David Zuckerman

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David Zuckerman is a professor of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin. He studies the mathematical theory of computation, especially the role of randomness in computation.

Many of the fastest known algorithms for important problems are randomized, and randomness is essential for cryptography. Yet in practice, computers don’t have access to true randomness and instead use pseudorandom generators. Zuckerman’s research will focus on designing provably good pseudorandom generators, which can be viewed as constructing deterministic objects with random-like properties. He will also explore various connections between pseudorandomness and cryptography.

Zuckerman earned his AB in mathematics from Harvard University in 1987 and his PhD in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. His awards include a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, a David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, and a National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award.