Hongyi Liu, a Ph.D. student in Rice University’s Department of Computer Science, presented his team’s latest work, Remote Direct Memory Introspection (RDMI), at the 2023 USENIX Security conference this month in Anaheim, California. The paper, which advances cloud security by deploying cloud devices as enforcers, was named a Distinguished Paper Award Winner.
Liu has co-authored five papers under the guidance of his advisor, Ang Chen. Rice CS Ph.D. student Jiarong Xing and Rice CS postdoctoral associate Yibo Huang are also authors on the paper. This project is a collaborative work with contributions from researchers at Duke and MIT as well.
Chen refers to Liu as a “top-notch expert in computer security” and the team’s “go to person” for OS security as well as quantum physics. “His tenacity and persistence really paid off, and I’m incredibly excited for Hongyi’s success,” says Chen.
“I'm very excited about the recognition from the community,” Chen says about the award. “We are looking forward to follow-up work that builds upon RDMI as a starting point.”
Liu joins Chen in his enthusiasm, adding “I am also super excited to see our efforts pay off and gain recognition after the winding journey. I hope it gains more attention and feedback so that we can continue to explore this work. And I hope there will be more impactful work after this.”
Liu encourages prospective and new Ph.D. students to remain on course and to take risks despite an inherent fear of failure. He said, “Be bold and believe in what you do, keep working and you will find the answer.”
For further details on the team’s Remote Direct Memory Introspection (RDMI) research, see the department’s original coverage of their USENIX Security 2023 publication.