College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Wayne M. Raskind to lead Undergraduate Mathematics Seminar

Wayne M. Raskind, dean of Wayne State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will lead the next Undergraduate Mathematics Seminar. Raskind's talk, titled Problems in Number Theory that are Simple in Principle, but Hard in Practice, takes place at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 4 in WSU's Faculty Administration Building, room 1146.

During the lecture, Raskind will describe how many problems in number theory, including factoring numbers, are simple in principle, yet difficult in practice. His talk will also cover the discrete logarithm problem in various settings.

"The belief that factoring and other problems in number theory are intrinsically 'hard' is the basis of most public-key cryptographic systems used in practice in business, finance and national security," said Raskind. "The best example is the RSA Cryptosystem, invented by Rivest, Shamir and Adleman in the 1970's, and used by many financial institutions today."

The Undergraduate Mathematics Seminar is a regular series on a wide variety of topics. Presenters include both academic faculty and industry professionals. The seminar exposes undergraduate students to topics in research mathematics, and it gives students an awareness of career opportunities.

The event is free and open to the public.