Developing a method to simplify polynomials in complex curves

Science, Mathematical Institute (MI)

Promotor: Ronald Cramer, Co-promotor: Serge Fehr

This dissertation presents new cryptographic protocols, which can be divided into two families.

The first book ever on information-theoretically secure multiparty computation

Finding solutions for economically and socially relevant problems in digital data security. That is what Nele Mentens, Professor of Applied Cryptography & Data Security at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), wants to achieve. On 1 June she was appointed to contribute to the institute…

Prof. dr. Cramer (Leiden University / Centre for Mathematics & Computer Science) is appointed as ‘Fellow of IACR’. This was announced by the International Association for Cryptologic Research on 8 April 2013.

Ronald Cramer, Professor at the Mathematical Institute of Leiden University and researcher and head of the research group Cryptology at ‘Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), the national research center for mathematics and computers science in the Netherlands, is appointed as a member of the Royal…

Ronald Cramer, in cooperation with Ivan Damgard and Jesper Nielsen (Aarhus University) have recently published the first book ever written on “quantum-secure multi-party computation”. The authors have spent six years to finish this comprising book.

The research of the Algebra, Geometry and Number Theory programme ranges from fundamental mathematical theory to algorithms and applications.

Cryptographer Max Fillinger developed new methods to analyse a group of algorithms called commitments schemes. These schemes are building blocks for cryptographic protocols, which enable multiple parties that do not trust each other to work together safely. His PhD Defence is on 19 March.

Promotores: R. Cramer, A.K. Lenstra, Co-Promotor: B.M.M. de Weger

This thesis considers multi-prover commitment schemes whose security is based on restrictions on the communication between the provers.

In this thesis we study products of linear error correcting codes.

As of 1 June, Serge Fehr has been appointed as Professor Quantum information theory at the Leiden Mathematical Institute (MI). Fehr is employed by Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) and as of his appointment works one day a week at the MI. Fehr’s research is focused on quantum cryptology and will…

For a long time it was thought that there were few or no female spies in history. However, nothing could be further from the truth. In her book Invisible Agents, Nadine Akkerman reconstructs the stories of the many British women spies in the 17th century.

The American magazine WIRED recently published an article on ‘quantum-safe public key encryption’.

Promotor: R. Cramer

Promotor: Peter Stevenhagen

Promotores: H.W. Lenstra, K. Belabas (University of Bordeaux)

In cryptography, the sky is the limit according to the new professor Mathematical Cryptology Léo Ducas. He already designed several cryptosystems as part of his research at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), some of which might soon be adopted as new international standards. Since December,…

Mathematics forms the basis of many innovations in technology, the service industry and science, such as data analysis and coding, artificial intelligence, weather or climate change modelling or understanding molecular processes. The researchers from the Mathematical Institute (MI) are constantly developing…

Nadine Akkerman has received a subsidy of two million euros from the European Research Council (ERC) for research into 16th and 17th century English manuscripts. Akkerman: ‘Working with handwritten texts and unravelling their mysteries is one of my passions, and it’s especially rewarding when this work…

Researchers at LIACS are working to devise the computers of tomorrow that will be the backbone of the Cloud and Edge computing paradigms as well as the Internet of Things. In this respect, we are involved in research and development of high performance computing systems, embedded & real-time computing…

Saturday 13 February 2016 the daily newspaper Volkskrant published an article based on interviews with Professor Ronald Cramer and Harry Buhrman.

Physicists have manipulated light with large artificial atoms, so-called quantum dots. Before, this has only been done so well with actual atoms. It is an important step towards light-based quantum technology. Publication on August 30th in Nature Communications.

The programme consists of four phases: conceptualisation, specialisation, electives and thesis.

Top scientists of three Dutch universities are working on software and systems for quantum computers. Researchers of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) and the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) are developing new algorithms to make those super computers work. The coming years,…

‘Wild’ might not be the first word that springs to mind when you think about mathematics. But there is, most definitely, a wild side to this research area, consisting of problems that are extremely elusive and difficult to ‘tame’. Martin Bright works on one of these problems. His aim is to tame the…

Quantum computers deserve their own quantum internet. This is a network that dispatches information not in the form of bits - ones and zeros - but rather as qubits, just like in the quantum computer itself. In the view of Dirk Bouwmeester, a professor in Leiden’s Quantum Matter & Optics research group,…

Ronald Cramer has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant for his proposal 'Algebraic Methods for Stronger Crypto'. He will receive 2.5 million euro for research in the upcoming five years.

Within the context of the four national mathematics clusters, NWO has awarded seven proposals for tenure track positions. One of these was on 'Moduli, metrics, models, and arithmetic of Shimura varieties' by Bas Edixhoven from the Leiden Mathematical Institute.

Archaeologist Frans Theuws, Buddhism specialist Jonathan Silk and mathematician Ronald Cramer have each been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant of 2.5 million euros.

Scientists need individual photons for quantum cryptography and quantum computers. Leiden physicists have now experimentally demonstrated a new production method. Publication in Physical Review Letters on July 23rd.

Lecture

Mathematician Oliver Nagy still vividly remembers the first time he learned about a random walk. ‘The lecturer told us to imagine a company of drunken students who wander in the streets. At each intersection, they would spin one of them around and all would go in the direction where he or she came to…

PhD student Raymond van Bommel decided to pore upon one of the most complicated mathematical problems of our time; the solution of it is worth 1 million dollars! Van Bommel did not get that far yet. However, he wrote his own computer program to make new calculations. ‘It could just be that someone else…

Leiden PhD student Peter Koymans has been declared ‘best mathematics PhD student’ by the Royal Dutch Mathematical Society (KWG). He received the prize at the Dutch Mathematical Congress (NMC) on 24 and 25 April. With his talk about his research into the Cohen-Lenstra conjecture, Koymans left eleven…

Three major research projects involving Leiden scientists have been awarded a grant from NWO’s Gravitation Programme. The projects are on innovation processes, organs-on-chips and quantum software.

The first larger quantum computers will soon be available. These computers need new software. Researchers at Leiden University have been awarded a Gravitation grant to develop the necessary software. They will be collaborating with colleagues from other research institutions.

State secretary Mona Keijzer received the National Agenda on Quantum Technology from Robbert Dijkgraaf on 16 September. With this agenda, Dutch knowledge institutes and high-tech companies identify what is needed to maintain and strengthen the Dutch pioneering role in this area. Researchers from Leiden…

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2020, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.

Conference

Lecture

Lecture

The Cyber Security lecturers are scholars and lecturers of Leiden University, Delft University of Technology and The Hague University of Applied Sciences.