B.S.	Computer Science	Pennsylvania State University	1975
M.S.	Computer Science	Cornell University	1978
Ph.D.	Computer Science	Pennsylvania State University	1981

Current Courses

Fall 2008

ITEC-1150 Introduction to UML, Wednesday 4:00 - 4:50

Through this course students will become familiar with UML as a notation for documenting the design of a software information system. In particular, they will understand use case diagrams, activity diagrams, class diagrams, package diagrams, sequence diagrams, state diagrams, deployment diagrams and component diagrams. They will gain experience in creating and manipulating UML diagrams using the Rational Software Modeler. Prerequisite: CSCI 1100 Computer Science I or equivalent. Fall term annually. 1 credit hour

Database security

Access control for unstructured and semi-structured data

Computer Science and Information Technology education

Research Summary

Controlling access to structured data such as data stored in a relational database is a much studied problem. Techniques for defining access control polices (e.g., GRANT and REVOKE commands in SQL) and enforcing those policies are now commonly available. Even access policies that depend on the content of the data being stored can be enforced using view mechanisms such as those defined in SQL.

When one considers semi-structured and unstructured data, however, the situation is significantly different. Existing languages for expressing access control policies are limited in scope. Mechanisms for enforcing access control policies lack the necessary robustness for today’s complex problems. And view concepts are difficult to apply to data without a highly defined structure, making content-dependent access control difficult to provide.

Robust access control models for semi-structured and unstructured data must incorporate the data's semantics. Doing so imposes a logical structure on the data that allows the definition of access control policies over logically consistent components of the data rather than treating the data as a single large blob. A logical organization to a collection of data objects often exists when no consistent physical structure is present. This is the focus of my current research interests.

Selected Publications

L. Foutz and D. Spooner, "Providing Public Access to a Scientific Database while Maintaining Data Integrity," Proceedings of the Eighth IASTED International Conference on Internet and Multimedia Systems and Applications, August 16-18, 2004, Kauai, HI, USA, pp. 65-69.

G. Yaun, C. Carothers, S. Adali and D. Spooner, "Optimistic Parallel Simulation of a Large-Scale View Storage System", Future Generation of Computer Systems (FCGS), Vol. 19, No. 4, May 2003.

M. Freeman and D. Spooner, "Using Security Views with XML Documents," in Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Information and Knowledge Sharing (IKS 2003), IASTED, Scottsdale, Arizona, November 17-19, 2003.

Jie Zhang and D. Spooner, "Exploiting Semantic Constraints in a Database Browser," Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Symposium on Computer and Information Sciences (ISCIS XVII), Central Florida University, Orlando Florida, October 28-30, 2002.

M. Olivier and D. Spooner, editors, Database and Application Security XV, Kluwer Academic Publishing, Boston, 2002.

M. Hardwick and D. Spooner, "STEP Services for Sharing Product Models," ASME Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 266-268, September 2001.

G.Yuan, C. Carothers, S. Adali and D. Spooner,"Optimistic Parallel Simulation of a Large Scale View Storage Systems," Proc of the 2001 Winter Simulation Conference, December 2001.

M. Hardwick, T. Rando, K. Morris, P. Denno, D. Spooner, "Lessons Learned Developing Protocols for the Industrial Virtual Enterprise," Journal on Computer-Aided Design (CAD), February 2000.

D. Spooner, "A Bachelor of Science in Information Technology: An Interdisciplinary Approach," Proceedings of the ACM SIGCSE Symposium on Computer Science Education, ACM Press, March 2000. [html] [MS Word]

M. Hardwick and D. Spooner, "STEP Services for Sharing Product Models in a Virtual Enterprise," Proceedings of DETC98, Paper Number CIE-5518, ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference, Atlanta, September, 1998. [abstract] [paper]

D. Spooner and M. Hardwick, "Using Views for Product Data Exchange," IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications, editor B. Herzog, Vol. 17, September/October, 1997. [abstract] [paper] [copyright]

D. Spooner and M. Skolnick, "Science and Engineering Case Studies in Introductory Computing Courses for Non-Majors," Proceedings of the 28th ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium, February 1997. [paper]

R. L. Shuey, D. Spooner and O. Frieder, The Architecture of Distributed Computer Systems: A Data Engineering Perspective, Addison-Wesley, 1997.

M. Hardwick, D. Spooner, T. Rando and K. Morris, "Data Protocols for the Industrial Virtual Enterprise," IEEE Internet Computing, Vol. 1, No. 1, January/February 1997. [abstract]

I. Bailey, M. Hardwick, A. Laud, D. Spooner, "Overview of the EXPRESS-X Language," Proceedings of the 1996 EXPRESS Users Group Conference, Toronto, Canada, October 1996. [abstract] [paper]

F. Al-Anzi and D. Spooner, "Classification and Consistency of Behavior in Complex Object Design Views for Concurrent Engineering," to appear in Proceedings of the 1996 International Conference on Data and Knowledge Systems for Manufacturing and Engineering, IEEE Computer Society Press, October, 1996. [abstract] [paper] [copyright]

M. Hardwick, D. Spooner, T. Rando and K. Morris, "Sharing Manufacturing Information in Virtual Enterprises," Communications of the ACM, Vol. 39, No. 2, February 1996, ACM Press. [abstract]

David L. Spooner   Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute   110 8th Street   Troy, NY 12180-3590   spoond@rpi.edu