The encryption codes that safeguard internet data today won’t be secure forever. Future quantum computers may have the processing power and algorithms to crack them.
Nathan Hamlin, instructor and director of the WSU Math Learning Center, is helping to prepare for this eventuality.
He is the author of a new paper in the Open Journal of Discrete Mathematics that explains how a code he wrote for a doctoral thesis, the Generalized Knapsack Code, could thwart hackers armed with next generation quantum computers.
Washington State University recently was recognized among colleges and universities nationwide for its pioneering approach to teaching foreign languages.
TheBestColleges.org, a national reviewer of online education, lists WSU among the 10 Most Innovative Colleges for Foreign Language Study. Schools were chosen on the basis of “offering students a chance to learn rare languages, immerse themselves in a new culture and language, or even blend language learning with dormitory life.”
Hughes
“This national recognition underscores the high quality of our teaching program and the unique opportunities we offer students, such as our language for the professions second major,” said Jolyon Hughes, professor of German and chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures. “The WSU DFLC approach is to look differently at language and culture and create study and outreach programs that prepare our students to enter the global society confidently and capably.”
Students in the language for professions track may couple studies in any other major area with a second major in a language and culture that complements their primary interests. Additional specialized programs are tailored to students in business, social and natural sciences, engineering and veterinary medicine.
Washington State University Vancouver graduate Gregory K. Walker has received from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program an English teaching assistant (ETA) award to teach in Spain.
Walker, who graduated in May with a bachelor of arts degree in English, planned to travel to Spain early in 2017. He will be placed in a classroom to assist a local teacher.
As a Fulbright ETA, his charge will be to improve foreign students’ English language abilities and knowledge of the United States while also increasing his own language skills and knowledge of the host country.
Language and art
In his application to Fulbright, Walker described his plan to “explore the intersection between language and art” and involve his students in Spain in a club focused on discussions about art, artists and popular culture media such as comics and graphic novels.
A Washington State University study of the chemistry of technetium-99 has improved understanding of the challenging nuclear waste and could lead to better cleanup methods.
The work is reported in the journal Inorganic Chemistry. It was led by John McCloy, associate professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and chemistry graduate student Jamie Weaver. Researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Office of River Protection and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory collaborated.
Clark College on Tuesday announced two more Iris Award winners, recognizing outstanding women in Southwest Washington.
Long
Washington State University Vancouver political science professor Carolyn Long will receive the H-RoC Award, sponsored by a nonpartisan political action committee that supports elected and appointed female leaders in the region.
The award winners will be recognized at a reception and ceremony beginning at 5:30 p.m. on March 8 at Clark College’s Gaiser Student Center on the main campus at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, Wash.
The event is open to the public, and tickets are on sale through the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce at tinyurl.com/iris2017. Tickets are $35 a person.
