PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Brent Waters

Also known as Brent R. Waters

Brent Waters is a cryptographer whose attribute-based encryption work can give fine-grained control over sensitive data, including information moving among AI agents. He earned a computer science PhD at Princeton in 2004, completed a Stanford postdoc, worked at SRI, and joined UT Austin's faculty in 2008. With Amit Sahai, he introduced the idea of attribute-based encryption in a 2005 paper; his research also covers identity-based cryptography, functional encryption, and code obfuscation. He received the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award in 2015 and the IACR Test-of-Time Award in 2024; IEEE named him a Fellow in 2025. Since 2022, he has directed NTT Research's CIS Lab and is a professor at UT Austin; his 2026 work includes policy-based encryption for data shared among AI agents.

Now at
University of Texas at Austin and NTT Research
Works
294
Citations
51,320
h-index
81

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2004–2008

    Princeton doctorate and UT Austin faculty

    He earns a computer science PhD at Princeton in 2004, completes a Stanford postdoc in 2004–2005, works as a computer scientist at SRI, and joins UT Austin's faculty in 2008.

  2. 2005

    Attribute-based encryption

    With Amit Sahai, he introduces attribute-based encryption through a 2005 paper. The scheme ties access to encrypted data to user attributes; his research also covers identity-based cryptography, functional encryption, and code obfuscation.

  3. 2015

    ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award

    He receives the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award in 2015.

  4. 2019

    NTT Distinguished Scientist

    He joins NTT Research as a Distinguished Scientist in 2019.

  5. 2024

    Dual-System Encryption

    The IACR awards his 2009 paper “Dual-System Encryption” a 2024 Test-of-Time Award for introducing the dual-system technique.

  6. 2025

    IEEE Fellow

    IEEE elects him a Fellow in 2025 for contributions to cryptography and attribute-based encryption.

  7. Since 2022

    Directing NTT's CIS Lab

    He directs NTT Research's CIS Lab and is a professor at UT Austin. In 2026, he coauthors “Pairing-Based Registered ABE for Boolean Formulas with a Linear-Size CRS,” which supports complex access policies and could give finer control over sensitive data moving among AI agents.

Sources and credits

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  1. Brent Waters | UT Austin Computer Science cs.utexas.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Brent Waters Elected IEEE Fellow | UT Austin Computer Science cs.utexas.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. What Is Attribute-Based Encryption? – NTT Research, Inc. ntt-research.com. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. NTT Research Names Brent Waters as CIS Lab Director – Cryptography & Information Security (CIS) Laboratories cis.ntt-research.com. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. IACR News iacr.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. How Can Cryptography Protect Data, Verify Computation and Prepare Security for the Quantum Era? 28 NTT Research Papers Accepted at CRYPTO 2026 Offer New Insights – NTT Research, Inc. ntt-research.com. Checked 15 October 2026.