Open-source software giants Tor and Python establish first New York City offices on NYU Tandon campus


Brooklyn, New York, Nov. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The New York University Tandon School of Engineering announced today that pioneering open-source software nonprofits the Tor Project and  Python Software Foundation (PSF) are the newest tenants at 370 Jay Street, a  recently renovated addition to the University’s engineering and applied sciences programs in Downtown Brooklyn. NYU Tandon is donating work space to both organizations for their first offices in New York City.

“We are proud to welcome staffers and contributors from two organizations whose work symbolizes some of the most important virtues of scientific discovery and development — access, collaboration, and community,” said NYU Tandon Dean Jelena Kovačević. “Both the Tor Project and Python Software Foundation are stewards of open-source technologies that have profoundly changed the digital landscape, and giving their researchers a home on our campus supports their work and encourages ongoing collaborations with our students and faculty.”

The Tor Project developed Tor Browser, an Internet search tool that protects users from tracking and surveillance by routing traffic over a volunteer network of servers worldwide. Tor Browser is widely used to circumvent censorship in countries where access to Internet content is restricted, as well as by journalists and activists seeking to communicate and share resources securely.

Python is the dominant open-source programming language used by researchers, businesses, and software developers across many sectors worldwide.  Python is also widely used in science and education.  By many measures, it is the world’s most widely used programming language. 

Many NYU Tandon students and faculty have contributed to Tor and Python projects over the past decade. Among them is Justin Cappos, an NYU Tandon associate professor of computer science and engineering, who partnered with researchers at both Tor and Python to develop and refine The Update Framework (TUF), an acclaimed system for protecting software update systems from malicious attacks.

“Having researchers affiliated with these organizations on site presents tremendous learning opportunities for both students and faculty,” said Cappos. “It’s exciting to have access to collaborators who bring this type of practical, real-world knowledge into the educational environment.  Deeper collaboration with these projects will further increase the practical impact of research across NYU Tandon.”

Sumana Harihareswara, a volunteer with the PSF’s Packaging Working Group and a contracted project manager for the Python Packaging Index, is among the first to move into the NYU facility. Harihareswara is also a visiting scholar in Cappos’s Secure Systems Lab.

"We thank NYU for its generosity, not only in providing work space for our staffers and contractors, but for serving as a venue for Python sprint meetings and other events,” said Ewa Jodlowska, executive director of PSF. “Our packaging tools maintainers look forward to collaborating with Center for Cybersecurity faculty and students.”

Stephanie Whited, communications director for the Tor Project, is also among the inaugural cohort. "We're grateful for the space and excited to connect with those who want to make a positive impact on privacy online by contributing to Tor,” she said. “Each contribution is valuable to millions of people around the world who rely on Tor for privacy and freedom online."

Both organizations are co-located with researchers from Tandon’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, as well as the NYU Center for Cybersecurity.

About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly). A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within NYU, one of the country’s foremost private research universities, and is closely connected to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates Future Labs focused on start-up businesses in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit http://engineering.nyu.edu.

About the NYU Center for Cyber Security

The NYU Center for Cybersecurity (CCS) is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to training the current and future generations of cybersecurity professionals and to shaping the public discourse and policy, legal, and technological landscape on issues of cybersecurity. NYU CCS is a collaboration between NYU School of Law, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, and other NYU schools and departments. For more information, visit cyber.nyu.edu.

About Python Software Foundation

The mission of the Python Software Foundation is to promote, protect, and advance the Python programming language, and to support and facilitate the growth of a diverse and international community of Python programmers. The 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation holds the intellectual property rights behind the Python programming language. We manage the open source licensing for Python version 2.1 and later and own and protect the trademarks associated with Python. We also run the North American PyCon conference annually, support other Python conferences around the world, and fund Python related development with our grants program and by funding special projects. For more information visit https://www.python.org/psf.

About the Tor Project

The Tor Project, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) organization developing free and open source software for privacy and freedom online, protecting people from tracking, surveillance, and censorship. The Tor Project’s mission is to advance human rights and freedoms by creating and deploying free and open source anonymity and privacy technologies, support their unrestricted availability and use, and further their scientific and popular understanding. For more information visit https://www.torproject.org.

 

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NYU Tandon and the NYU Center for Cybersecurity announced they are supplying the first office space in New York City for two of the most important open-source nonprofits in the tech world. Working at the new space in Downtown Brooklyn, left to right: Sumana Harihareswara, a volunteer with the PSF’s Packaging Working Group, a contracted project manager for the Python Packaging Index, and a visiting scholar in NYU Tandon Professor Justin Cappos's Secure Systems Lab; Stephanie Whited, communications director for the Tor Project and a visiting researcher in the Secure System Lab; and Santiago Torres, a computer science doctoral candidate working in the Secure Systems Lab. 
Photo credit: NYU Tandon: Haixin Tang

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