Sunoo Park
Assistant Professor, NYU Courant Institute (Computer Science) & Affiliated Faculty, NYU School of Law
Current research focus
I do research in computer science and in technology law and policy, especially related to security, privacy, and transparency in digital technologies. My recent and ongoing projects include: studying how computer science techniques and existing laws can help improve the reliability of our election systems; designing new systems to improve privacy in digital library lending; and writing about the legal risks too often faced by researchers doing important work in computer security and platform transparency.
Recent publication
Favorite course to teach
So far, my favorite course that I’ve (co-)taught is the Technology Law and Policy Clinic at NYU Law. One thing I really like about the format of law school “clinic” classes is the close instructor-student collaboration in small groups, which means my students and I get to know each other better. Also, in clinic classes, students and I have a unique opportunity to do public-interest project work for real clients on issues of technology law/policy that are close to my heart — all from an academic environment while helping train future lawyers to do this kind of work.
I’m also excited for a new course called Public Interest Technology that I’m designing for computer-science graduate students at Courant next semester. It will be project-based in collaboration with external organizations keen to collaborate with NYU students on public-interest tech work. I’m co-designing the course with my PhD student, longtime public interest technologist Mallory Knodel.
Sunoo with her PhD student, Mallory Knodel, in November 2024
My work with the Alliance for Public Interest Technology
I’ve designed a new Executive Education course, Ethics, Liability, and AI, in collaboration with the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology, and it’s scheduled to launch next spring. It’s designed for lawyers and other professionals to better understand the rapidly changing landscape of legal and ethical issues related to AI. I’m also in conversation with the Alliance about possible collaborations related to my upcoming Public Interest Technology course.
Influential mentors
I’m grateful to more people than I can name here who have helped me pursue a career that I love, studying topics that I care about. In secondary school in the UK, Roy Jones was my computer-science teacher (when few schools taught computer science), and remains a cherished mentor to this day. During my undergraduate years, Ivan Damgård and Ross Anderson introduced me to research and believed in my potential as a researcher (despite my mediocre grades, to my surprise and gratitude). From my PhD studies, Shafi Goldwasser and Ron Rivest are my models for passion, open-mindedness, and honesty in research—as well as brilliance! And after law school, James Grimmelmann helped me learn to be a legal scholar, a law professor, and a compassionate mentor, with seemingly limitless positive energy as I found my footing in a new academic field.
How I’d choose to make a living if I couldn’t work in academics
Perhaps a pipe dream, but I’d be tempted to go to culinary school! I love cooking, eating, and learning new cuisines and techniques. If I turned out to be any good at it, I’d open a little restaurant, with an open kitchen and not too many seats and maybe a patio, small enough to see and talk with the people we’d be cooking for. If that turned out to be too drastic a career switch, I’d want to be a public interest lawyer.
Students and I have a unique opportunity to do public-interest project work for real clients on issues of technology law/policy that are close to my heart