Math Department (Thesis/2008-09)

Public Key Cryptography

Under the direction of: Kathryn Lesh

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Cryptography, the science of communicating in secret, is a highly mathematical endeavor, as evidenced by the fact that the National Security Agency employs hundreds of mathematicians, more than any other organization in the US. The subject of cryptography entered a new era in the late 1970s with the introduction of public key cryptography, particularly the RSA system, a method of encrypting and decrypting messages that is based on the difficulty of factoring large numbers. For this thesis, the student will choose an original research paper in public key cryptography as a focus, in addition to learning about the overall context of cryptography.

Public key cryptography can be a one or two-term thesis.

Prerequisites: Math 235 (Number Theory) or Math 221 (Cryptology). In some circumstances, Math 332 (Abstract Algebra I) can fulfill the prerequisite for students who are willing to do a little preparatory work in number theory over the summer.

Math Department web pages Created: 01 Apr 2005 Last modified: 24 Apr 2008 15:17:38 Comments to: math@union.edu

Thesis Topics - S. Niefield Thesis Topics for 2008-2009 Thesis Topics - K. Black