Fresh ideas for better Internet security
They beaver away in their quest for new and secure computer languages, helping us to manage our Internet passwords: all over the world, young researchers are working on exciting innovations aimed at better Internet security. At the Heidelberg Laureate Forum in August 2015, 200 young mathematicians and computer scientists from 50 nations had the chance to present their ideas to their role models: 26 winners of the Turing Award, the Fields Medal, the Abel Prize and the Nevanlinna Prize for mathematics in computer science were present.
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Secure and comprehensible software
“I was excited to meet the laureates — both to hear their stories and to discover their insights on my research from their years of experience”, says Scott Moore. A computer scientist from Harvard University in the USA, he studies computer languages and creates tools that allow programmers to write more secure and comprehensible software. The important thing for him is to tackle the problem of cyber security at its root. “The dozens of data breaches this year make clear that we need to direct our research effort towards proactive security and create tools that make it possible to build computer systems that were designed to be secure from the beginning.”
Focusing on hardware
“Thought-provoking” is how Wenjie Xiong, a PhD student in Electric Engineering, describes her encounters in Heidelberg. “Meeting these great people motivates me on my journey in academia”, she adds. Her research at Yale University’s Computer Architecture and Security Laboratory (CAS Lab) in the USA is focusing on hardware: “My research aims to create hardware-software architectures that provide increased security and resistance to a variety of hardware and software attacks, while remaining efficient at the same time.”
The Heidelberg Laureate Forum
The Heidelberg Laureate Forum gives selected young mathematicians and computer scientists the opportunity to meet leading scientists from their disciplines. The two generations get to know and value one another during the course of lectures, discussions and joint excursions. In addition, this exchange gives rise to inspiration and motivation, and thus makes possible exceptional scientific achievements.
The application period for the 4th Heidelberg Laureate Forum begins on 1 November 2015 and ends on 3 February 2016.
www.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org