Ruhr University Bochum celebrates the Leibniz Prize 2024 alongside its awardee, Prof. Dr. Eike Kiltz. “It is simply wonderful that, after more than ten years, a researcher from our community is again honored with this prestigious prize,” says Rector Prof. Dr. Martin Paul. “I wholeheartedly congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition. Eike Kiltz has played a crucial role in the establishment and success of our Cluster of Excellence CASA in IT security.” The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize from the German Research Foundation (DFG) is endowed with 2.5 million euros and is considered the most important research funding award in Germany.
With this award, the DFG recognizes outstanding researchers who have made excellent fundamental achievements in their fields at an early stage and who are expected to have a lasting impact on the research landscape in Germany. “This is an incredibly great honor for me,” says Eike Kiltz. “With the help of the funding, I am able to attract further outstanding young researchers to Bochum. Our research area should continue to grow, and funding like this is an important basis for this.”
At the Forefront of IT Security Research
Eike Kiltz currently serves as the spokesperson for the Cluster of Excellence CASA (Cyber Security in the Age of Large-Scale Adversaries) at Ruhr University Bochum, which has been funded by the DFG with 30 million euros since 2019. As a key figure, Kiltz attracts a multitude of high-profile researchers, projects, and activities to Ruhr University. He played a significant role in expanding the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security over the past decade and was instrumental in establishing the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy. All of these initiatives have positioned Bochum at the forefront of IT security research in Europe.
Europe's Largest Educational Institution for IT Security
In the realm of research, Eike Kiltz is recognized as one of the international pioneers in the field of practice-oriented modern cryptography. He applies tools and techniques from modern cryptography and provable security in areas of high practical relevance. As a theoretical computer scientist, he delves into cryptography, algorithms, and complexity theory. As a mathematician, he focuses on geometric objects known as lattices. Eike Kiltz designs and analyzes cryptographic protocols that combine security, functionality, and efficiency. He seamlessly integrates the excellence of his research work with his passion for teaching. Kiltz is an enthusiastic and inspiring educator. Student evaluations attest that he ranks among the best instructors in his faculty. His active involvement in the development of new Bachelor's and Master's degree courses has made a significant contribution to the establishment of the largest European educational institution for IT security in Bochum.
About Eike Kiltz
Eike Kiltz studied mathematics at Ruhr University Bochum, where he also completed his PhD in 2004. Subsequently, he spent a year as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Diego, before moving to the Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica in Amsterdam in 2005, where he remained until 2010. In August 2010, he accepted a professorship at Ruhr University Bochum. Eike Kiltz has received numerous awards, including winning the Best Paper Award at the prestigious IACR EUROCRYPT conference four times. In 2013, he was honored with an ERC Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), and in 2022, he received an ERC Advanced Grant. From 2010 to 2014, he received funding from a Sofja Kovalevskaja Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
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