Chris Peikert named Fellow of the IACR

Professor Chris Peikert has been named a Fellow of the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR). An honor awarded to less than 0.5% of the organization’s members, IACR Fellows are selected based on extraordinary achievements and contributions to cryptography research.

According to the IACR Fellows Selection Committee, Peikert was recognized for his “fundamental contributions to the functionality, efficiency, and security of lattice-based cryptography, and for service to the IACR.”

As this statement affirms, Peikert has made indelible contributions to the cryptography field through his research on lattices, geometric structures that consist of multidimensional grids of points. His research has been revolutionary in demonstrating how lattices can be used as the basis for new cryptographic techniques that are secure, efficient, and resistant to multiple types of attacks.

His research has fortified the theoretical underpinnings of lattice-based cryptography and has led to novel cryptographic techniques leveraging lattices that demonstrate enhanced strength and functionality. Peikert’s work has demonstrated that lattice-based cryptographic schemes are not only difficult to compromise despite their simplicity, but also have the potential to resist quantum attacks, a growing concern in the cryptographic community. 

Through his research, Peikert has played a key role in expanding and evolving lattice-based cryptography, bringing this approach from the purely theoretical and making it suitable for real-world application.

Peikert joined CSE in 2015 after spending six years on the faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He completed his PhD in Computer Science at MIT in 2006. His many achievements include a Sloan Foundation Fellowship, a Bergmann Memorial Research Award, and Best Paper awards at top cryptography conferences. He has been honored with Test-of-Time Awards for the lasting impact of his research at two IACR conferences, Crypto and the Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC).