Israel Prize awarded to Oded Goldreich

Prof. Oded Goldreich of the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics has received the Israel Prize, the country’s highest honor, for his outstanding  contributions to the fields of cryptography and complexity theory. His theoretical work on pseudo-randomness and zero-knowledge proof systems is considered fundamental to today’s computing technologies.

The Israel Prize committee released a statement which put Prof. Goldreich’s outstanding research into context, describing how he has made fundamental, significant contributions to computer science theory in a wide range of areas. In a career spanning more than three decades, the committee wrote, Prof. Goldreich defined basic concepts that advanced new paths in computer science theory, including randomness, probabilistically checkable proofs, inapproximability, and property testing. He has trained generations of students, many of whom have gone on to academic careers of their own. His many publications also hold tremendous influence in the field, particularly his seminal two-volume book on the basics of cryptography.

 Over the course of a distinguished career of enormous impact, Prof. Goldreich’s work has helped establish and strengthen Israel’s global leadership in computer science theory.

Prof. Oded Goldreich is supported by Meyer W. Weisgal Professorial Chair