Cryptography is a fascinating research field with a long and intriguing history. Modern cryptography is ubiquitous in today’s digital society, as it can provide security in any situation where parties do not trust each other. In his inaugural lecture, Christian Schaffner will demonstrate how cryptographic concepts are naturally linked to fundamental questions in theoretical computer science; for example in complexity theory (how fast can a computer solve certain problems?), information theory (how much information can be sent over a bad connection?), discrete mathematics (e.g. how many prime numbers are there?) and quantum computing (what are the power and limitations of this new kind of computer?). He will sketch his vision of how to build a research group, education infrastructure and ecosystem to address these fundamental problems.

Prof. C. Schaffner, professor of Theoretical Computer Science, with a special focus on Quantum Computing: A cryptographic view on Computer Science.

You can watch this inaugural lecture here.