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Silvia Mella is an Assistant Professor in the Digital Security (DiS) group at Radboud University, Netherlands, and a member of the Cryptographic Engineering & Side-Channel Analysis (CESCA) Lab. Her research focuses on cryptographic hardware for embedded devices, including secure implementations of cryptographic algorithms and analysis of side-channel and fault attacks. She holds a PhD from the University of Milan (2018) and previously worked at STMicroelectronics (2015–2022), developing hardware accelerators for public-key cryptography. She has supervised numerous PhD and Master’s students, co-authored over 30 publications, and contributed to cryptographic standards like ASCON and Xoodoo. Her work emphasizes bridging theoretical cryptography with practical hardware security solutions. Education: Bachelor and M.Sc. in Mathematics, University of Milan, Italy PhD in Cryptography (2018), University of Milan, Italy Research Interests: Design/analysis of symmetric cryptographic schemes Hardware implementation security Side-channel and fault attack countermeasures Post-quantum cryptography Lightweight cryptographic primitives Recent Research Trends: Recent work focuses on novel code-based cryptographic constructions (ChiLow/ChiChi), low-latency pseudorandom functions (Koala), and SCA-resistant implementations of algorithms like Xoodoo and Xoodyak. Her research bridges theoretical cryptographic analysis with practical hardware vulnerabilities, often leveraging machine learning techniques for attack detection. Advising & Collaboration: Co-supervised 10+ PhD/Master students on topics like cryptographic permutations and post-quantum schemes Active in industry-academia collaborations through STMicroelectronics and PROACT projects Involved in open-source cryptographic library development Labs & Teams: Leading research in the CESCA Lab at Radboud University, focusing on cryptographic engineering and embedded system security. Collaborates with the Politecnico di Milano and STMicroelectronics on hardware security projects.

• Cryptographic Hardware
• Symmetric Cryptographic Schemes
• Hardware Implementations of Cryptographic Algorithms
• +5 more

Simona Samardjiska is an Assistant Professor in the Digital Security Group at Radboud University, The Netherlands, since 2017. Previously, she held an assistant professor position at the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Macedonia (2015–2017). She earned her PhD in Cryptography from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 2015, focusing on multivariate cryptography under Danilo Gligoroski. Her academic background includes a master’s degree in Computer Science and a diploma in Pure Mathematics from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Skopje. Her research primarily revolves around post-quantum cryptography, including multivariate, code-based, and lattice-based systems, alongside symmetric cryptography and Boolean functions. Notable contributions include the MQDSS digital signature scheme (a NIST PQC candidate) and the MEDS submission to NIST’s round 3. She has published extensively in top venues like EUROCRYPT, ASIACRYPT, and IEEE Transactions. Samardjiska teaches courses such as Cryptology (NWI-IMC063), Applied Cryptography (NWI-IMC061), and Security (NWI-IPC021) at Radboud University. She actively participates in standardization efforts, conferences, and workshops, including organizing CrossFyre (EUROCRYPT 2021/2020) and serving on program committees for CBCrypto, CANS, and others. Her professional activities emphasize fostering diversity in computing and advancing cryptographic research.

• Post-Quantum Cryptography
• Multivariate Cryptography
• Code-Based Cryptography
• +4 more

James Townsend, also known as Jamie, is a machine learning researcher at the Amsterdam Machine Learning Lab (AMLab) within the Informatics Institute at the University of Amsterdam. He completed his PhD in 2020 at the UCL AI Centre in London under the supervision of Professor David Barber. His educational background includes a PhD in lossless compression with latent variable models from University College London, with prior research contributions to the Autograd library and early development of JAX during a Google Brain internship in 2018. Townsend's research centers on deep generative models and lossless compression, extending to unsupervised learning, approximate inference, Monte Carlo methods, optimization, and machine learning software systems. His work bridges theoretical information theory with practical implementation, particularly in neural compression techniques. He has significantly contributed to open-source tools including Autograd and JAX, demonstrating expertise in automatic differentiation systems. His publication record spans high-impact venues like NeurIPS, ICLR, and ICML, with recent work focusing on innovative compression paradigms for complex data structures including graphs and multisets. Key contributions include shuffle coding, reversible programming for compression verification, and multiset compression techniques that challenge conventional approaches. Scientific recognition includes: Best Paper Award at Deep Generative Models and Downstream Applications Workshop (2021) Townsend actively participates in the research community through invited talks at Stanford's Information Theory Forum and the Languages for Inference workshop. His collaborations span academic institutions and industry partners like Google Brain, with current work centered on advancing lossless compression through deep learning at the AMLab. He maintains an active open-source presence via GitHub (@j-towns) and technical discourse on Twitter (@_j_towns), while publishing through Google Scholar under his formal name James Townsend.

