About the seminar
A recurring intellectual home for the RTG
The RTG Applied Algebra Seminar is one of the regular gathering points of the RTG in Applied Algebra at USF. It supports the RTG’s vertically integrated research culture by bringing together faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates around current topics in cryptography, coding theory, quantum computing, and neighboring mathematical areas.
Some talks are broadly expository, while others are closer to active research. The goal is both to expose participants to important ideas and to build a sustained community of discussion and collaboration.
Schedule
Current and recent terms
Expand a term to browse themes, speakers, and session descriptions.
This mini-series introduces the basics of code-based cryptography and the mathematical background needed to understand modern digital signature constructions.
- Friday September 5th @ 4pm in CMC 120: basics of linear codes, McEliece cryptosystem, Niederreiter cryptosystem.
- Friday September 12th @ 4pm in CMC 120: equivalence of codes, zero-knowledge proofs, CROSS.
This mini-series introduces the different variants of the Code Equivalence Problem (permutation CE, signed PCE, Linear CE), and shows the various reductions between them. It will also show reductions between the Code Equivalence Problem and the Graph Isomorphism problem, as well as the Lattice Isomorphism Problem. It will introduce cryptosystems based on the Code Equivalence Problem, and the Lattice Isomorphism Problem, and it will discuss their security.
- Friday September 26th at 4pm in CMC 120: different variants of the Code Equivalence Problem, and the reductions between them.
- Friday October 3rd at 4pm in CMC 120: cryptosystems based on the Code Equivalence Problem (LESS) and on LIP (HAWK).
This mini-series will present the basics of isogenies between elliptic curves over finite fields. The hardness of computing isogenies will be discussed, as well as the hardness of computing isogenies between two given curves. Finally, we will review the various constructions of isogeny-based cryptosystems.
- Friday October 24th @4pm in CMC 120: definition of isogenies. Case of supersingular curve. Properties of the isogeny graph (Wissam).
- Friday October 31st @4pm in CMC120: cryptosystems based on isogenies: hash function, SIDH, CSIDH, SQIsign (J.-F.).
This mini-series will present the basics of classical and quantum Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes.
- Friday November 14th @4pm in CMC120: classical LDPC codes (Anthony).
- Friday November 21st @4pm in CMC120: quantum error correcting codes, Quantum LDPC codes (Tefjol).
This mini-series will introduce the generic group model, and discuss generic algorithms (those algorithms agnostic to specific group encodings used) and generic lower bounds of various group-based problems including the discrete logarithm problem. He will also talk about quantum generic optimality of Shor’s algorithm for DLP.
- Friday December 5th @4pm in CMC120: generic group model, proving hardness in GGM, DLP and its variants..
- Friday December 12th @4pm in CMC120: Shor’s quantum algorithm for DLP, and its optimality.
This mini-series shows how to solve the Lattice Isomorphism Problem (LIP) between lattices that arise as construction A of a linear code. This work builds on a prior result of Ducas and Gibbons who proved how to outperform the general Haviv and Regev method when the lattices are Construction A of codes with trivial hull.
- Thursday February 26th @4pm in CMC130: Lattice Isomorphism Problem, Code Equivalence Problem.
- Thursday March 5th @4pm in CMC130: Solving LIP between construction A lattices.
This mini-series discusses how using APN functions as building blocks of block ciphers provides resistance against differential attacks. New results are provided that center on the resistance of such building blocks also against linear attacks, investigating if APN functions always also provide good resistance against such attacks. It turns out that APN functions with specific behavior in such a scenario are automatically linked to exotic conbinatorial structures, like blocking sets and vector space partitions in projective spaces.
- Thursday March 26th @4pm in CMC130: APN functions and block cipher design.
- Thursday April 2nd @4pm in CMC130: Bent functions.
This mini-series will introduce the theory of locally recoverable codes and describe a method for constructing them using Galois theory.
- Thursday April 16th @4pm in CMC130: Locally Recoverable Codes.
- Thursday April 23rd @4pm in CMC130: Optimal LRCs from Galois theory.
Seminar details
Participation and format
Format
The seminar may include expository mini-courses, topic sequences, and research-facing talks, depending on the term and speaker.
Audience
The intended audience includes faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates connected to the RTG and neighboring research areas.
Location and time
Spring 2026: The seminar meets on Thursdays in CMC 130 at 4pm.