Regular biography
Dr Robert N. M. Watson is a Fellow at the University of Cambridge Department of Computer Science and Technology. He is involved in several research groups, including Security, Networks and Operating Systems, and Computer Architecture. His research spans computer architecture, compilers, program analysis, program transformation, operating systems, networking, and security. He proposed and led the CHERI architecture project, a new processor protection model incorporated into Arm prototype Morello processor, SoC, and board, as well as CHERI-extended RISC-V based products. He teaches in the areas of security and operating systems across undergraduate and masters degrees. He has a research team of around a dozen PhD students, postdocs, and research engineers. He is a coauthor on the Design and Implementation of the FreeBSD Operating System (second edition) published by Pearson.
Scholar-generated biography
Robert N. M. Watson is a researcher in the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge, focusing on Computer Security, Operating Systems, Network Stacks, Programming Languages, and Computer Architecture. His work explores secure system design, including the development of capability-based security models and hardware-assisted protection mechanisms. He has contributed to projects such as CHERI, a hybrid capability-system architecture, and FreeBSD, emphasizing scalable software compartmentalization and memory safety. His research also addresses network stack optimization, concurrency vulnerabilities, and system-level security through innovative programming language and hardware integration.