• deep generative models
• lossless compression
• unsupervised learning
• +4 more

Lejla Batina is a full professor of security of embedded devices in the Digital Security (DiS) group at Radboud University's Computing Science Department within the Faculty of Science. She also holds an adjunct professorship at the Selmer Center of the University of Bergen, Norway. Her research focuses on applied cryptography, embedded systems security, and leveraging machine learning for side-channel analysis. Batina has contributed significantly to cryptographic implementations, including ECC and post-quantum cryptography. She has organized major conferences such as CHES 2014, EUROCRYPT 2020/2021, and ACNS 2024, and currently serves on editorial boards like ACM TECS. Notable achievements include a VIDI grant (2014) and IEEE Senior Membership (since 2018). Her work spans over 240 publications, covering topics like SCA-resistant ECC, neural network security, and hardware countermeasures. Batina has mentored over 20 PhD students and postdocs, many of whom now hold academic or industry leadership roles. Her lab, CESCA, emphasizes collaborative research in cryptographic hardware and embedded systems security. Education: Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng) in Mathematics for Industry, TU Eindhoven (2001) PhD in Mathematics, KU Leuven (2005) M.Sc. in Mathematics, University of Zagreb (1995) Research Interests: Her work bridges theoretical cryptography and practical implementations, with emphasis on Side-channel and fault attacks on embedded devices Machine learning applications in security Low-cost countermeasures for constrained hardware Post-quantum cryptography implementations Security of neural networks and AI models Grants & Awards: VIDI grant from Dutch Research Council (2014) Senior Member, IEEE (2018–present) Editorial Board Member, ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems (since 2018) Advising & Mentorship: Supervised 15+ PhD students and numerous postdocs, including prominent alumni like Dr. Stjepan Picek (Associate Professor at Radboud) and Dr. Lukasz Chmielewski (Assistant Professor at Masaryk University). Labs & Teams: Leads the Cryptographic Embedded Systems and Security Applications (CESCA) lab, collaborating internationally on hardware-software co-design for secure implementations.

• Cryptography
• Embedded Systems Security
• Side-Channel Analysis
• +3 more

Joan Daemen is a full professor of symmetric cryptography at Radboud University Nijmegen, leading the Digital Security (DiS) Group since 2015. Previously, he worked in industry roles at STMicroelectronics (2003–2018) and earlier companies, focusing on security architecture and cryptography. His academic career includes a PhD in symmetric cryptography from COSIC, KU Leuven (1988–1995). Education: PhD in symmetric cryptography at COSIC, KU Leuven (1988–1995). Research Interests: Joan specializes in symmetric cryptography, including cryptographic algorithm design, hash functions, encryption standards, and security engineering. His work emphasizes practical and theoretical aspects of cryptographic primitives, such as Xoodoo , Keccak , and Rijndael (AES). He has pioneered permutation-based constructions like Farfalle and explored countermeasures against side-channel attacks and cryptanalysis. Grants & Awards: Recipient of an ERC Advanced Grant (2018–2024) for the ESCADA project and an NWO TOP Grant (2019–2024) for research on symmetric crypto exploiting multipliers. His work has driven advancements in lightweight cryptography and cryptographic security. Students & Collaborations: Supervised numerous PhD students in symmetric crypto design and analysis, including those working on ESCADA , SCALAR , and low-latency crypto. Collaborates extensively with researchers like Bart Mennink and Silvia Mella. Teaching: Coordinates courses on computer security and cryptography at Radboud University, including Computer Security , Introduction to Cryptography , and Cryptology at the master’s level.

