Professor explores public policy for digital age

Professor John Villasenor strives to answer the questions that have not been asked before.

So instead of focusing on a narrow field, he explores new technology and the rapidly changing and associated policy questions that arise .

As a professor of electrical engineering and public policy, Villasenor is driven to discover how the engineering technology he studies can make a difference.

“There are amazing opportunities to use technology for social progress,” he said.

This year, Villasenor organized Public Policy for Innovation in the Digital Age, a series of panels where experts discuss policy questions currently affecting society. Some of these questions include how to address music piracy and the concept of ownership, he said.

Currently, Villasenor is investigating cybersecurity from a hardware standpoint – how to design a computer chip that can be prevented from launching a cyber attack.

But he is also interested in the policy side of technological progress, such as how to ensure security as the electronic supply chain becomes more globalized.

Because there can be many companies involved in creating and distributing a computer chip, it is difficult to protect the chip along every step of the chain, he said.

He said his interest in digital media and public policy has increased since he began investigating the field of technological public policy.

“These aren’t just theoretical academic questions, these are questions facing courts right now, they’re facing Congress and they’re facing all of us as creators and consumers of digital media … . These are very current frameworks,” he said.

For example, Villasenor said he expects that in two to three years some smartphones will cost as little as $30 to $40, bringing them to people who previously had little or no contact with the international digital world.

“There’s an opportunity to provide digital inclusion for literally hundreds of millions of people who have previously been unable to afford these technologies,” he said.

Villasenor got his start in engineering. In 1992, he came to work at UCLA, a decision he continues to find rewarding because of opportunities to carry out cross-disciplinary research and work directly with students, he said.

J.R. DeShazo, director of the Luskin Center for Innovation and vice chair of and professor in the department of public policy at the Luskin School of Public Affairs, said he helped Villasenor develop the digital media panel series.

DeShazo added that he enjoyed working with Villasenor on the panel series because Villasenor is constantly learning, seeing new changes in technology and the policy changes that would go along with them.

“He struck me as a truly Renaissance man, a guy who was not scared of learning outside of his own field,” he said.

In the next panel, “Digital Media in the Age of the Cloud,” four panelists will discuss policy questions on cloud computing. The panel will take place on Tuesday.

Compiled by Fiona Kirby, Bruin reporter.

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