ESP Biography

Have you ever wondered how information is protected on the internet? How do companies protect your private information? We answer these questions in this class. Cryptography is the study of securing information. In the first part of the class, we will learn some basic number theory that is used in cryptography. In the second part of the class, we will learn some common cryptographic techniques used by companies and websites to secure information. If there is time, we will discuss some advanced and emerging techniques.

In this class, we will start by discussing some number theory that motivated the creation of RSA and modern cryptography. For the second half of the class, we will provide modern cryptography techniques, such as symmetric and public/private key encryption schemes (RSA, elliptic curves). We will also discuss mistakes commonly made in cryptography as well as attacks on RSA and elliptic curve systems. If there is time leftover or if there is significant interest, we will also discuss recent and current research being done in cryptography.

In this class, we will explore two categories of "speed" in computer science. The first part of the class will introduce two categories of quickness in computer science. Specifically, we will introduce the notions of P and NP, which are still not very well understood by computer scientists. Unfortunately, most problems in real life can only be solved in NP time (the slower category). In the second part of the course, we will show different ways to get around this, using randomness and approximation.

Are you interested in learning how your information is kept secure and hidden across the internet? In this class, we are going to learn two specific techniques (RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography) for hiding information and also how these techniques could theoretically be broken. These techniques have been widely adopted and used throughout the world. For the first part of the class, we will discuss some mathematical foundations necessary to understand the techniques above. Then, we will apply these concepts to cryptography. If we have time, we will also discuss some advanced research topics in cryptography and computer security.

Interested in law, social science, or learning about how governments work? This is the class for you! Social contracts represent the foundations of many government's constitutions and laws. For example, the US has many striking similarities to John Locke's social contract theory. Who receives rights? Why do they receive these specific rights? How much power does the government have? We will discuss and answer these important questions in this class. We will examine 3 different social contract theories (Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau) to gain a better understanding of the abstract concept of a government or a governing body.

Interested in politics or random thoughts? This course is designed to introduce you to some basic philosophy and then compare it to more modern or recently developed schools of thought. Ever wondered deep questions about choice, rights law, etc.? This is the class for you. We will critically analyze and discuss many modern and postmodern political and social theories relating them to more classic theories.

Want to learn a topic that has many applications in math and science? Then, linear algebra is the right class to take. I will lecture regarding important concepts in linear algebra. However, I will also do problems during the class to increase understanding. Some topics that will be covered are vectors, null spaces, column spaces, transformations, and eigenvalues. I will be going pretty in depth into some topics, so I highly recommend a strong math background. Pre/Corequisite: Precalculus or equivalent, but Calculus background preferred.