Gustavus Simmons
Encyclopedia
Gustavus J. Simmons is a retired cryptographer and former manager of the applied mathematics
Department and Senior Fellow at Sandia National Laboratories
. He has worked primarily with authentication
theory, developing cryptographic techniques for solving problems of mutual distrust and in devising protocols whose function can be trusted, even though some of the inputs or participants cannot be. Simmons was born in West Virginia
and was named after his grandfather, a prohibition
officer who was gunned down three years before Gustavus was born. He began his post-secondary education at Deep Springs College
, and he received his Ph.D in mathematics from the University of New Mexico
, Albuquerque.
Simmons has published over 170 papers, many of which are devoted to asymmetric encryption techniques. His technical contributions include the development of subliminal channels which make it possible to conceal covert communications in digital signatures and the mathematical formulation of an authentication channel paralleling in many respects the secrecy channel formulated by Claude Shannon in 1948. In the 1980s, he helped form the International Association for Cryptologic Research
(IACR). He is also the creator of the Ramsey
/graph theory
-based mathematical game Sim
.
At Sandia, Simmons was primarily involved in the command and control of nuclear weapons and in the cryptographic aspects of verifying adherence to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
for nuclear weapons. In a review of Contemporary Cryptology (see publications), Don Coppersmith
summarized the problem:
. In 1991, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Lund University
for his work in authentication theory. In 1996 he was made a Lifetime Fellow of the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications. In 2005, he was elected an IACR
Fellow, "for pioneering research in information integrity, information theory, and secure protocols and for substantial contributions to the formation of the IACR." He was invited to write the section on cryptology in the 16th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1986) and to revise the section for the current edition. He was awarded the 2009 James F. Zimmerman Award by the University of New Mexico. The award is given to one alumnus of UNM each year in honor of James F. Zimmerman, president of the university from 1927 - 1944.
Applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...
Department and Senior Fellow at Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
. He has worked primarily with authentication
Authentication
Authentication is the act of confirming the truth of an attribute of a datum or entity...
theory, developing cryptographic techniques for solving problems of mutual distrust and in devising protocols whose function can be trusted, even though some of the inputs or participants cannot be. Simmons was born in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
and was named after his grandfather, a prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
officer who was gunned down three years before Gustavus was born. He began his post-secondary education at Deep Springs College
Deep Springs College
Deep Springs is a private, all-male , alternative college in Deep Springs, California, in the United States. A two-year college, the institution currently aims for a student body size of 26, though the number is occasionally lower...
, and he received his Ph.D in mathematics from the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
, Albuquerque.
Simmons has published over 170 papers, many of which are devoted to asymmetric encryption techniques. His technical contributions include the development of subliminal channels which make it possible to conceal covert communications in digital signatures and the mathematical formulation of an authentication channel paralleling in many respects the secrecy channel formulated by Claude Shannon in 1948. In the 1980s, he helped form the International Association for Cryptologic Research
International Association for Cryptologic Research
The International Association for Cryptologic Research is a non-profit scientific organization whose purpose is to further research in cryptology and related fields...
(IACR). He is also the creator of the Ramsey
Ramsey theory
Ramsey theory, named after the British mathematician and philosopher Frank P. Ramsey, is a branch of mathematics that studies the conditions under which order must appear...
/graph theory
Graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...
-based mathematical game Sim
Sim (pencil game)
The game of Sim is played by two players on a board consisting of six dots . Each dot is connected to every other dot by a line.Two players take turns coloring any uncolored lines...
.
At Sandia, Simmons was primarily involved in the command and control of nuclear weapons and in the cryptographic aspects of verifying adherence to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty bans all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 September 1996 but it has not entered into force.-Status:...
for nuclear weapons. In a review of Contemporary Cryptology (see publications), Don Coppersmith
Don Coppersmith
Don Coppersmith is a cryptographer and mathematician. He was involved in the design of the Data Encryption Standard block cipher at IBM, particularly the design of the S-boxes, strengthening them against differential cryptanalysis...
summarized the problem:
- "Is the host substituting a false signal to mask the fact that it is continuing tests? Is the monitor really using the device to transmit other information than that allowed by the treaty? Who supplies the hardware? Can that person cheat?"
Awards and recognition
In 1947 he was one of 40 winners of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. In 1986, Simmons was the recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy Ernest Orlando Lawrence AwardErnest Orlando Lawrence Award
The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award was established in 1959 in honor of a scientist who helped elevate American physics to the status of world leader in the field....
. In 1991, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
for his work in authentication theory. In 1996 he was made a Lifetime Fellow of the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications. In 2005, he was elected an IACR
International Association for Cryptologic Research
The International Association for Cryptologic Research is a non-profit scientific organization whose purpose is to further research in cryptology and related fields...
Fellow, "for pioneering research in information integrity, information theory, and secure protocols and for substantial contributions to the formation of the IACR." He was invited to write the section on cryptology in the 16th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1986) and to revise the section for the current edition. He was awarded the 2009 James F. Zimmerman Award by the University of New Mexico. The award is given to one alumnus of UNM each year in honor of James F. Zimmerman, president of the university from 1927 - 1944.
Publications
- Simmons, Gustavus J. (Editor), Contemporary Cryptology: The Science of Information Integrity (Wiley 1999) - ISBN 0-7803-5352-8
- Simmons, Gustavus J. (Editor with Thomas Beth and Markus Frisch), "Public-key cryptography; State of the Art and Future Directions (Springer-Verlag, 1992) ISBN 0-387-55215-4
- Simmons, Gustavus J. (Editor), Secure Communications and Asymmetric Cryptosystems (Westview Press for the AAAS, 1982) ISBN 0-86531-338-5