Phillip Rogaway
Also known as Phil Rogaway
Phillip Rogaway is a cryptographer whose work centered on privacy and secure communication; his teaching also challenged claims about machine learning. He studied at UC Berkeley, completed a 1991 MIT PhD on secure protocols, worked as an IBM security architect, and joined UC Davis in 1994. With Mihir Bellare, he argued in 1993 that the random-oracle model could bridge cryptographic theory and practice; with Bellare, John Black, and Ted Krovetz, he published OCB in 2001, a block-cipher mode that combined privacy and authenticity. He received the ACM Paris Kanellakis Award in 2009, became an IACR Fellow in 2012, wrote The Moral Character of Cryptographic Work for an invited Asiacrypt talk in 2015, and received the Levchin Prize in 2016. As of October 2026, he mentors National Math Stars and welcomes more K–12 teaching or curriculum design after retiring from UC Davis in July 2024.
Timeline
-
1991–1994
From Berkeley to UC Davis
His research focuses on cryptography for secure communication and privacy. He studies at UC Berkeley, completes his MIT PhD in 1991, works as an IBM security architect after graduating, and joins UC Davis in 1994.
-
1993–2001
Random oracles and OCB
In 1993, with Mihir Bellare, he argues that the random-oracle model can bridge cryptographic theory and practice. In 2001, he and Bellare, John Black, and Ted Krovetz publish OCB, a parallelizable block-cipher mode that provides privacy and authenticity.
-
2009
A Paris Kanellakis Award
In 2009, he receives the ACM Paris Kanellakis Award.
-
2012
An IACR fellowship
In 2012, he becomes an IACR Fellow.
-
2015
Cryptography's moral character
In 2015, he writes The Moral Character of Cryptographic Work to accompany an invited Asiacrypt talk; the essay frames cryptography as political and moral work.
-
2016
The Levchin Prize
In 2016, he receives the inaugural Levchin Prize for Real World Cryptography alongside the miTLS team.
-
2021–2024
Teaching and leaving UC Davis
In 2021, he challenges students studying machine learning to separate its promises from reality. He retires from UC Davis in July 2024 after teaching a cryptography course and an experimental Black Mirror course.
-
As of October 2026
Mentoring after UC Davis
As of October 2026, he mentors for National Math Stars and welcomes more K–12 teaching or curriculum design.
Sources and credits
Photo: We have no published photo of Phillip Rogaway yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.
- Phillip Rogaway - Homepage
- Phillip Rogaway - Publications
- Random Oracles are Practical: A Paradigm for Designing Efficient Protocols
- OCB Mode
- Phillip Rogaway - Wikipedia
- Rogaway – Moral Character of Cryptographic Work
- Cryptographers honored with Levchin Prize at Real World Cryptography Conference
- ECS 20 - Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science - Fall 2021 - Phillip Rogaway