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Sourav ChakrabortyView profile

Professor

• Theoretical Computer Science
• Boolean Functions
• Quantum Complexity
• +4 more

Sourav Chakraborty is a Professor in the Advanced Computing and Microelectronics Unit (ACMU) of the Computer and Communication Sciences Division at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, India. He joined ISI in July 2018 after serving as faculty at Chennai Mathematical Institute from 2010-2018. Previously, he held postdoctoral positions at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in Amsterdam and Technion in Israel. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Chicago (2008) M.S. in Computer Science, University of Chicago (2005) B.Sc. in Mathematics, Chennai Mathematical Institute (2003) Research Focus: Professor Chakraborty specializes in Theoretical Computer Science with emphasis on classical and quantum complexity of Boolean functions, including sensitivity analysis, property testing, and quantum database search. His work extends to graph algorithms, electronic commerce mechanisms, and coding theory. His research explores fundamental questions in computational complexity through innovative mathematical frameworks. Publication Trends: Recent work demonstrates a strong focus on property testing, sampling algorithms, and complexity theory, with significant contributions to streaming algorithms, Boolean function analysis, and quantum query complexity. His publications frequently appear in top theoretical computer science venues and exhibit consistent innovation in algorithm design and complexity boundaries. Awards & Honors: Praise from Donald E. Knuth for streaming algorithms research Inclusion in Oded Goldreich's 'my choices' list for Conditional Sampling and Huge-Object Model work Chakraborty's function named in his honor for Sensitivity Conjecture contributions Academic Service: Teaches courses in discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science, with detailed course materials available through institutional pages. Organized workshops including the 2020 Workshop on Sensitivity and Query Complexity at ISI.

Chethan KamathView profile

Assistant Professor

• Cryptography
• Theoretical Computer Science
• Foundations of Cryptography
• +5 more

Chethan Kamath is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay, where he is a member of the Theory Group and Trust Lab. His primary research focus is on cryptography, particularly its foundations, with broader interests extending to theoretical computer science. His educational journey includes: PhD from IST Austria (2014-2020) under Krzysztof Pietrzak, with thesis titled "On the Average-Case Hardness of Total Search Problems" Master's in CS from IISc Bangalore (2010-2013) under Sanjit Chatterjee, with thesis titled "Constructing Provably Secure Identity-Based Signature Schemes" Bachelor's in CS from University of Kerala (2005-2009) at TKM College of Engineering, Kollam Dr. Kamath's research interests span the theoretical foundations of cryptography, with particular focus on secure computation, complexity theory, and cryptographic hardness assumptions. His work often bridges theoretical computer science with practical cryptographic applications, exploring the boundaries of what can be efficiently computed while maintaining security guarantees. His research frequently addresses fundamental questions about the relationship between cryptographic primitives and complexity classes, especially the PPAD and TFNP complexity classes. His recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on foundational aspects of cryptography, with particular emphasis on secure computation (garbled circuits, Yao's protocol), proofs systems (proofs of work, proofs of exponentiation), and complexity-theoretic aspects of cryptographic primitives. A notable trend is his exploration of the connections between complexity classes like PPAD and cryptographic assumptions, as well as his work on verifiable delay functions and their underlying number-theoretic assumptions. His research often employs tools from algorithmic graph theory (treewidth, separators) to analyze cryptographic protocols. His notable scientific achievement includes: Azrieli Fellowship during his post-doc at Tel Aviv University Dr. Kamath actively mentors students and researchers, currently advising several PhD and MS students at IIT Bombay, often in collaboration with Sruthi Sekar. His service to the academic community includes extensive program committee memberships for major conferences including Crypto, Eurocrypt, and TCC, demonstrating his standing in the cryptographic research community. He has co-organized educational events like the "Introduction to Cryptography" school as part of the ACM India Summer School 2025 and the "Theoretical Foundations of Cryptography" school as part of the ACM India Summer School 2024. He leads research activities within the Trust Lab at IIT Bombay, which focuses on theoretical and applied aspects of cryptography and security. The lab actively recruits MS/PhD students and post-docs, with ongoing research in foundational cryptography and its applications to secure computation, verifiable delay functions, and complexity-theoretic aspects of cryptographic security.

Manoj M. PrabhakaranView profile

Professor

• Cryptography
• Secure Multi-Party Computation
• Theoretical Computer Science
• +9 more

Manoj M. Prabhakaran is the Vijay and Sita Vashee Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering , and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign . His research spans Cryptography, Theoretical Computer Science, Algorithms, and Complexity Theory , with a focus on Secure Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and Zero-Knowledge Proofs . As Principal Investigator of the IITB Trust Lab , he has organized major events like the 2017 MPC School and Workshop . Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science His work explores foundational questions in Cryptography , including Randomness Complexity , Non-malleable Codes , and Homomorphic Encryption . Recent publications address Leakage-Resilient Cryptography and Interactive Proofs . He advises Ph.D. students like Debasish Ray Chawdhuri and Kaartik Bhushan , and his email is publicly listed.

