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Earlence Fernandes, PhD

Assistant Professor, Computer Science & Engineering

Dr. Earlence Fernandes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. He focuses on building secure systems for emerging technologies, aiming to enable society to benefit from advancements without compromising security and privacy. His research interests include Internet-scale end-user automation, cyber-physical systems, machine learning, and mixed reality. 

Before joining UC San Diego in 2022, Dr. Fernandes was an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2017. 

Throughout his career, Dr. Fernandes has received several prestigious awards, including:

  • NSF CAREER Award (2022): For his work on “Security and Privacy Foundations of Internet-Scale User-Centered Automation.”
  • Amazon Research Award (2022): For his proposal “Verifiable Distributed Computation.”
  • Google Research Scholar Award (2024): For his project “Practical Least-Privilege Authorization with State for Internet Services.” 

Dr. Fernandes’ work has been featured in prominent publications such as Wired, The Verge, Ars Technica, Science Magazine, and Nature. Notably, one of his experimental artifacts is part of the permanent collection at the Science Museum in London. 

Healthcare cyber security is important for several reasons. First and most obviously, a high standard of healthcare is fundamental to human life. Second, it involves increasing amounts of technology that is imperfect. This serves as fertile ground for exploring new research problems and for educating the next generation.