GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
COLLOQUIUM OCTOBER 2, 2009

Speaker: Geir Agnarsson, George Mason University

Title: Secrecy in War and Peace

Abstract: Throughout history secret codes have been of the uttermost importance, to deliver sensitive messages, to plan a surprise attack and so forth. -- In this talk we survey the most common enciphering codes and how to crack them. Including the basic Caesar Shift, the German Enigma and the notion of a public key, the basis for modern computer security. Finally will briefly discuss how hitherto pure number theoretic questions can, in fact, be highly applicable in secure encoding.

Time: Friday, October 2, 2009, 3:30-4:20 p.m.

Place: Science and Technology Building I, Room 242

Refreshments will be served before the talk at 3:00 p.m. in Room 222.

Department of Mathematical Sciences
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MS 3F2
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
http://math.gmu.edu/
Tel. 703-993-1460, Fax. 703-993-1491