Mihir Bellare
Mihir Bellare is a cryptographer who holds the Gill Williamson Professorship at UC San Diego. His link to AI runs through computational learning theory, and a 1992 paper of his offers a technique for upper bounding the spectral norm, with applications to learning. After his MIT PhD in 1991, he worked at IBM before joining UC San Diego's Jacobs School in 1995. Together with Phillip Rogaway, he received the Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award in 2009 for practice-oriented provable security. ACM named him a Fellow in 2013, and the Levchin Prize in 2019 recognized his work on the random oracle model.
- Works
- 414
- Citations
- 47,355
- h-index
- 101
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.
Timeline
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1986–1991
Studying at Caltech and MIT
At Caltech he earns a BS in 1986, and at MIT he earns a PhD in 1991.
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1991–1995
From IBM to UC San Diego
A researcher at IBM from 1991 to 1995, he then joins UC San Diego's Jacobs School in 1995 to run its Cryptography Group.
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1992
A spectral-norm technique for learning
The 1992 paper 'A technique for upper bounding the spectral norm, with applications to learning' is published at the Fifth Annual Workshop on Computational Learning Theory.
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2009
A Paris Kanellakis Award
Together with Phillip Rogaway, he receives the Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award in 2009 for practice-oriented provable security.
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2013
An ACM Fellowship
ACM elects him a Fellow in 2013 for contributions to provable security methods supporting high-quality, cost-effective cryptography.
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2019
A Levchin Prize for real-world cryptography
In 2019 the Levchin Prize for Real-World Cryptography goes to him for work including the random oracle model and modes of operation.
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2026
An RSAC Test of Time Award
The inaugural RSAC Test of Time Award goes in 2026 to his 2001 DHIES paper with Michel Abdalla and Phillip Rogaway.
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As of October 2026
A Gill Williamson Professorship
He is Gill Williamson Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego.
Sources and credits
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- Mihir Bellare
- Mihir Bellare | Jacobs School of Engineering
- Mihir Bellare: Publications
- Paris-Kanellakis-Preis – Wikipedia
- ACM Recognizes Two UC San Diego Computer Scientists
- Mihir Bellare - Wikipedia
- Baffle Advisor Wins Levchin Prize for Real-World Cryptography
- UCSD CSE -- Security and Cryptography
- RSAC Set to Honor Excellence in the Field of Mathematics Awards, Inaugural Test of Time Awards at RSAC 2026 Conference | The AI Journal
- Mihir Bellare Homepage