UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Daniel Susser, assistant professor in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), has been awarded the Haile Family Early Career Professorship in Information Sciences and Technology. The endowed position, created in 2012 by IST Advisory Board Emeritus Member Don Haile, supports standout faculty members to foster a commitment to teaching, provide funds for emerging research, and offer recognition for their accomplishments.

“I am honored beyond belief to have been awarded this endowed professorship,” Susser said. “It is an incredible expression of support for me and my work. I feel so fortunate to work with and learn from everyone in IST, so this recognition by the college is really meaningful.”

The three-year appointment recognizes of the importance of Susser’s area of research and his accomplishments to date, as well as the potential impact of his future work.

“Daniel brings valuable ethics expertise to the college, a critical addition especially in the context of our data science research and curriculum," said Andrew Sears, dean of the College of IST. "We are pleased to recognize what he’s achieved and support what he will accomplish in the coming years through this professorship.”

Susser’s research explores questions at the intersection of philosophy of technology, science and technology studies, and technology ethics and policy. The primary goal of his work is to bring philosophical tools to bear on concrete ethics and governance challenges, helping policymakers, activists, and engineers solve the complex conceptual and normative problems that stand in the way of creating technologies that work for everyone. He has written on information privacy, digital influence and online manipulation, and the ethics of automation.

“This professorship will have a significant impact on my teaching and research. The funding that comes with it will help me carry out the work and communicate it to a broader audience,” Susser said. “I also suspect that this demonstration by the college of its commitment to the kind of research and teaching I do, on the social, ethical and governance questions raised by digital technologies, will make Penn State an even more vibrant place to do it, helping to attract top students and collaborators.”

Susser came to Penn State in 2018, where he is also a research associate and core faculty member in the Rock Ethics Institute and an affiliated faculty member in the philosophy department in the College of the Liberal Arts. Prior to Penn State, Susser served as an assistant professor in the philosophy department at San Jose State University, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Information Law Institute at New York University’s School of Law, a member of the Institute’s Privacy Research Group, and a visiting scholar in NYU’s Department of Media, Culture, and Communication. He earned bachelor’s degrees in computer science and philosophy from The George Washington University and a doctorate in philosophy from Stony Brook University.

The Haile Family Early Career Professorship in Information Sciences and Technology was created to help the college recruit and retain scientists, scholars and educators with the greatest potential to contribute to IST, its students and the world. When Haile pledged the funds for the professorship, he said, “It’s a chance to help younger faculty, who will hopefully be at the University for a long time.”