Mohammad Mahmoody




I am an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department of the University of Virginia (UVA).

Prior to joining the UVA I was a postdoctoral research associate in the Computer Science Department of Cornell University under the supervision of Professor Rafael Pass.

I received my PhD in 2010 from the Computer Science Department of Princeton University under the supervision of Professor Boaz Barak.

I am interested in theoretical computer science. In particular, I am interested in foundations of cryptography and its interplay with computational complexity. I am also interested in exploring the power and limitations of tampering attacks on randomness in cryptography and learning theory.

If you are a (current or prospective) motivated student at the UVA and would like to work with me, you can email me.

Here is my CV (March of 2018).

Courses:

  • Spring 2018: Topics in Cryptography (Grad and Undergrad)
  • Fall 2017: Discrete Mathematics (Undergrad)
  • Spring 2017: Theory of Computation (Grad)
  • Fall 2016: Foundations of Cryptography (Undergrad)
  • Fall 2015: Algortihms (Grad)
  • Spring 2015: Topics in Cryptography [Seminar] (Grad and Undergrad)
  • Fall 2014: Cryptography (Grad)
  • Spring 2014: Computational Complexity (Undergrad)

    • Students and Postocs:

  • Mohammad Hajiabadi Postdoc. (Jointly advised with Sanjam Garg.)

  • Ameer Mohammed PhD. (2013-2018 - to be an Assistant Professor at Kuwait University starting Fall 2018.)
  • Saeed Mahloujifar PhD.
  • Ahmadreza Rahimi PhD.
  • Caleb Smith PhD.

  • Saba Eskandarian Masters. (2015-2016 - now PhD at Stanford.)
  • Soheil Nematihaji Masters (2014-2016).

    • Publications:

  • On the Round Complexity of OT Extension
    with Sanjam Garg, Daniel Masny, and Izaak Meckler. (In submission.)

  • Learning under p-Tampering Attacks
    with Saeed Mahloujifar and Dimitrios I. Diochnos.
    Algorithmic Learning Theory (ALT) 2018.
    (Also selected to for presentation in ISAIM 2018.)

  • Blockwise p-Tampering Attacks on Cryptographic Primitives, Extractors, and Learners
    with Saeed Mahloujifar.
    Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC) 2017.

  • When does Functional Encryption Imply Obfuscation?
    with Sanjam Garg and Ameer Mohammed.
    Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC) 2017.

  • Lower Bounds on Obfuscation from All-or-Nothing Encryption Primitives
    with Sanjam Garg and Ameer Mohammed.
    International Cryptography Conference (Crypto) 2017.

  • On the Power of Hierarchical Identity-Based Encryption
    with Ameer Mohammed.
    Eurocrypt, 2016.

  • On the Impossibility of Virtual Black-Box Obfuscation in Idealized Models
    with Ameer Mohammed and Soheil Nematihaji.
    Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC) 2016-A.

  • Lower Bounds on Assumptions behind Indistinguishability Obfuscation
    with Ameer Mohammed, Soheil Nematihaji, Rafael Pass, and abhi shelat.
    Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC) 2016-A.

  • On the Impossibility of Cryptography with Tamperable Randomness
    with Per Austrin, Kai-Min Chung, Rafael Pass, and Karn Seth.
    International Cryptography Conference (Crypto) 2014.
    Invited to Algorithmica Journal.

  • On the Power of Public-key Encryption in Secure Computation
    with Hemanta K. Maji and Manoj Prabhakaran.
    Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC) 2014.

  • Can Optimally Fair Coin Tossing be Based on One-Way Functions?
    with Dana Dachman-Soled and Tal Malkin.
    Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC) 2014.

  • Limits of Random Oracles in Secure Computation
    with Hemanta K. Maji and Manoj Prabhakaran.
    Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science (ITCS) 2014.

  • Languages with Efficient Zero-Knowledge PCPs are in SZK
    with David Xiao.
    Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC) 2013.

  • On the Power of Nonuniformity in Proofs of Security
    with Kai-Min Chung, Huijia Lin, and Rafael Pass.
    Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science (ITCS) 2013.

  • Publicly Verifiable Proofs of Sequential Work
    with Tal Moran and Salil Vadhan.
    Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science (ITCS) 2013.

  • The Curious Case of Noninteractive Commitments: On the Power of Black-Box vs. Non-Black-Box Use of Primitives
    with Rafael Pass.
    International Cryptography Conference (Crypto) 2012.

  • On Efficient Zero-Knowledge PCPs
    with Yuval Ishai and Amit Sahai.
    Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC) 2012.
    Invited to Journal of Cryptology.

  • On Black-Box Reductions between Predicate Encryption Schemes
    with Vipul Goyal, Virendra Kumar, and Satya Lokam.
    Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC) 2012.

  • Time-Lock Puzzles in the Random Oracle Model
    with Tal Moran and Salil Vadhan.
    International Cryptography Conference (Crypto) 2011.

  • On Black-Box Complexity of Optimally-Fair Coin-Tossing
    with Dana Dachman-Soled, Yehuda Lindell, and Tal Malkin.
    Theory of Cryptography Conference (TCC) 2011.

  • Interactive Locking, Zero-Knowledge PCPs, and Unconditional Cryptography
    with Vipul Goyal, Yuval Ishai, and Amit Sahai.
    International Cryptography Conference (Crypto) 2010.

  • On the Power of Randomized Reductions and the Checkability of SAT
    with David Xiao
    Computational Complexity Conference (CCC) 2010.

  • A New Sampling Protocol and Applications to Basing Cryptogaphic Primitives on the Hardness of NP
    with Iftach Haitner and David Xiao
    Computational Complexity Conference (CCC) 2010.

  • Merkle Puzzles are Optimal
    with Boaz Barak
    International Cryptography Conference (Crypto) 2009.
    Invited to Journal of Cryptology.
    Download the full version from here.

  • Load Sensitive Topology Control: Towards Minimum Energy Consumption in Dense Ad Hoc Sensor Networks
    with A. Nayyeri, S. Zarifzadeh, and N. Yazdani
    Computer Networks, Vol. 52, pp. 493--513, 2008.

  • Lower Bounds on Signatures from Symmetric Primitives
    with Boaz Barak
    Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS), 2007.

  • On Rainbow Cycles in Edge Colored Complete Graphs
    with S. Akbari, O. Etesami, and H. Mahini
    Australasian Journal of Combinatorics, Vol. 37, pp. 33--42, 2007.

  • Transversals in Long Rectangular Arrays
    with S. Akbari, O. Etesami, H. Mahini, and A. Sharifi
    Discrete Mathematics, Vol. 306, pp. 3011--3013, 2006.

    • Manuscripts:

  • A Note on Black-Box Separations for Indistinguishability Obfuscation
    with Ameer Mohammed, Soheil Nematihaji, Rafael Pass, and abhi shelat.

  • Black Boxes, Incorporated, (a survey)
    with Avi Wigderson.

  • Studies in the Efficiency and (versus) Security of Cryptographic Tasks
    Ph.D Thesis, Princeton University, 2010.

  • Unprovable Security of Two-Message Zero Knowledge
    with Kai-Min Chung, Edward Lui, and Rafael Pass.