Neal I. Koblitz

Neal I. Koblitz is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Washington's Department of Mathematics. He specializes in Cryptography and Number Theory, with notable contributions to elliptic curve cryptography. Holding a PhD from Princeton University (1974), his career spans academic research, policy critique, and international engagement.

Key honors include Vietnam's President's Friendship Medal (2010) and the Levchin Prize (2021). His work critiques U.S.-Vietnam higher education partnerships and advocates for ethical cryptography practices. Active in teaching, he recently taught the Calderwood Seminar in Autumn 2024.

He has collaborated with Alfred Menezes on cryptographic research and authored Random Curves: Journeys of a Mathematician (2007). His personal interests include environmental conservation, having donated forest land to Bellingham.