On June 28, 2018, the Government of Italy announced the appointment of Michele Mosca as a Knight of the Order of Merit for his significant contributions in quantum computing and cybersecurity, including research, training, outreach and commercialization efforts.
Giuseppe
Pastorelli,
Consul
General
of
Italy
in
Toronto,
who
conferred
the
Knighthood,
explained,
“President
Mattarella
was
deeply
impressed
by
his
thought
leadership
in
cybersecurity
and
quantum
computing
and
the
strong
connection
to
his
Italian
heritage
which
was
apparent
from
their
discussion.
I
was
delighted
to
learn
of
his
decision
to
appoint
Professor
Mosca
to
the
Order
of
Merit
of
the
Italian
Republic.”
Mosca is a professor in the Department of Combinatorics & Optimization (C&O) in the Faculty of Mathematics, a founding member of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute (CPI), and a founder of Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo. He is also a founding member and Associate Faculty at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.
“We’re very proud of Michele’s achievements in his research and his tireless efforts to work with others across the university and beyond, to create a positive impact for society,” said Professor Jochen Koenemann, chair of the C&O department.
Mosca was hired by C&O in 1999, in collaboration with St. Jerome’s University and the newly established Centre for Applied Cryptographic Research (CACR), to initiate a quantum computing group within CACR. This effort flourished and led to the foundation in 2002 of the Institute for Quantum Computing where Michele continued to play a leadership role as Deputy Director from 2002-2016.
“I am honoured and humbled to be recognized with this distinction,” said Mosca. “I am grateful for the support of many colleagues and friends in together developing this tremendous opportunity to use quantum computers to solve important problems for humanity, and at the same time better protect the world from powerful cyber attacks of the future”.
He is an expert in quantum computing, quantum-safe-cryptography and cybersecurity, and quantum software. Mosca’s contributions to the theory and practice of quantum information processing also include the first experimental implementation of a quantum algorithm, techniques for studying the limitations of quantum computers, quantum self-testing, private quantum channels, and methods for compiling quantum circuits.
Globally recognized for his leadership in helping academia, industry and governments prepare cyber systems for an era with quantum computers, Mosca is a founder of the ETSI-IQC workshop series in quantum-safe cryptography. These workshops bring together a broad range of stakeholders working toward globally standardized quantum-safe cryptography. He is also co-founder of evolutionQ Inc., a company that provides services and products that enable organizations to evolve their quantum-vulnerable systems and practices to quantum-safe ones, and softwareQ Inc., a company that provides quantum software products and services to enable organizations to benefit from quantum computing.
Mosca is dedicated to training the cryptographic leaders of tomorrow. As a recipient of an NSERC-funded Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) grant in 2012, he and his team launched CryptoWorks21, a training program for building the quantum-safe cryptography workforce.
Earlier this year, RBC invested in cybersecurity research at the University of Waterloo including support for CryptoWorks21 to continue preparing researchers with the professional knowledge and technical skills needed to create quantum-safe tools.
You can learn more about Michele’s work from his public lecture: Cybersecurity in a quantum world: will we be ready?