Samuel Standfield Wagstaff Jr. (born 21 February 1945) is an American

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

and

computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...

, whose research interests are in the areas of

cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adver ...

parallel computation Parallel computing is a type of computation in which many calculations or processes are carried out simultaneously. Large problems can often be divided into smaller ones, which can then be solved at the same time. There are several different fo ...

, and analysis of

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...

s, especially number theoretic algorithms. He is currently a professor of

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

and

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

who coordinates the Cunningham project, a project to

factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

numbers of the form ''b''^''n'' ± 1, since 1983. He has authored/coauthored over 50 research papers and three books. He has an

Erdős number The Erdős number () describes the "collaborative distance" between mathematician Paul Erdős and another person, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers. The same principle has been applied in other fields where a particular individual ...

of 1.

List of people by Erdős number Paul Erdős (1913–1996) was a Hungarian mathematician. He considered mathematics to be a social activity and often collaborated on his papers, having 511 joint authors, many of whom also have their own collaborators. The Erdős number measures ...

Wagstaff received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1966 from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. His doctoral dissertation was titled, On Infinite Matroids, PhD in 1970 from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. Wagstaff was one of the founding faculty of Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (

CERIAS The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) of Purdue University, United States, is a center for research and education in areas of information security for computing and communication infrastructures. It ...

) at Purdue, and its precursor, the Computer Operations, Audit, and Security Technology (

COAST The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

) Laboratory.

Selected publications

* with

John Brillhart John David Brillhart (November 13, 1930 – May 21, 2022) was a mathematician who worked in number theory at the University of Arizona. Early life and education Brillhart was born on November 13, 1930 in Berkeley, California. He studied at the U ...

, D. H. Lehmer, John L. Selfridge,

Bryant Tuckerman Louis Bryant Tuckerman, III (November 28, 1915 – May 19, 2002) was an American mathematician, born in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was a member of the team that developed the Data Encryption Standard (DES). He studied topology at Princeton, where he i ...

: ''Factorization of'' ''b''^''n'' ± 1, ''b'' = 2,3,5,6,7,10,11,12 ''up to high powers'', American Mathematical Society, 1983, 3rd edition 2002 as electronic book
Online text
* ''Cryptanalysis of number theoretic ciphers'', CRC Press 2002 * with Carlos J. Moreno: ''Sums of Squares of Integers'', CRC Press 2005 * ''The Joy of Factoring'', Student Mathematical Library (

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

) 2013
Wagstaff ''The Cunningham Project'', Fields Institute, pdf file

References

External links

CERIAS WWW siteArchival COAST WWW site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagstaff, Samuel S. Jr. Number theorists Cornell University alumni 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Living people 1945 births Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni