Shafi Goldwasser facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shafi Goldwasser
|
|
|---|---|
| שפרירה גולדווסר | |
Goldwasser in 2010
|
|
| Born |
Shafrira Goldwasser
1959 (age 65–66) New York City, United States
|
| Citizenship |
|
| Alma mater | Carnegie Mellon University University of California, Berkeley |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse(s) | Nir Shavit |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science, cryptography |
| Institutions |
|
| Thesis | Probabilistic Encryption: Theory and Applications (1984) |
| Doctoral advisor | Manuel Blum |
| Doctoral students |
|
Shafrira Goldwasser (Hebrew: שפרירה גולדווסר; born 1959) is a famous Israeli-American computer scientist. She won the prestigious Turing Award in 2012. This award is like the Nobel Prize for computer science. Shafi Goldwasser is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Weizmann Institute of Science. She also leads the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a co-founder and chief scientist at Duality Technologies.
Contents
Shafi Goldwasser's Early Life and School
Shafrira Goldwasser was born in New York City in 1959. She loved math and science from a young age. In 1979, she earned her first degree in mathematics and science. She got this degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
She then decided to study computer science even more. She went to the University of California, Berkeley. There, she earned her Master of Science degree in 1981. She finished her PhD in 1984. During her studies at Berkeley, she worked with her professor, Manuel Blum. Together, they created an important system called the Blum-Goldwasser cryptosystem.
Shafi Goldwasser's Amazing Career
Goldwasser started working at MIT in 1983. In 1997, she became the first person to hold the RSA Professorship. This is a special title for a professor. In 1993, she also became a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. She worked at both universities at the same time.
She is part of a special group at MIT. This group studies the theory of computation. In 2005, she was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This was for her important work in cryptography, which is about secure communication. It was also for her work in number theory and complexity theory. These fields help make our digital world safe and private. In 2006, Berkeley gave her an award. It was for being a distinguished alumni in computer science.
Revolutionizing Cryptography
Shafi Goldwasser won the 2012 Turing Award. She shared it with another scientist, Silvio Micali. They won for "revolutionizing the science of cryptography." This means they completely changed how we think about and use secret codes. Their work made digital communication much safer.
Since 2016, Goldwasser has been a chief scientist. She also co-founded a company called Duality Technologies. This company helps keep data safe using advanced coding methods. She also advises other tech companies. These companies work on security, like using "Zero Knowledge Blockchain" and "pure proof-of-stake blockchain."
In 2018, she became the director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at Berkeley.
Key Discoveries in Computer Science
Goldwasser's research focuses on several big areas. These include computational complexity theory, cryptography, and computational number theory.
- Probabilistic Encryption: She helped invent probabilistic encryption. Imagine sending a secret message. With this method, the same message can look different every time it's sent. This makes it super hard for anyone to guess or break the code. It set a new, very high standard for data security.
- Zero-Knowledge Proofs: She also co-invented zero-knowledge proofs. This is a clever way to prove something is true. You can show someone you know a secret, for example, without actually telling them the secret. It's like proving you have a key without showing the key itself. This is very important for secure online actions.
- Complexity Theory: Her work in complexity theory helps us understand how hard problems are for computers to solve. She showed that some problems are still very hard, even if you only need an approximate answer. She also found new ways to let computers do tasks for you, even if you don't fully trust the computer.
- Number Theory: In number theory, she helped create a way to prove if a number is prime. She did this with Joe Kilian using special math called elliptic curves.
Goldwasser is also involved in an exciting project called Project CETI. This project uses computer science to try and understand the communication of sperm whales!
Awards and Honors
Shafi Goldwasser has received many important awards for her work.
- She won the Turing Award in 2012.
- She won the Gödel Prize twice, in 1993 and 2001. This prize is for major papers in theoretical computer science.
- She received the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award in 1996. This award is for young computer professionals.
- In 1998, she got the RSA Award for Excellence in Mathematics. This was for her great math contributions to cryptography.
- She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
- In 2004, she became a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
- In 2005, she joined the National Academy of Engineering.
- She received the IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award in 2011.
- In 2018, she won the Frontier of Knowledge award.
- She was recognized as an ACM Fellow in 2017.
- In 2018, her old university, Carnegie Mellon University, gave her an honorary degree.
- The University of Oxford also gave her an honorary doctorate in 2019.
- She won the Suffrage Science award in 2016.
- In 2021, she received the L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Award in Computer Science.
Shafi Goldwasser's Family Life
Shafi Goldwasser is married to another computer scientist, Nir Shavit. They have two sons.
See also
In Spanish: Shafrira Goldwasser para niños
