Patrick Drew McDaniel
Also known as Patrick McDaniel, Pat McDaniel
Patrick Drew McDaniel studies the security of machine learning, and he is associate dean for research and Tsun-Ming Shih Professor of Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 2015, he co-authored papers on adversarial samples that can make deep neural networks misclassify. He leads the Center for Trustworthy Machine Learning, a National Science Foundation Frontier project that began in 2018. ACM named him a fellow in 2015, and SIGOPS honored a team that includes him with its Hall of Fame Award in 2020. After research work at AT&T Labs, he spent 18 years at Penn State before joining UW–Madison in 2022.
- Works
- 391
- Citations
- 38,442
- h-index
- 72
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.
Timeline
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2001–2004
Research staff at AT&T Labs
He completes his doctorate at the University of Michigan in 2001. Before he joins Penn State in 2004, he is a senior research staff member at AT&T Labs.
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2004–2022
Professor at Penn State
He joins Penn State as a faculty member in 2004. He holds the William L. Weiss Chair in Information and Communications Technology there.
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2015
Adversarial samples for deep networks
He co-authors The Limitations of Deep Learning in Adversarial Settings, submitted to arXiv in November 2015, which introduces algorithms to craft adversarial samples for deep neural networks. A second paper on defensive distillation, also submitted to arXiv in November 2015, reports that it can reduce the effectiveness of sample creation from 95% to less than 0.5% on one studied DNN.
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2015
An ACM Fellow
The Association for Computing Machinery names him a fellow in 2015 for his contributions to computer and mobile systems security. He is also program manager and lead scientist for the Cyber Security Collaborative Research Alliance, a 10-year, $48 million project.
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Since 2018
A trustworthy machine learning center
He establishes and leads the Center for Trustworthy Machine Learning, a National Science Foundation Frontier project, in 2018. The center is a consortium of seven universities, including UW–Madison, that studies the risks inherent to machine learning.
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2020
Honours from SIGOPS and AAAS
ACM SIGOPS gives a team that includes him its Hall of Fame Award in 2020 for a 2010 paper on smartphone privacy. The American Association for the Advancement of Science names him a fellow in 2020 for distinguished contributions to the field of computational security and privacy.
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2022
A move to Madison
He joins UW–Madison in 2022 after 18 years at Penn State, as Tsun-Ming Shih Professor of Computer Sciences.
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Since 2026
Associate dean for research
He is Associate Dean for Research in the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence at UW–Madison, a role that begins in 2026.
Sources and credits
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- McDaniel named Association for Computing Machinery fellow | Penn State University
- Patrick Drew McDaniel - Wikipedia
- NSF selects Penn State to establish, lead Center for Trustworthy Machine Learning | Penn State Engineering
- [1511.07528] The Limitations of Deep Learning in Adversarial Settings
- [1511.04508] Distillation as a Defense to Adversarial Perturbations against Deep Neural Networks
- Center for Trustworthy Machine Learning Established with $10 Million NSF Grant – Computer Sciences – UW–Madison
- Patrick McDaniel: Biography
- Researchers receive Hall of Fame award for seminal paper on smartphone security | Penn State Engineering
- Seven Penn State faculty named AAAS Fellows | Penn State Engineering
- Professor Patrick McDaniel joins UW–Madison Computer Sciences Department to focus on cybersecurity and systems – Computer Sciences – UW–Madison
- Faculty – College of Computing & Artificial Intelligence – UW–Madison
- Patrick McDaniel: CV (Web)