[27/10/2024] Professor Aggelos Kiayias, the Chair in Cyber Security and Privacy and the Director of the Blockchain Technology Laboratory, was awarded the 2024 BCS Lovelace Medal. The Lovelace Medal recognises people whose work has contributed to significant advances in computing. Previous winners The Lovelace Medal is presented annually by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT for outstanding contributions to the advancement of computing. Previous winners include worldwide web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee and information retrieval pioneer Karen Spärck Jones and recent Nobel Prize winner Sir Demis Hassabis. Edinburgh mark Professor Kiayias shares the recognition with Edinburgh alumna, Professor Philippa Gardner, Professor of Theoretical Computer Science at Imperial College London and a former student of Gordon Plotkin; she graduated with a PhD in 1992. Professor Kiayias and Professor Gardner have been announced as winners of the Lovelace Research Medal. Aggelos Kiayias is Director of Director of the Blockchain Technology Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh. He is awarded the BCS Lovelace Medal in recognition of his transformative contributions to the theory and practice of cyber security and cryptography, with his work leading to new blockchain protocols that address the issues of energy efficiency, interoperability and privacy. It is a special honour to receive the BCS Lovelace Medal. I am grateful to BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT for recognising my work and for highlighting Cyber Security and Cryptography, two areas of computer science that are of pressing importance, especially now when information technology services scale globally and so much depends on their resilience. I want to also express my gratitude to my students and colleagues whose collaboration over the years has been invaluable. Professor Aggelos Kiayias About the Lovelace Medal The BCS Lovelace Medal was established in 1998 in honour of Lady Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace and daughter of Lord Byron. Born in 1815, Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. The Lovelace Medal recognises people whose work in the areas of research and education have contributed to significant advances in computing. Winners are chosen by an annual panel selected by BCS Academy of Computing Board. The panel considers factors such as the originality, impact, and ethical implications in their work. Related links Link to the BCS announcement Blockchain Technology Lab Publication date 28 Oct, 2024
