Accounts of IACR Formation

CRYPTOLOGIA

The Crypto '82 Conference, Santa Barbara

A Report on a Conference by David Kahn

(ISSN 0161-1194: January 1983, page 1, 2 and 5)

That so many conferences were held within so short a time suggested to a number of persons at Crypto ’82 that some sort of coordination would be useful. At the initiative of David Chaum the organizer of Crypto ’82, some attendees met the last day to begin organizing what they tentatively called an International Association for Cryptologic Research. Its main functions would be (1) to coordinate meetings on cryptology as to time, place an program and in some cases to run them, and (2) to publish a bulletin to give notice of conferences and of cryptologic sessions other conferences. Members of the organizing committee are Chaum; Henry J. Beker of RACAL-Comsec Ltd. in Salisbury, England; Whitfield Diffie of BNR in Palo Alto, California; Robert R. Jueneman of Satellite Business Systems in McLean, Virginia; Ernest F. Brickell of Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Stephen Kent of Bolt, Beranek & Newman in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and David Kahn of Great Neck, New York, an editor of Cryptologia.

The group has begun to draw up a charter; Chaum has begun planning for Crypto ’83 U.S. and Beker of Crypto ’83 Europe. Comments are welcome and should be sent to Chaum at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106.

Eurocrypt '83 Brochure

The second European conference on cryptology will be held at the International Center for Mechanical Sciences at Udine, Italy, from March 21 to 25, 1983. It is sponsored partly by the center and partly by the newly formed International Association for Crytpologic Research, a leading member of whose organizing committee is David Chaum. Persons who wish to attend and/or give papers should write to Professor Fred C. Piper, Westfield College, University of London, Kidderpore Avenue, LondonNW3 England. The number of places is restricted and places will be assigned on a basis of first come, first served. Other members of the committee for Eurocrypt ’83 are Dr. Henry Beker, Racal Milgo, Salisbury England, Dr. John Gordon of Hatfield Polytechnic, Hatfield, England, and Dr. Thomas Beth of the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg, West Germany. Giuseppe Longo has arranged for the use of the center at Udine, which is 65 miles northeast of Venice.

Advances in Cryptology -- Proceedings of Crypto '82

Edited by:

  • David Chaum
  • Ronald L. Rivest
  • Alan T. Sherman

(ISBN 0-306-41366-3; Preface ix)

During the opening remarks, David Chaum proposed the formation of an international organization that would further research in cryptology by coordination and organizing meetings in the area, and by informing its members of relevant events, publications, and work. During CRYPTO ’82, attendees nominated a planning committee. The members were Henry J. Beker, Ernest F. Brickell, David Chaum, Whitfield Diffie, Robert R. Jueneman, David Kahn, and Stephen Kent. At the end of the conference, the planning committee held its first meeting, at which it adopted the working title: “The International Association for Cryptologic Research.” The committee also laid plans for a meeting in Europe during March 1983 and for a Crypto ’83 during August 1983.