PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Roberto Tamassia

Roberto Tamassia is a computer scientist whose work spans graph drawing, cryptography, and computer security. He studied electrical engineering at the University of Rome, earned a master's degree in 1984, completed a doctorate at Illinois in 1988, joined Brown in 1988, and coauthored a graph-drawing book in 1999. Brown licensed his internet-security technology in 2005; he received the IEEE Computer Society Technical Achievement Award in 2006 and became an ACM Fellow in 2012. In 2023, he gave an invited talk on searchable encryption; in 2024, he and Evangelia Anna Markatou published a study of range-query attacks that reconstruct encrypted databases. As of October 2026, he is a Brown professor of computer science and department chair.

Works
443
Citations
17,819
h-index
63

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1984–1988

    Degrees in Rome and Illinois

    At the University of Rome, he studies electrical engineering and earns a master's degree in 1984; he completes a doctorate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1988.

  2. 1988–1999

    Graph drawing at Brown

    After his doctorate, he joins Brown in 1988; in 1999, he coauthors Graph Drawing: Algorithms for the Visualization of Graphs with Giuseppe Di Battista, Peter Eades, and Ioannis G. Tollis.

  3. 2005

    Licensing internet security

    Brown licenses internet-security technology developed by Tamassia and his associates to entrepreneurs who establish IAM Technology Inc. in 2005; the technology provides a rapid way to validate identity on Internet domains.

  4. 2006

    An IEEE technical award

    He receives the IEEE Computer Society's Technical Achievement Award in 2006 for his work in graph drawing and graph and geometric algorithms.

  5. 2012

    An ACM Fellowship

    ACM names him a Fellow in 2012 for contributions to computing.

  6. By 2014

    Seven years as chair

    In 2014, he prepares to step down after a seven-year term as chair of Brown's computer science department.

  7. 2023–2024

    Searchable encryption research

    In 2023, he gives an invited talk on searchable encryption at Italy's National Cybersecurity Agency. In 2024, he and Evangelia Anna Markatou publish a paper on how access patterns from range queries can reconstruct encrypted databases.

  8. As of October 2026

    Brown CS department chair

    He serves as Brown CS chair in academic year 2025–26. As of October 2026, he is the James A. and Julie N. Brown Professor of Computer Science and the department chair.

Sources and credits

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  1. Tamassia, Roberto vivo.brown.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Brown CS: Faculty cs.brown.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. Graph Drawing Book cs.brown.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. Tamassia's security technology licensed by IAM Technology cs.brown.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. Edward J. McCluskey Technical Achievement Award computer.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. Tamassia named ACM fellow archive2.news.brown.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  7. Roberto Tamassia Prepares To Step Down As Department Chair cs.brown.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  8. Roberto Tamassia Gives An Invited Talk On Searchable Encryption At Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency posts.cs.brown.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  9. Reconstructing with Even Less: Amplifying Leakage and Drawing Graphs research.tudelft.nl. Checked 15 October 2026.
  10. Brown CS: Faculty Roles And Responsibilities cs.brown.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.