JULY | Dinusha Vatsalan

Tell us about yourself,

Embracing the discipline in both theoretical studies of provable privacy-preserving algorithms and practical application of privacy-aware and secure systems, I have been conducting research in privacy-preserving technologies in the Information Security and Privacy Research group at Data61, CSIRO. I completed BSc (hons) in Information and Communication Technology at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2010 and PhD in Computer Science at the Australian National University in 2014. After completing PhD in 2014 and 2-year postdoctoral research at the same University, I joined one of the largest research organizations, Data61-CSIRO, in 2017 as a research scientist. I am leading research in privacy-preserving technologies and have published more than 60 articles that have attracted more than 1160 citations so far. Big data continues to evolve, so does research in privacy-preserving technologies, and I am thriving to explore novel research that would ultimately benefit society.

What gets you excited about your work or your projects?

As everyone knows information is wealth. But, is our private data and information only wealth for us, or has it become a threat to our privacy? Technology is indeed a great tool that utilizes our data to empower our day-to-day activities. But there is the other side of the coin, that is Technology can also be misused to breach our data privacy and cause damages. So the question arises can we use technology as a weapon to prevent such data privacy breaches. In other words, can we fight fire with fire? In quest of answers to these questions, I started my career in Privacy-preserving technologies. Computer Scientists have enormous opportunities to change society and shape the future world. The boundless possibility of trying simple combined with highly practical ideas and scientific techniques open doors for vast research areas. I found these rational aspects are most appealing about research in Computer Science.

How long have you worked for Data61 and why do you like working here?

I have worked for Data61 for more than 4 years (2017 – 2021). What I like most about working at Data61 is that it provides the exposure to both academic research as well as industrial or government research projects. And as a mother of my beautiful 3 years old son, I enjoy and value the work-life balance and great flexibility that Data61 provides.

What is the most valuable thing you've learned while working for Data61?

I embrace the discipline in both theoretical studies of algorithms and practical problems of implementation. Theoretical Computer Science impressed me and served to set my goals of being a proactive research professional. On the other hand, I have learned that as a Computer Scientist we need to look for avenues to apply the fundamental concepts and techniques of privacy-preserving algorithms and computation in real applications. The most valuable lesson that I have learned while working for Data61 is that we need to conduct research for the betterment of humankind and it needs to reach to the public who will ultimately use the research outcomes.

What is the one contribution you've made to SCS that you're most proud of?

I have provided my research expertise in privacy-preserving data matching to acquire new projects and opportunities for our group. One of the most proudful contributions is the PfOD project with Department of Social Sciences (DSS) in July 2019 – June 2020 that received great feedback and produced three research publications in our group’s targeted venues. This project was the first to collaborate between E&D and research group to translate novel privacy-preserving record linkage research into implementation for which the DSS partners see practical utilization. Valuing my research expertise in privacy-preserving data matching, I have been given an opportunity by my group to lead an internal strategic project to develop a software (known as PriDEMatch) based on my research outcomes with the aim to use the software for external projects.

Top three professional skills,

• Privacy risk quantification
• Privacy-preserving technologies
• Probabilistic methods

Awards and Accolades,

I have secured and received several competitive grants and awards, including the Australian government's Endeavour Postgraduate Research Award, Visiting researcher grant from the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, SCS Women in Science Career Award and CSIRO Ruby Payne-Scott award.

What is the one thing you hope people would remember about you?

I believe myself as a very good fighter who does not quit after seeing failures. I always like to take up challenges and put in a lot of effort and work hard to achieve the goals. Along my career, I have demonstrated my capability to continuously try and adapt to new research topics and publish in the group’s top-ranked target venues and at the same time my determination to never give up on my objectives. I hope people would remember me for my ‘determined’ and ‘never quit’ working attitude.

Google scholar page - https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=gQhiZhcAAAAJ&hl=en

LinkedIn page - https://au.linkedin.com/in/dinusha-vatsalan-008b333b