MorphoTrust USA (Safran group) Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Mohamed Lazzouni, has been named to the Board of Advisors for the Center for Identity at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin. Dr. Lazzouni joins board members from IBM, LexisNexis, VISA, the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI and others from industry, government and academia.

Established in 2010, the Center for Identity at UT-Austin is a national leader in research, education and outreach on identity issues that have become critical to so many aspects of contemporary life. Leveraging the resources of UT-Austin as well as those of its public and private sector members, the Center forecasts threats and delivers solutions that define and protect identity in physical and cyber environments. Its mission is to deliver the highest quality, most recognized identity management discoveries, applications, education and outreach available to ensure that the nation's industrial, government and academic institutions can aggressively manage and overcome current and emerging identity management threats.

Lazzouni is a strategist and technology leader for MorphoTrust, the leading provider of identity solutions in the U.S. He has been personally engaged in almost every advancement in biometrics over the past two decades, and has expertise in a wide variety of technologies including facial, iris, and fingerprint recognition. Dr. Lazzouni is an architect of identity systems in use by U.S. government agencies and many state motor vehicle agencies today.

"The role of identity is evolving from one of peripheral relevance to one of central - even critical - importance in the realms of government, homeland security, commerce, and everyday life," said Lazzouni. "As organizations decentralize and individuals and communications become more mobile, peoples' identities are no longer tied to a particular place, making it even more important to be able to create and verify a trusted identity.
"I'm looking forward to supporting the mission of the UT Center for Identity. Not only is UT-Austin an excellent research university, but it has also taken the initiative to assemble an impressive board from industry, government and academia to steer the Center toward meeting the identity challenges of the future. This kind of effort is exactly what is needed: an unbiased, collaborative forum to deliver trusted information concerning identity threats and protection."
Dr. Suzanne Barber, Professor of Engineering at UT-Austin, is the Director of the Center for Identity. Norman Willox, CEO of Bluewater International, is the Board Chair.