• Symmetric Cryptography
• Cryptography
• Cryptographic Algorithms
• +3 more

Peter Schwabe is a scientific director at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP) in Bochum, Germany, and a part-time professor for cryptographic engineering in the Digital Security Group at Radboud University in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. He has held these positions while leading significant research initiatives in post-quantum cryptography and high-assurance cryptographic implementations. His research interests center on post-quantum cryptography, cryptographic engineering, and high-assurance crypto software. Schwabe's work focuses on developing and verifying cryptographic implementations that are resistant to side-channel attacks while maintaining high performance. He has made significant contributions to lattice-based cryptography, hash-based signatures, and the standardization of post-quantum cryptographic algorithms. His research bridges theoretical cryptography with practical implementation concerns, particularly for resource-constrained environments. Analysis of Schwabe's recent publications reveals a strong focus on post-quantum cryptography standardization, formal verification of cryptographic implementations, and protection against side-channel attacks. His work spans theoretical advances in cryptographic primitives, practical implementations for real-world systems, and tools for verifying the security properties of cryptographic code. A significant portion of his recent work relates to the CRYSTALS-Kyber standard selected by NIST, including formal verification of its security properties and implementation correctness. Schwabe has served as an elected member of the IACR Board of Directors, member of the IACR CHES Steering Committee, and member of the IACR RWC Steering Committee. He is also a member of the advisory boards of Bitmark Inc., PQShield, Neutrality, and SciEngines, demonstrating his influence in both academic and industry cryptographic communities. As an advisor, Schwabe has supervised numerous Ph.D. students working on various aspects of cryptography, including post-quantum cryptography, side-channel resistance, and formal verification of cryptographic implementations. His work on the EPOQUE project (Engineering post-quantum cryptography), funded by an ERC Starting grant from October 2018 to December 2023, demonstrates his leadership in advancing post-quantum cryptographic research. Schwabe leads research efforts at the intersection of formal methods and practical cryptography, with a particular emphasis on creating high-assurance cryptographic implementations that can withstand both theoretical and practical attacks. His work often involves collaboration with international teams across academia and industry to advance the state of the art in cryptographic engineering.

• Cryptography
• Post-Quantum Cryptography
• Cryptographic Engineering
• +4 more

Ileana Buhan is an Assistant Professor at Radboud University Nijmegen's Digital Security Group and a member of the CESCA Lab. Her research focuses on hardware security, particularly advancing tools for secure hardware design and mitigating side-channel vulnerabilities. She previously held roles at Riscure (2011–2020) as a security evaluation manager and product manager, and at Philips Research (2008–2010) as a senior scientist. She earned her Ph.D. in Cryptography with Noisy Data from the University of Twente in 2008, recognized with the 2008 EBF European Biometrics Research Industry Award. Her work emphasizes practical security evaluation methods, automated leakage modeling (e.g., ABBY tool), and hardware-software co-design for resistance against side-channel attacks. She actively contributes to conferences like CHES, FDTC, and CARDIS, often in program committee roles. Recent invited talks include topics such as AI-driven vulnerability prediction, architecture-level simulators for root cause analysis, and automated tools for cryptographic implementation security. Her research spans RISC-V processors, microarchitecture analysis, and the intersection of machine learning with hardware security. Notable contributions include frameworks for leakage detection, fault simulation, and explainable side-channel analysis. She balances academic rigor with industry relevance, aiming to bridge gaps between theoretical security and real-world implementation challenges.

• Hardware Security
• Cryptography
• Side-Channel Attacks
• +3 more

Dr. Marten van Dijk is a Full Professor in the Computer Security department at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) since 2022 and a Group Leader for Computer Security at CWI since 2020. He also holds a Gratis Full Research Professor position at the University of Connecticut's ECE Department since 2020. Previously, he served as Associate and Full Professor at the University of Connecticut and held research roles at MIT CSAIL, RSA Laboratories, and Philips Research. PhD in Mathematics (1997, Eindhoven University of Technology) M.S. in Mathematics (Cum Laude, 1993) M.S. in Computer Science (Cum Laude, 1991) His research focuses on foundational computer security problems using cryptographic principles, including secure processor design, oblivious computation, and privacy-preserving machine learning. Notable contributions span Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs), Aegis secure processor architecture, and oblivious RAM protocols. 15+ publications in 2023-2025 address topics like PUF cryptanalysis, differential privacy in federated learning, and Byzantine fault tolerance Key journals: IEEE Transactions on Computers, Journal of Cryptology, ACM CCS Conference Award highlights include: IEEE Fellow (2022) for secure processor design and encrypted computation IEEE Technical Achievement Award (2023) Intel Test of Time Award (2022) ACM CCS Best Paper (2013) A. Richard Newton Technical Impact Award (2015) His technical leadership spans hardware security (blu-ray error correction codes), cryptographic protocol design, and machine learning privacy frameworks. Current projects focus on secure processors with hardware-enforced isolation and differential privacy optimization.

• Computer Security
• Cryptography
• Secure Processor Design
• +7 more