Abstract: 

The definition of of randomness and pseudorandomness in the context of applications to computation and information theory forms the focus of this informal talk. We provide a very brief overview of some approaches to randomness, including:

  1. Information theoretic (i.e., probabilistic) approaches, such as those based on Shannon and Renyi entropies, and
  2. Complexity theoretic approaches based essentially on Kolmogorov-Chaitin complexity.

We then give examples of the use of randomness in efficient computation.

If time permits, we shall consider the design and analysis of  randomness tests, illustrating this topic with some examples.

 

About the speaker:

Serdar Boztas received the S.B. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology  in 1983 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Southern California in 1986 and 1990, respectively, all in electrical engineering.

He has been with RMIT since 1996, previously having worked at Monash University and Telstra Research Labs.

He has presented an invited plenary talk at the IEEE International Workshop on Signal Design and Applications in Tokyo in 2014, and invited lectures at the AMSI 2014 Winter School on Cryptography, as well as the UNESCO/CIMPA summer school on sequences and codes over rings in 2009.  He has co-organised 2 AMSI workshops on sequences and codes, and has been the program co-chair of the 2001 and 2007 Applied Algebra, Algebraic Algorithms and Error Correcting Codes as well as the general chair of the 2011 Australasian Conference on Information Security and Privacy.

His research interests include coding and information theory, cryptography and security, complex networks, combinatorics, and sequence design.

 

How to participate in this seminar:

1. Book your nearest ACE facility;

2. Notify Vera Roshchina at RMIT (maths.colloquia@rmit.edu.au) to notify you will be participating.

No access to an ACE facility? Contact Maaike Wienk to arrange a temporary Visimeet licence for remote access (limited number of licences available – first come first serve)