Qi Cheng

Qi Cheng is the Williams Company Foundation Presidential Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oklahoma, where he has been since 2001. His academic roles include leadership in theoretical computer science research and teaching.

Education:

• Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Southern California (2001)
• M.S., Computer Science, Fudan University (1995)
• B.S., Computer Science, Nankai University (1992)

Research Interests: Focuses on theoretical computer science, cryptography, computational number theory, DNA/molecular computing, and coding theory. His work explores algorithmic self-assembly, lattice-based cryptography, and polynomial system solving over finite fields.

Key Contributions: Includes advancements in self-assembly theory, decoding algorithms for Reed-Solomon codes, and complexity analyses of algebraic problems. His NSF CAREER project integrated self-assembly research with educational initiatives.

Grants & Awards: Recipient of the NSF Career Award (2003–2008) for self-assembly research, and multiple NSF grants (e.g., CCF-1900820, CCF-1409294) supporting work on sparse polynomials and algebraic codes.

Labs/Teams: Leads research groups focused on theoretical computer science and cryptography, collaborating on projects involving post-quantum cryptography and algorithmic number theory.