2023 IPST Cryptonomicon Seminar
2400 Atlantic Building, University of Maryland at College Park
4:00 p.m. May 16, 2023 - Tea at 3:30 p.m.
Few historical accounts have captivated the world as the race to decipher the WWII German Enigma code has. There have been numerous books and movies popularizing how a collection of “professor types,” cloistered in an English manor, were ultimately able to read secret German communiques before the intended recipients could. Even the bite in the Apple logo is strongly believed to be a tribute to Alan Turning, one of the principal masterminds behind breaking the Enigma codes. We’ve all heard about the Enigma! It has been said that the invention of radar won the war, the atomic bomb ended the war, and breaking the Enigma code shortened the war – by two years or more. Approximately 30,000 Enigma Machines were produced, but only about 400 survived. In our seminar, we take a deep dive into the inner workings of this machine, and understand its principle of operation in theory and hardware. We explore its strengths and weaknesses, and how its impenetrable security became quite vulnerable through simple human error. We will demonstrate, with audience participation of course, the operation of an actual WWII German Enigma machine. After the presentation all audience members will have an opportunity to inspect and operate this historical artifact. Bring your camera!
The Institute for Physical Science and Technology (IPST) at the University of Maryland (UMD) invites outstanding young scientists to apply for the inaugural IPST Postdoctoral Fellowship in Artificial Chemical Intelligence.
The 26th annual Dr. Shih-I Pai Lecture took place on Tuesday, November 17th. Watch the video replay in case you missed it.
Chris Jarzynski (IPST/Chemistry and Biochemistry) with Mohammad Hafezi (ECE) and graduate student Alireza Seif, published an article in Nature Physics, September 21, entitled "Machine Learning the Thermodynamic Arrow of Time". The authors found that a machine learning algorithm that is trained to infer the direction of time’s arrow identifies entropy production as the relevant physical quantity in its decision-making process.
The Institute for Physical Science and Technology at the University of Maryland invites professionals to apply to our Graduate Certificate in Quantum Computing, offered through the Science Academy. Application deadline is June 30, 2023.
