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Mason Ma

Ph.D. Candidate at Duke University Focusing on Computer Architecture, Private Computing, and Machine Learning.

I am a PhD Candidate in Computer Science at Duke University, where I am fortunate to be advised by Prof. Lisa Wu Wills in the APEX Lab. My research focuses on computer architecture, domain-specific accelerators, and privacy-preserving machine learning. I specialize in software/hardware co-design for fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), optimizing both the virtual encrypted world and real silicon world. My research focuses on three pillars: arithmetic circuits, compiler design, and hardware acceleration, aiming to make privacy-preserving computing more accessible and computationally efficient. My work has received recognition including a Best Paper Award at ISPASS 2023.
Prior to Duke, I earned my Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from the University of California, Irvine.

I am actively seeking Summer 2025 internship opportunities. If you are interested, please feel free to reach out!.

Contact Details

I am always excited to discuss research ideas! Whether you’re interested in potential collaborations or simply want to chat about my research, don’t hesitate to reach me out!

Publications

[Under Submission] A Scalable Architecture for Efficient Multi-bit Fully Homomorphic Encryption
Jiaao Ma, Ceyu Xu, and Lisa Wu Wills. Under submission for International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems (ASPLOS 2025).

[Accepted by ISPASS 2025] A Cycle-Accurate Simulator for Heterogeneous Systolic Array Architectures
Mansi Choudhary, Chris Kjellqvist, Jiaao Ma, Lisa Wu Wills. 2025 IEEE International Symposium on Performance Analysis of Systems and Software (ISPASS).

[ISPASS 2023] PyTFHE: An End-to-End Compilation and Execution Framework for Fully Homomorphic Encryption Applications
Jiaao Ma, Ceyu Xu, and Lisa Wu Wills. 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Performance Analysis of Systems and Software (ISPASS).
ISPASS 2023 Best Paper Award
Best Paper Award

Teaching

  • Graduate Teaching Assistant, COMPSCI 250D - Computer Architecture, Fall 2023
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant, COMPSCI 550 - Advanced Computer Architecture, Spring 2023