Guowen Xu’s passion for cryptography was seeded in various courses throughout his undergraduate mathematics education. It was his experience as a doctoral student, however, that was truly transformative in terms of his learning how to navigate cryptographic security’s complexities and begin shaping his research directions and career.
Today, Xu is a full professor in the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu.
Xu’s work in security and privacy has led to many honors and field advancements–and to his being named one of Computing’s Top 30 Early Career Professionals.
In the following Q&A, Xu describes
How an early love for abstract mathematical concepts led to his fascination with cryptography
How he addressed the challenge of balancing security and efficiency in cryptographic algorithms
The many rewards of being involved in high-profile, interdisciplinary projects—including the National Key Research and Development Program of China
His work on the security and trustworthiness of large language models (LLMs)
What his now-benchmark solution to ensuring the integrity and trustworthiness of federated learning models makes possible
The five principles that are foundational to his advice for students and professionals looking to make a mark in cybersecurity and AI
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