Krzysztof Pietrzak is a Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), where he leads the cryptography research group. He earned his PhD in computer science from ETH Zurich in 2005 and has held positions at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in Amsterdam and École Normale Supérieure in Paris before joining IST Austria. His research focuses on theoretical and applied cryptography with several key projects: Sustainable Blockchains : Developing proof systems like proofs of space and verifiable delay functions for eco-friendly blockchain protocols Group Messaging : Creating scalable secure messaging protocols for large groups without compromising security Leakage-Resilient Cryptography : Building cryptographic schemes resistant to side-channel attacks Professor Pietrzak's work shows a strong trend toward practical cryptographic solutions for real-world problems, particularly in blockchain technology and secure communications. His recent publications demonstrate expertise in verifiable delay functions, payment channel networks, and post-compromise security for group messaging systems. His notable scientific achievements include: ERC Consolidator Grant (2015) for "Teaching Old Crypto New Tricks" ERC Starting Grant (2010) for "Provable security for physical cryptography" Professor Pietrzak advises several PhD students and postdocs in the cryptography group at IST Austria. His research is supported by prestigious European Research Council grants and he is part of the Vienna Cybersecurity and Privacy Research Cluster (ViSP) and the SPyCoDe research program. The cryptography group maintains strong connections with the broader research community, including collaborations with industry projects like chia.net for sustainable blockchain development.









