Juggling Computer Systems
Meet computer science major Riley Shahar.
Hometown: Palo Alto, California
Thesis advisers: Prof. Angélica Osorno [mathematics] and Prof. Adam Groce [computer science]
Thesis: “Categories for Cryptographic Composability”
What it’s about: In cryptography, we want to prove that computer programs are secure. In the real world, programs run in concert with many other programs, but these “composite” systems are generally too complicated to study mathematically. My thesis studies several applications of the mathematical field of category theory to this problem.
What it’s really about: Can we apply a field of math lovingly called “abstract nonsense” to facilitate proving that modern computer systems are secure?
In high school: I was an avid board gamer and reader, a competitive debater, and, honestly, a pretty inattentive student.
Groups or clubs: SL(m) (the math social group), CSTAR (the computer science social group), and the CS peer mentorship program. I also co-organized the math student colloquium and wrote the grading scripts we use to help grade students in Intro CS.
Cool stuff: I was a course assistant for over a dozen courses, including Intro CS for six semesters in a row. I also learned how to juggle!
Influential Reed class or professor: The most mind-blowing 20 minutes of my life was the start of Prof. James Fix’s [computer science] lecture on the Curry-Howard correspondence. Informally, Curry-Howard is the idea that mathematical proofs carry computational content—any time you write a proof in math, you can interpret it as a computer program, and you can even “run” that computer program to learn about the proof. I added the CS part of my major because I wanted to keep studying that beautiful idea.
Influential book: Anna Tsing’s The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins.
Challenges faced: It was really hard to navigate starting college at the peak of the pandemic. I have health issues, so I spent two years in isolation, talking to people online and sitting outside at meals. I was really glad that, when I felt comfortable leaving isolation, I was able to make fantastic friends who I will hopefully be in contact with forever.
How Reed changed me: I’m more comfortable with my gender identity and a much more extroverted, social person.
What’s next?: Graduate school in mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania!
Tags: Academics, Students, Thesis, What is a Reedie?