Gilles Brassard is a faculty member of the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...
, where he has been a Full Professor since 1988 and
Canada Research Chair
Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program.
Program goals
The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...
since 2001.
Education and early life
Brassard received a Ph.D. in
Computer Science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
in 1979, working in the field of
cryptography
Cryptography, or cryptology (from "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logy, -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of Adversary (cryptography), ...
with
John Hopcroft as his advisor.
Research
Brassard is best known for his fundamental work in
quantum cryptography
Quantum cryptography is the science of exploiting quantum mechanical properties to perform cryptographic tasks. The best known example of quantum cryptography is quantum key distribution, which offers an information-theoretically secure soluti ...
,
quantum teleportation
Quantum teleportation is a technique for transferring quantum information from a sender at one location to a receiver some distance away. While teleportation is commonly portrayed in science fiction as a means to transfer physical objects from on ...
,
quantum entanglement
Quantum entanglement is the phenomenon where the quantum state of each Subatomic particle, particle in a group cannot be described independently of the state of the others, even when the particles are separated by a large distance. The topic o ...
distillation,
quantum pseudo-telepathy
Quantum pseudo-telepathy describes the use of quantum entanglement to eliminate the need for classical communications.
A nonlocal game is said to display quantum pseudo-telepathy if players who can use entanglement can win it with certainty whi ...
, and the classical simulation of quantum entanglement.
[Herzberg runner-up: Gilles Brassard](_blank)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; , CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. NSERC directly funds university professors and students as ...
, retrieved January 24, 2010. Some of these concepts have been implemented in the laboratory.
In 1984, together with
Charles H. Bennett, he invented the
BB84 protocol for quantum cryptography. He later extended this work to include the Cascade error correction protocol, which performs efficient detection and correction of noise caused by eavesdropping on quantum cryptographic signals.
Awards and honours
Brassard was the editor-in-chief of the ''
Journal of Cryptology
The ''Journal of Cryptology'' () is a scientific journal in the field of cryptology and cryptography. The journal is published quarterly by the International Association for Cryptologic Research. Its editor-in-chief is Vincent Rijmen
Vincent ...
'' from 1991 to 1998.
In 2000, he won the
Prix Marie-Victorin
The Prix Marie-Victorin () is an award by the Government of Quebec
The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used t ...
, the highest scientific award of the government of Quebec.
He was elected as a
Fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the
International Association for Cryptologic Research
The International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) is a non-profit scientific organization that furthers research in cryptology and related fields. The IACR was organized at the initiative of David Chaum at the CRYPTO '82 conference. ...
in 2006, the first Canadian to be so honored.
In June 2010, he was awarded the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal, Canada's highest scientific honour. Brassard was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...
and the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
of London (2013).
His nomination reads: On December 30, 2013, the Governor-General of Canada, the Right Honourable David Johnston, announced that Gilles Brassard has been named as an Officer in the
Order Of Canada
The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
. In 2018, he received the
Wolf Prize in Physics
The Wolf Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine and Arts.
The ...
and in 2019 the
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences. as well as the
Micius Quantum Prize.
In September 2022, Brassard was awarded the
Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, the world’s largest science prize. In 2023 he was awarded the
Eduard Rhein Foundation Prize in Technology.
Eduard Rhein Foundation Prize 2023
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brassard, Gilles
1955 births
Living people
Canadian computer scientists
Modern cryptographers
Academics from Montreal
Université de Montréal alumni
Cornell University College of Engineering alumni
Canada Research Chairs
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Canadian fellows of the Royal Society
Officers of the Order of Canada
International Association for Cryptologic Research fellows
Officers of the National Order of Quebec
Quantum information scientists
Scientists from Montreal
Wolf Prize in Physics laureates