Name: Stacey Elliott
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Major: Ph.D. candidate, Computer Engineering

Stacey Elliott has worked for several start-up companies that have gone on to become household names in the world of computer security. Now, he wants to take that experience and help researchers at SMU develop some new cutting-edge technologies.

Stacey selected SMU for his graduate studies after meeting his advisor, Suku Nair. "It was just a great connection," Stacey says. "I really enjoy working with him and respect his knowledge of the field and the industry."

Stacey is working with Professor Nair on SMU's new High Assurance Computing and Networking (HACNet) Research Laboratory. He also helps teach some graduate courses. "I always wanted to go into teaching and do research," he says. Stacey had a military scholarship that enabled him to earn his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at Northwestern University. He then moved to Boston, where he worked for several companies that had business all over the world. He was transferred to Dallas in 1994 and recently completed his master's degree in computer engineering at SMU. "I'm very excited about SMU engineering," he says. "We have the right mix of experience and energy to really do some great things."