Martin E. Hellman : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Martin E. Hellman, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, reflects on his upbringing and education; his faculty career at Stanford, especially his contributions to cryptography; and his recent work on nuclear deterrence. Hellman shares memories of his education in the New York City public schools, his undergraduate years at New York University, and his graduate studies in electrical engineering at Stanford. He describes the origins of his interest in cryptography and recalls key collaborators, including Ralph Merkle, and important turning points in the development of public-key cryptography, research that led he and Whitfield Diffie to win the Turing Award in 2015. Hellman also recalls his efforts to support minority students as the associate dean of graduate studies for recruitment and retention in the School of Engineering; the impact of his relationship with his wife, Dorothie, on his life; and his most recent project “Rethinking National Security.”
- Summary
- Early life in the Bronx • Grandparents’ immigration to the US from Eastern Europe • Childhood and schooling in the Bronx • Memories of school friends, including Henry Laufer • Early education in math and science • High school at Bronx Science • Interest in ham radio and exploring Manhattan’s “radio district” for surplus parts • Early interest in world affairs • Scholarship to attend New York University • Electrical Engineering at NYU • Istvan Palocz • Tutoring jobs and their impact in deepening his conceptual understanding of math; how this experience led to a special teaching assistantship program at Stanford for STEM graduate students • Meeting wife Dorothie on Catalina Island in 1966 • Desire to move to California for graduate school and decision to attend Stanford; NSF fellowship • Stanford Electrical Engineering (EE) faculty • PhD qualifying exams • Choosing Tom Cover as PhD advisor • Timeline to a quick PhD • Completing PhD research at IBM Research in Yorktown Heights • Exposure to cryptographic research at IBM; Horst Feistel • Deciding between academia and industry • Transition from IBM to teaching at MIT • Influence of Claude Shannon’s WWII-era work connecting information theory to cryptography • Returning to Stanford as a professor • Teaching new courses and learning alongside students • Stanford’s EE Department in the 1970s • Colleagues’ arguments against his desire to pursue cryptography research; “the wisdom of foolishness” • Approach to advising graduate students • Reflections on university service, the impact of Silicon Valley on Stanford, and money v. reputation • Stanford’s patent policy • Public-key cryptography • Collaborations with Whit Diffie and mathematician John Gill • The Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange • Important contributions from Ralph Merkle • Data Encryption Standard controversy over weak 56-bit key • The “first crypto war” • A memorable conversation with Admiral Bobby Ray Inman • Teaching short courses on encryption and data security through Hellman Associates • Working with Dorothie to resolve difficulties in marriage • Involvement with Creative Initiative Foundation / Beyond War • Writing a book with Dorothie • Leveraging success to bring attention to rethinking national security • Winning the Turing Award • Efforts to support diversity in the School of Engineering • Facing discrimination as a Jew in a Catholic neighborhood growing up • “No-fault approach to prejudice” • Work with Beyond War and publication of Breakthrough: Emerging New Thinking with Soviet scholars • Finding ways to support minority graduate students as associate dean of graduate studies for recruitment and retention; support from Elizabeth Traugott • Learning important lessons from students; success of students • Engineering Dean Jim Gibbons • Early investments in Amati and PayPal • Memories of Harry Rathbun and the Rathbun Lecture Series • Collaboration with Anatoly Gromyko on Breakthrough • Significance of the Turing Award • Using Turing Award money towards building a more peaceful, sustainable world • Retiring early • Current project “Rethinking National Security”
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Extent | 1 text file |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | August 12, 2020 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Hellman, Martin | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Hellman, Martin | |
| Interviewer | Lozano, Noé Pablo | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Hellman, Martin |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University. Department of Electrical Engineering |
| Subject | Cryptography |
| Subject | National security |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical Profile | Martin E. Hellman is best known for his invention, with Diffie and Merkle, of public key cryptography, the technology that, among other uses, enables secure Internet transactions. It is used to transfer literally trillions of dollars every day. He has been a long-time contributor to the computer privacy debate, and was a key participant in the “first crypto war” of the late 1970s and early 1980s that established the right of academic cryptographic researchers to publish their papers, free of government interference. His work has been recognized by a number of honors and awards, including election to the National Academy of Engineering, induction as one of the first two dozen “Stanford Engineering Heroes,” the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the Marconi International Fellowship--and, most recently, the 2015 ACM Turing Award, often called “the Nobel Prize of Computer Science.” During the 1980s, Hellman helped develop a meaningful dialog between the Soviet and American scientific communities on how human thinking had to evolve for survival in the nuclear age. This effort culminated in his co-editing a book with Anatoly Gromyko of Moscow. Breakthrough: Emerging New Thinking was published simultaneously in Russian and English in 1987 during the rapid change in Soviet-American relations. Born in New York, NY in October 1945, he received his BE from New York University in 1966, and his MS and PhD from Stanford University in 1967 and 1969, all in Electrical Engineering. Hellman was at IBM’s Watson Research Center from 1968-1969 and an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT from 1969-1971. Returning to Stanford in 1971, he served on the regular faculty until becoming Professor Emeritus in 1996. He has authored over seventy technical papers, twelve US patents and a number of foreign equivalents. |
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| Audio |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/jg511gr2241 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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