CAREER

Fundamental research in quantum information performed since the 1980s shows that the principles of quantum mechanics can lead to dramatic computational and cryptographic consequences, from exponentially faster algorithms to unbreakable cryptosystems. The first practical quantum devices, from single-photon receptors used in quantum cryptography to large-scale quantum optimizers, are now being actively developed.

The recent data revolution is driving many aspects of modern societal and economic progress. Most of this massive data is now stored in the cloud to enable easy access for a myriad of users who wish to share information including, for example, photos, videos, publications, opinions, and scientific data. Unfortunately, this has come at the expense of the user's privacy whose online activity can be used to profile him/her, making large parts of the population an easy target for discrimination and possible persecution.

The physical infrastructure of the US electric grid is aging, over-burdened, and prone to failure. The drive to support the deep integration of variable renewable energy into the grid, without sacrificing reliability, will require a paradigm shift in how we produce, deliver, and consume energy. At the heart of this profound transformation is the rapid deployment of the Smart Grid, which integrates new embedded sensing, communication, and computing technologies to improve utilization of existing physical assets, operational efficiency, and reliability.

Providing cyber security against attackers who penetrate the network, insider attackers, and non-malicious user errors or equipment failures is a formidable challenge for the scientific community. The investigator addresses problems in the area of network forensics that arise in packet-based communication of information. A key feature of the research approach is the use of timing as an under-utilized degree of freedom that provides rich statistical structure about the information dynamics.

This project focuses on the development of new tools for designing and proving the security of advancing cryptographic systems. The need for fine-grained access control to sensitive data has never been greater, and new paradigms like functional encryption have the potential to deliver cryptographic systems that can be tailored to a variety of data uses and privacy needs. However, as systems have grown more complex, they have naturally grown more difficult to reason about.