• Algorithms
• Combinatorics
• Complexity Theory
• +3 more

Sundar Vishwanathan is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), where he has established himself as a leading researcher in theoretical computer science. His academic career spans over three decades with consistent contributions to algorithms, combinatorics, and complexity theory. His research interests form a cohesive body of work focused on theoretical foundations of computing: Algorithms (particularly approximation algorithms, online algorithms, and randomized algorithms) Combinatorics and extremal set theory Complexity theory and circuit lower bounds Graph theory and graph algorithms Combinatorial optimization problems Vishwanathan's publication record demonstrates remarkable consistency and depth, with publications spanning from 1990 to 2024. His recent work focuses on graph algorithms (particularly maximum matching problems), approximation algorithms for combinatorial optimization, and circuit complexity. He has developed innovative techniques using linear algebra, combinatorial methods, and probabilistic analysis to solve challenging theoretical problems. His approach often bridges theoretical insights with practical algorithmic considerations. His collaborative work spans multiple research groups, with frequent co-authorships with researchers such as Ashish Chiplunkar, Sumedh Tirodkar, and Sreyash Kenkre. His research has evolved from foundational work in online graph coloring in the 1990s to more specialized topics in combinatorics and recently to circuit lower bounds, showing both depth in core areas and adaptability to evolving research landscapes.

Rakesh VenkatView profile

Assistant Professor

• Theoretical Computer Science
• Approximation Algorithms
• Hardness of Approximation
• +1 more

Rakesh Venkat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. His research focuses on Theoretical Computer Science, including approximation algorithms, hardness of approximation, and communication complexity. Education : Ph.D., Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. Research Trends : His work addresses fundamental challenges in algorithm design, such as optimizing cache misses, improving clustering algorithms, analyzing graph expansion, and exploring embedding techniques. Publications span top-tier conferences like APPROX, FSTTCS, ICALP, and ITCS, with collaborations at institutions including HUJI, TIFR, and IIT-Bombay. Teaching : Courses taught include Approximation Algorithms, Advanced Data Structures, Discrete Mathematics, and Spectral Graph Theory.

• Theoretical Computer Science
• Algorithmic Information Theory
• Computable Analysis
• +1 more

Satyadev Nandakumar is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. He received his PhD from Iowa State University in 2009, following an MS from the same institution in 2003 and a B.Tech from REC Calicut in 2000. His research interests center on Theoretical Computer Science with a focus on Algorithmic Information Theory, Computable Analysis, and Symbolic Dynamics. His work bridges mathematical foundations with computational theory, exploring the intersection of randomness, dimension, and computation. His publication record shows a consistent research trajectory in foundational computer science, with significant contributions to understanding the relationship between finite-state complexity and number theory, predictive complexity of ergodic processes, and characterizations of constructive dimension. His work demonstrates a strong mathematical approach to theoretical computer science problems. As a faculty member at IIT Kanpur, he maintains an active research program within the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, contributing to the theoretical foundations of computing at one of India's premier technical institutions.

• Theoretical Computer Science
• Computational Complexity Theory
• Computational Number Theory
• +2 more

Manindra Agrawal is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), where he has been a faculty member since 1996. His research focuses on theoretical aspects of computer science with particular emphasis on computational complexity theory and computational number theory. Dr. Agrawal completed his B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Kanpur in 1986 and his PhD in Computer Science from the same institution in 1991. His doctoral thesis, titled "Towards a Characterization of NP-Complete Sets," was supervised by Professor Somenath Biswas. His research interests span computational complexity theory, computational number theory, algebra, and cryptography. Dr. Agrawal is best known for designing the first efficient and deterministic algorithm for testing if a number is prime, a groundbreaking result published in the Annals of Mathematics in 2004 as "PRIMES is in P." This work has had a profound impact on theoretical computer science and number theory, resolving a long-standing open problem in the field. His publication record shows a consistent focus on fundamental problems in theoretical computer science, particularly in complexity theory and number-theoretic algorithms. His work ranges from theoretical foundations like the isomorphism conjecture for constant depth reductions to practical applications such as designing encryption algorithms for the Indian Navy and Air Force. Padma Shri (2013) Infosys Prize (2008) Godel Prize (2006) Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (2003) Clay Research Award (2002) Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNA) Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS) Fellow of the Indian Academy of Engineering (FNAE) Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (FASc) Dr. Agrawal has advised several notable students, including Nitin Saxena and Satyadev Nandkumar, who have made significant contributions to theoretical computer science. His research group has been instrumental in advancing knowledge in computational complexity and number theory. His work on primality testing has not only theoretical significance but has also influenced practical cryptographic applications.