I'm a computer science PhD student at Carnegie Mellon, advised by the awesome Lorrie Cranor. I have a curriculum vitae (CV). I do research in a broadly defined swath of computer security and privacy, focusing on usability.

Prior to CMU, I spent 2010-2011 researching cultural elements of online privacy in Debrecen, Hungary on a Fulbright Scholarship. It was a great experience.

From 2007 - 2010, I worked at Rutgers University, organizing programs for wonderful high school students (including the NJ Governor's School of Engineering and Technology) and teaching 14:440:127 "Introduction to Computers for Engineers." In general, I like encouraging students from many different groups to study engineering and science.

Before working at Rutgers, I did my bachelor's degree at Harvard, where I was also very involved in the HRDC (drama club). I'm a very proud native of New Jersey, the greatest state in the union.

Yes, I realize my name is kind of amusing. No, you're not the first to point out that I could be a sports jacket, basketball team from Portland, or a practical joke when ordering pizza. My name is actually a four-generations-old mangled anglicization of an entirely reasonable Hungarian name. My great-grandfather was Úr Balázs (surname first). This was changed to Blase Ur at Ellis Island and has been passed down through the generations, for better or for worse.