NSA mathematician to lecture at Wake Forest
S. Brent Morris, senior mathematician at the National Security Agency, will present a lecture, “Classic Cryptanalysis: The Folger Manuscript,” in Benson University Center’s Pugh Auditorium at 3 p.m. Feb. 28.
The lecture is free and open to the public.
Robert Folger, a 19th century New York physician, wrote a 33-page book in code. Morris’ talk, illustrated with 35mm slides, follows the step-by-step classical cryptanalysis used to crack the cipher.
Following his lecture, a security software expo will be held outside Pugh Auditorium. Hands-on demonstrations will include encryption systems, face recognition software, the PC “smart card,” fingerprint recognition software and handwriting recognition software.
Morris joined the National Security Agency in 1975. He has served as director of its mathematical societies program and as executive secretary of the NSA Scientific Advisory Board. He has a doctorate in mathematics from Duke University.
The talk and expo are part of the “Living in a Networked World” symposium. Morris’ talk, originally set for Jan. 25, was rescheduled because of snow. The events continue Wake Forest’s yearlong celebration of scientific inquiry, “Science and Technology: the Next Millennium.”
Events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 336-758-5788 or visit the “Science and Technology” Web site at www.wfu.edu/yost.
