Rodrigo San Jose Rubio

Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Southwest Node / Department of Mathematics, College of Science

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Track

Cybersecurity

Faculty Mentor

Hiram Lopez Valdez
Associate Professor of Mathematics

Briefly describe the research project you are planning to contribute to and lead as a postdoctoral associate at Virginia Tech. What is the problem you are addressing? What is the expected impact of your work?

I work on algebraic coding theory. Error-correcting codes are crucial for reliable transmission of information, and they have found many applications over the years, such as code-based cryptography, quantum fault tolerance, distributed storage, secret sharing, etc. Each application requires different properties of the code. By using techniques from commutative algebra and algebraic geometry, it is possible to design codes suitable for each setting. I mainly study evaluation codes and their applications to quantum error-correction and code-based cryptography. My project at Virginia Tech, among other things, aims to develop new techniques to handle linear codes over different metrics than the usual Hamming metric, which are helpful for quantum error-correction and have the potential to result in constructions of codes with record parameters. Moreover, we will consider techniques from commutative algebra to analyse current cryptographic schemes, possibly leading to new attacks or cryptosystems.

Why did you choose to pursue postdoctoral training at Virginia Tech?

The Applied Algebra Research Group at Virginia Tech is one of the best coding theory groups in the United States. During my Ph.D., I established collaborations with several of its members, such as Hiram H. López (my mentor), Gretchen L. Matthews, and Eduardo Camps-Moreno, and I am looking forward to my postdoc at Virginia Tech to continue with this collaboration.

What are you most looking forward to as you begin in this fellowship at Virginia Tech?

This fellowship will allow me to advance my research portfolio, including the project with my mentor, the exploration of new topics with other members of Virginia Tech, and the expansion of my collaboration network with other researchers in the field from the U.S. I will also be able to travel to and organize conferences in the U.S,, which will be very valuable for my professional development.