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Mathematics/Computer Science: The Mathematics of Cryptography with Dr Christopher Birkbeck from University of East Anglia
February 9 @ 16:30 - 17:15
In this Mathematics/Computer Science session, Dr Christopher Birkbeck, Lecturer in Pure Mathematics in the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive talk for students on The Mathematics of Cryptography.
How can you whisper a secret across a crowded room without anyone else understanding it? This is the fundamental problem of the internet. In this interactive session, we will journey through the evolution of secrecy, starting with the classical ciphers used by Roman generals and moving to the complex mathematics behind modern cybersecurity.
We will dissect the arithmetic of RSA encryption to see why factoring integers into prime numbers protects your credit card, and uncover how drawing lines on special curves is all that protects Bitcoin from being hacked. Join us to visualize group theory, modular arithmetic, and the cryptographic structures that keep our digital world from collapsing.
Lecturer Profile: Dr Christopher Birkbeck
Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. There is no charge to take part.
As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.
Suitable for: Aged 16+ pre-university students studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Mathematics, Computer Science and related disciplines. Student groups as well as students and teachers joining individually are very welcome.
Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance and questions they have. Students can also think about questions about studying at university level.
The IT Setup: The event will be run on Zoom and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the speaker via typed comments and questions and/or via a microphone. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.
Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below: