By the Office of Engineering Communications
Edward Felten, an expert in technology policy and information security, has received the ACM Policy Award from the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM).
Felten is the Robert E. Kahn Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs, Emeritus. He has been recognized by the ACM for his contributions to technology policy, including work on electronic voting, copyright, consumer protection and artificial intelligence.
"Felten’s security analysis of electronic voting systems fundamentally shifted the national understanding of technological risks in democracy," according to a press release from the ACM. "Taken as a whole, his work has aided policymakers directly, influenced major national debates and inspired a generation of computer scientists to pursue research with immediate policy relevance."
The ACM Policy Award was established in 2014 to recognize researchers who have made a significant positive impact on the formation or execution of public policy affecting computing or the computing community. The award comes with a $10,000 prize.
Felten's research focuses on seeking out weaknesses in computer systems and finding ways to fix these weaknesses through technology or policy. He provided key testimony challenging Microsoft’s early dominance of internet browsing, battled the recording industry over its attempt at creating digital copyright controls and fought voting machine companies over security and transparency.
Felten joined Princeton in 1993 and transferred to emeritus status in 2021 after twenty-eight years on the faculty. In 2005 he founded the Center for Information Technology Policy and in 2006 he became jointly appointed in the School of International and Public Affairs. He served as Chief Technologist of the US Federal Trade Commission from 2011 to 2012 and Deputy US Chief Technology Officer in the White House from 2015 to 2017. From 2018 to 2025 he served on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent agency within the executive branch.
Felten is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. He completed a doctorate in computer science at the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in physics at the California Institute of Technology. He is now the co-founder and chief scientist at Offchain Labs, a blockchain technology company.