Alex Marder

Alex Marder is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University. He is also a member of both the Data Science and AI Institute and the Institute for Assured Autonomy at Johns Hopkins, demonstrating his interdisciplinary research focus spanning computer science, data science, and security applications.

Marder received his BS from Brandeis University and his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, he was a research scientist at the Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA) at the University of California, San Diego, where he also completed a postdoc in 2020. This background in internet measurement and analysis has shaped his research trajectory.

His research spans a wide breadth of networking areas, with a focus on using empirical analyses and machine learning to evaluate and improve the security and performance of wired and wireless networks. His current work leverages deep understanding of network architecture to design secure 5G communication networks for the Department of Defense, reveal security weaknesses in domestic internet access networks, and provide better understanding of broadband inequity. His approach combines creative data gathering techniques with extensive experience measuring network properties.

Analysis of his publication record shows a strong focus on internet measurement techniques, router identification, network topology mapping, and security vulnerabilities in access networks. His work often bridges theoretical networking concepts with practical security implications, particularly in critical infrastructure contexts like the analysis of the Nashville bombing incident's impact on internet infrastructure.

• $5,000,000 NSF Convergence Accelerator Joint NSF/DOD Phase 2 AVOID 5G grant
• $750,000 NSF Convergence Accelerator 2022 Joint NSF/DOD Phase 1 5G Traffic Sovereignty grant
• $1,200,000 NSF CNS Medium grant for cloud-centric internet analysis
• $175,000 NSF CRII grant for measurement capabilities

Marder actively mentors undergraduate researchers, with seven of his students recently receiving Provost's Undergraduate Research Awards at Johns Hopkins. He has developed several open-source software tools that are actively maintained, including bdrmapIT, traceutils2, ip2as, and cloudtrace, which are widely used in the internet measurement research community.