Department of Computer Science Colloquium Series

Abstract

In computer science we often ask: given a problem, how efficiently can we compute a solution? My work takes a different perspective, asking: if someone claims to have already computed a solution, how efficiently
can we check it’s correct? This question has deep connections with many areas of theoretical computer science, including cryptography, complexity theory and quantum computing; and, more recently, has had significant impact in practice. In this talk I will focus on two aspects of my work in this area: first, on designing concretely efficient checking protocols; and second, on ensuring the integrity of efficient checking against quan-
tum attackers.

Nicholas Spooner is an assistant professor at the University of Warwick, UK, which he joined in January 2021. Before that, he spent a year and a half as a postdoc at Boston University. He received his PhD from UC Berkeley in 2020. His interests lie within the union of cryptography, quantum computing, and proof systems.