DIMACS Research & Education Institute



DREI '97



Cryptography and Network Security

July 27 - August 16, 1997


Program Schedule

Syllabus

Education Program Participants

Classroom Lesson Plans

Online Web Page Design Tutorial

Followup I

Followup II

Followup III




What is an "unbreakable" code? When is a sequence "random?" What is a "secure" electronic protocol? These questions can be answered rigorously and mathematically.

Puzzle: Collaborating in the absence of trust

Suppose that n people want to compute the average of their salaries. The catch is that no individual wishes to reveal any information about his/her salary (that can't be inferred from the knowing the average). Give a method by which the individuals can accomplish this without using any outside, trusted third parties. For example, they could all type their salary into a computer program that simply printed out the average, but this does not count as a valid solution because they would all have to trust the computer program.

High school teachers who love mathematics and wanted to learn more were invited to apply for an all expenses paid, three-week immersion program at the DIMACS Research and Education Institute.

The intent of the DIMACS Research and Education Institute was to integrate education and research in the mathematical and computer sciences. The institute also invited many of the world's foremost researchers in cryptography and network security to participate. In addition to giving technical talks in their areas of expertise, invited researchers also gave lectures designed to be of interest to a more general audience. Participating teachers had special classes in Discrete Mathematics, Computer Science, and the Foundations of Cryptography.

Program Schedule

Education Program Participants

Classroom Lesson Plans


Questions or comments may be sent to Elaine Foley at: drei@dimacs.rutgers.edub



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Revised: November 11, 1997