StarkWare, a leader in zero-knowledge proof technology and scalable blockchain infrastructure, is excited to announce that Prof. Scott Aaronson, one of the world’s foremost computer scientists, has joined the company’s Scientific Advisory Board.
Aaronson is internationally recognized for his contributions to quantum complexity theory, complexity classes, and the philosophical implications of computation and physics, and is also a leading authority on the capabilities and limits of quantum computers.
ZK-STARKs, the cryptography behind all of StarkWare’s work, are post-quantum resistant by design. Aaronson will advise the company on its research into this quality of ZK-STARKs, as well as post-quantum security more broadly, and how Bitcoin and crypto primitives, such as signatures, might fare in a post-quantum world.
“We are honored to welcome Scott to StarkWare’s Scientific Advisory Board,” said Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder and CEO at StarkWare. “His deep scientific insight and decades of pioneering research in theoretical computer science and quantum computing align perfectly with our commitment to researching the effects of post-quantum computing on blockchains and our commitment to helping Bitcoin become post-quantum secure.”
Aaronson is currently the Schlumberger Chair of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin and the founding director of its Quantum Information Center. His first book, Quantum Computing Since Democritus, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2013. Aaronson has received the National Science Foundation’s Alan T. Waterman Award, the United States PECASE Award, the Tomassoni-Chisesi Prize in Physics, and the ACM Prize in Computing, and is a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
“StarkWare is tackling some of the most profound challenges involving cryptography, blockchains, and quantum computing,” said Aaronson. “I look forward to contributing to the company’s scientific vision and supporting its efforts to understand the risk post-quantum computing poses to blockchains and cryptography.”
The Scientific Advisory Board plays a central role in StarkWare’s research culture, ensuring that the company remains at the forefront of scientific innovation while maintaining the highest standards of rigor, security, and correctness.
