Jean Mayo

Dr. Jean Mayo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Michigan Technological University (MTU), where she has served since 1997. She also serves as the Graduate Program Director for the Computer Science program. Her academic background includes a PhD and MS in Computer Science from the College of William and Mary, and undergraduate degrees in Physics (Longwood University) and Mechanical Engineering (Georgia Tech).

Dr. Mayo's research focuses on distributed systems, operating systems security, and computer science education. She has developed multiple visualization tools for teaching concepts such as secure coding (e.g., SecureCvisual), cryptography (AESvisual, DESvisual), and access control (RBACvisual, MLSvisual). These tools emphasize hands-on learning for critical topics like concurrency, memory management, and system permissions.

Her work in distributed computing includes algorithms for predicate detection, deadlock resolution, and termination detection in dynamic systems. Notable collaborations include grants from NSF for curriculum development in concurrent computing and distributed systems education. She has advised 18 MS students and 1 PhD student to date, with current advisees Lihui Hu and Paul Bonamy.

Dr. Mayo has held leadership roles in integrating advanced systems laboratories into undergraduate education and has contributed to the design of fault-tolerant distributed computing curricula for software engineering programs.