Dr. Mihir Bellare is a preeminent cryptographer and professor at the University of California San Diego, where he holds the S. Gill Williamson Chancellor's Endowed Chair in Computer Science, an honor bestowed in 2019 through a significant gift from alumni benefactors. He has been a distinguished faculty member in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering since joining UCSD in 1995, following his tenure as a research staff member at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center from 1991 to 1995. Dr. Bellare earned his Bachelor of Science with honors in Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in 1986 and completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991, establishing the foundation for his internationally recognized contributions to data security and privacy.
Dr. Bellare is globally renowned for developing cryptographic algorithms that form the backbone of modern digital security, most notably as co-designer of the HMAC (Hash-based Message Authentication Code) scheme, which executes billions of times daily in secure web connections and online financial transactions. His pioneering work includes fundamental cryptographic primitives such as RSA-OAEP, RSA-PSS, and OCB, which are integral components of internet security protocols including SSL/TLS, SSH, and IEEE 802.11 wireless security standards. Collaborating with Phillip Rogaway, he introduced practice-oriented provable security as a methodology to bridge theoretical security guarantees with practical implementation requirements, transforming how cryptographic systems are designed and analyzed. His seminal contributions to the random oracle model, cryptographic modes of operation, and format-preserving encryption have established industry standards that continue to protect digital infrastructure worldwide.
Beyond his technical achievements, Dr. Bellare has profoundly shaped the field of cryptography through extensive mentorship of graduate students who have become leaders in academia and industry, including notable researchers such as Tadayoshi Kohno and Michel Abdalla. He has received numerous prestigious accolades including the RSA Conference Award in Mathematics, the ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship in Science and Engineering. As a Fellow of both the Association for Computing Machinery and the International Association for Cryptologic Research, his influence extends through editorial roles and leadership in the cryptographic community. Recently appointed to San Diego's Privacy Advisory Board in 2022, Dr. Bellare continues to advance both theoretical foundations and practical applications of cryptography, ensuring his work remains at the forefront of addressing evolving security challenges in the digital landscape.
