$ Shafi Goldwasser
1958–
Cryptography and complexity
Co-founded modern cryptography with zero‑knowledge proofs, probabilistic encryption, and rigorous notions of security and pseudorandomness.
cryptographyzero‑knowledgepseudorandomnesscomplexity theoryprobabilistic encryption
$ contributions
- Co‑introduced zero‑knowledge proofs: proving statements without revealing additional information
- Defined and advanced probabilistic encryption and semantic security
- Developed foundational notions of pseudorandomness and hardness assumptions
- Bridged complexity theory and cryptographic constructions with precise reductions
$ awards
- ACM A.M. Turing Award (2012)
“Zero‑knowledge changed how we think about knowledge and verification in computation.”