Secrets and Promises: A Course on Cryptography for Nonmajors

这个项目提议设计和教授一门关于加密协议及其分支的现代技术的课程。这门课程将对没有特殊数学背景或天赋的学生开放。本课程的主要目标是以密码学为工具，让学生了解数学和理论计算机科学的基本概念。第二个目标是让学生了解一个领域的背景，随着互联网使用的增长，以及我们的经济越来越依赖于信息贸易（包括软件、音频、视频和电影、营销数据等），这个领域将变得越来越重要。最后，密码学和数字签名广泛使用的潜力引起了一些有争议的重要问题的关注，如隐私与执法之间的冲突；该课程将为讨论这些问题提供一个论坛。其目的是，这门课程既可以教育非理科专业的学生，也可以吸引未来的理科专业学生。由于目前没有针对非数学取向学生的教材，因此本项目将开发合适的课程材料。这些材料包括课程笔记和家庭作业。此外，PI将开发一种小型编程语言和可视化环境，即使是新手程序员也可以在其中开发和实验加密协议。作为课程的一部分，学生们将有“实验作业”，他们将被引导进行这些实验。项目负责人将把课程材料、编程语言和环境以及实验作业广泛提供给其他大学类似课程的准教师。

This project proposes to design and teach a course on modern techniques for cryptographic protocols and their ramifications. The course would be accessible to students with no special mathematical background or talent. The primary goal of the course is to expose students to fundamental concepts in mathematics and theoretical computer science, using cryptography as a vehicle. A second goal is to give students a background in an area that will be increasingly important as use of the Internet grows and as our economy becomes more heavily based on trade in information (including software, audio, video and film, marketing data, etc.). Finally, the potential for widespread use of cryptography and digital signatures brings into focus such controversial and important issues as the conflict between privacy and law enforcement; the course would provide a forum for discussion of such issues. The intention is that the course would serve both to educate non-science majors and to attract prospective majors to the sciences. Because there is currently no textbook that addresses the subject at a level accessible to students that are not mathematically oriented, this project will develop suitable course materials. Such materials include course notes and homework assignments. In addition, the PI will develop a small programming language and visual environment in which even a novice programmer can develop and experiment with cryptographic protocols. As part of the course, students will have "lab assignments" in which they are led through such experimentation. The PI wil make the course materials, the programming language and environment, and the lab assignments widely available to prospective teachers of similar courses at other colleges.