Mikhail J. Atallah

Mikhail J. Atallah is a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Purdue University, affiliated with the Department of Computer Science under the College of Science. He has been a faculty member since Fall 1982. His research focuses on information security, algorithms, and quantum computing. He holds ACM and IEEE Fellowships and has received prestigious awards such as the 2015 CCS Test of Time Award and the 2017 Arden L. Bement Jr. Award.

Education: PhD (1982), MS (1980) in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University; BE (1975) in Electrical Engineering from the American University in Beirut.

Research Interests: Includes cryptographic protocols, secure computation, privacy-preserving techniques, and theoretical foundations of algorithms. He has pioneered work on key management and multi-party computation, with applications in secure data outsourcing and authentication systems.

Publications: Over 250 papers, including influential works on secure outsourcing of computations, privacy-preserving data analysis, and cryptographic algorithms. Recent trends highlight advancements in biometric authentication, manufacturing security, and lightweight cryptography.

• Awards: Test of Time Awards (CCS 2015, ACSAC 2021), Purdue’s highest scientific honor (Bement Award), and multiple industry-recognized accolades.
• Advising: Mentored over 20 PhD students, many of whom have become prominent in academia and industry (e.g., Michael T. Goodrich, Danny Z. Chen).
• Labs/Teams: Active in cybersecurity research groups at Purdue, contributing to projects on secure manufacturing, collaborative design, and privacy-enhancing technologies.