or, as she calls it, the HVAC system of the nervous system — helps stabilize the nervous system and how dysfunctional regulation can cause diseases like epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and autism.

Wang joined Georgetown in 2018 after completing her Ph.D. in neurobiology at Duke University and her postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco.

During her postdoc, she discovered novel genes that help stabilize the nervous system. Glial genes, previously thought to support neurons, play a much bigger role than originally thought. Like air traffic controllers, they help neurons communicate and activate or suppress neural activity. 

“There are only maybe one or two glial genes people have studied in regulating homeostasis in the nervous system,” she said. “We significantly expanded the gene list. Now we have identified multiple glial genes that are important for homeostasis or stabilizing the nervous system.”

At Georgetown, Wang is studying these genes in fruit flies and mice to understand how, in activating them, they can help treat or cure neurodegenerative disorders. 

Wang’s lab has also developed an algorithm and mathematical models to enable more precise data analysis and detect differences between distinct cell types. She said she has been impressed by the collaborative nature of colleagues to help her learn new and different techniques.

“This is the best place that you can ever imagine for doing science,” she said. “We have great collaborators at Georgetown.”