January 9, 2009

Code Cracking Workshop at CBU

Memphis -- Christian Brothers University (CBU) will host an interdisciplinary workshop for high school students that will teach them the basics of the art of code breaking, cryptography. This workshop will be held Tuesday, January 27 from 3:30 to 5:45 p.m. in Spain Auditorium, Buckman Hall. Students will be introduced to the historical and technical aspect of ciphers as well as encrypting and decrypting messages.

Cryptography has changed the world. Throughout wars, major battles and other historical events, outcomes have hinged on the use of codes. Today, encryption is used daily for safety and security of communications in commerce.

During this workshop, Dr. Neal Palmer and Dr. Paul Berk of the CBU History department will explain the historical significance of codes and cipher breaking and historical events that have been changed by the use of ciphers. Dr Eric Welch, Dean, School of Engineering will follow with a discussion and demonstration of the structure of codes. He will introduce methods used in modern computer cryptography and then students will experiment with developing and cracking simple ciphers.

This workshop is free and open to all students in grades 9-12. Seating is limited, so advance registration is required. Register now online at: http://www.cbu.edu/engineering/workshop/crypto. For more information, contact engineering@cbu.eduor (901) 321-3405. ###