PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Alfred Menezes

Also known as A. J. Menezes, A. Menezes, A.J. Menezes, Alfred J. Menezes

Alfred Menezes is a cryptographer whose work spans elliptic-curve cryptography, key agreement, provable security, and post-quantum cryptography. He earned degrees at Waterloo, taught cryptography and mathematics at Auburn, then joined Waterloo’s Department of Combinatorics and Optimization in 1998 and chaired it from 2011 to 2015. His books include Elliptic Curve Public Key Cryptosystems (1993) and the coauthored Handbook of Applied Cryptography (1996); he also helped invent the MQV key-agreement protocol adopted by NIST. In 2024, he became an IACR Fellow. Since retiring in September 2025, he is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Waterloo and develops free online cryptography courses; in September 2026, he coauthored Textbook of Applied Cryptography with Paul van Oorschot and Bart Preneel.

Born
1965
Works
282
Citations
31,075
h-index
51
Badges
Links
Website

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1986–1992

    Waterloo degrees and cryptography

    In 1986, PhD supervisor Scott Vanstone hires him as an undergraduate research assistant and introduces him to cryptography. He earns bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees at Waterloo in 1987, 1989, and 1992.

  2. 1992–1997

    Teaching at Auburn

    He teaches cryptography, error-correcting codes, and mathematics at Auburn University from 1992 to 1997.

  3. 1993

    Elliptic Curve Public Key Cryptosystems

    His 1993 book Elliptic Curve Public Key Cryptosystems presents the theory and application of elliptic-curve public-key cryptosystems.

  4. 1995–1998

    A key-agreement patent

    A patent application filed in 1995 and published in 1998 names him, Scott Vanstone, and Minghua Qu as inventors of a key-agreement and transport protocol with implicit signatures. He also helps invent the Menezes–Qu–Vanstone (MQV) authenticated key-agreement protocol, which NIST adopts.

  5. 1996

    Handbook of Applied Cryptography

    In 1996, he coauthors the widely used Handbook of Applied Cryptography.

  6. 1998–2015

    Chairing Waterloo’s C&O department

    He joins Waterloo’s Department of Combinatorics and Optimization in 1998 and chairs it from 2011 to 2015. His research spans elliptic-curve cryptography, provable security, and post-quantum cryptography.

  7. 2024

    An IACR Fellowship

    In 2024, he becomes an IACR Fellow for fundamental contributions to elliptic-curve cryptography theory and practice and for service to the cryptographic community.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor emeritus and online courses

    He retires from Waterloo on September 1, 2025, and is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization. He develops free online courses on applied cryptography and related mathematics and computer science. In September 2026, he coauthors Textbook of Applied Cryptography with Paul van Oorschot and Bart Preneel.

Career

  1. Since 1986University of WaterlooUndergraduate research assistant, Chair
  2. 1992–1997Auburn UniversityTeacher

Education

  1. 1992University of WaterlooPhD
  2. 1989University of WaterlooMaster's degree
  3. 1987University of WaterlooBachelor's degree

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Waterloo. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Waterloo. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Waterloo. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Waterloo. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Alfred Menezes yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Friday, October 24, 2025 | Daily Bulletin | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Alfred Menezes named Fellow of the International Association for Cryptologic Research | Mathematics | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. About – Cryptography 101 with Alfred Menezes cryptography101.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Elliptic Curve Public Key Cryptosystems - Alfred J. Menezes - Google Books books.google.co.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. US5761305A - Key agreement and transport protocol with implicit signatures - Google Patents patents.google.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Security and privacy of computerized information | Mathematics | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Cryptography 101 with Alfred Menezes – Video lectures, notes, and exercises in all areas of applied cryptography cryptography101.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.