Input | Output chief scientist receives prestigious Lovelace computing award

Professor Aggelos Kiayias FRSE, Input Output (IO)’s chief scientist, chair in cybersecurity and privacy, and director of the Blockchain Technology Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh, has been awarded the 2024 BCS Lovelace Medal.

This award recognizes his transformative contributions to the theory and practice of cybersecurity and cryptography, with his work leading to new blockchain protocols that address the issues of energy efficiency, interoperability, and privacy.

The Lovelace Medal – named after the extraordinary mathematician, scientist, and writer Ada Lovelace- is presented annually by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT for outstanding contributions to the advancement of computing. Previous winners include world wide web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee and recent Nobel Prize winner Sir Demis Hassabis. Professor Aggelos Kiayias’ research interests encompass computer security, applied cryptography, and distributed systems, with a particular focus on blockchain technologies, e-voting, secure multiparty protocols, privacy, and identity management. Kiayias is widely recognized for his contributions to the advancement of secure and scalable blockchain protocols, and has been instrumental in the development of Cardano's Ouroboros protocol, a cutting-edge proof-of-stake consensus algorithm.

Worldwide academic network

This award coincides with Prof Kiayias’ IO Research (IOR) team passing the significant milestone of 10,000 citations of its published papers to make it the leading blockchain academic group in the worldwide research community.

Currently, the IOR library contains over 200 peer-reviewed, published papers, involving more than 150 academics. Around 50 of these papers are core to Cardano’s five development phases, providing the foundational research that has helped shape Cardano into its current form. As Cardano enters the Voltaire era of decentralized governance, IOR intends to continue its contribution to the advancement of Cardano with a roadmap of proposed research and areas of exploration to keep Cardano at the forefront of blockchain technology.

Blockchain Technology Laboratory

The Blockchain Technology Laboratory (BTL) network consists of three academic partners and was created in 2016 through IO’s initiative to carry out industry-inspired open access research in blockchain technologies and decentralized systems in collaboration with industry and government partners.

The University of Edinburgh, UK

The BTL is part of the University of Edinburgh and serves as a leading research center focused on advancing blockchain technology. With a strong emphasis on cryptography and distributed systems, the lab is at the forefront of developing secure and scalable blockchain protocols, contributing significantly to the Cardano ecosystem.

The team comprises professors, lecturers, postdocs, and PhD students who are involved in several projects, including:

• Edinburgh Decentralization Index (EDI): studies blockchain decentralization from first principles, archives relevant datasets, develops metrics, and offers a dashboard to track decentralization trends over time and across systems.
• ZK-Lab: advances the frontiers of zero-knowledge protocols, ensuring utmost privacy without compromising security or performance.

Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) is a prestigious institution known for its cutting-edge research in engineering and technology, including blockchain. Since mid-2016, Tokyo Tech's collaboration within the BTL network has been influential in Cardano’s development across phases like Byron, Shelley, and Basho. Key achievements include early versions of the Ouroboros protocol, a delegation framework enabling stake pools, and ongoing work on Hydra to improve network scalability.

University of Wyoming, USA

The University of Wyoming is a leader in blockchain education and research through initiatives like the Wyoming Advanced Blockchain Lab. Collaborating with industry and government partners, the university explores applications in finance, supply chain, and digital identity, positioning Wyoming as a hub for blockchain innovation.

IO Research Hubs

Besides the BTL, two IO Research Hubs have been established: one at the University of Edinburgh, UK, chaired by Prof Aggelos Kiayias, and another at Stanford University, USA, led by David Tse, the Thomas Kailath and Guanghan Xu Professor of Engineering.

Both hubs tackle foundational questions in the blockchain space, extensively increase the blockchain industry’s collation of scientific knowledge, and promote the fundamental need for research in this nascent space. They adopt a multidisciplinary approach and provide researchers with the opportunity to collaborate with the blockchain industry, enhancing the body of knowledge and viewpoints of blockchain technology.

Embedded researchers

In addition to its in-house team, IOR collaborates closely with a select group of universities worldwide, partnering with more than 20 embedded academics who are leaders in their respective fields. These partnerships allow IOR to integrate cutting-edge expertise across disciplines, facilitating cross-institutional research and innovation in blockchain science. By engaging embedded researchers, IOR strengthens its research impact and bridges practical and theoretical advancements in blockchain technology, with a focus on applications that address global challenges.

Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece

• Evangelos Markakis – associate professor in the Department of Informatics and a member of the Theory Group.
• Spyros Voulgaris – assistant professor in Computer Science, Department of Informatics and specialist in peer-to-peer networking.

The Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) focuses on exploring innovative blockchain applications and enhancing the security and efficiency of decentralized systems, contributing to global blockchain advancements.

The University of Edinburgh, UK (see above)

• Philip Wadler, FRS – professor of theoretical computer science at the University of Edinburgh and IOR area leader for programming languages.
• Dr. Markulf Kohlweiss – associate professor in the security and privacy research group, director of ZK-Lab, and IOR area leader for zero-knowledge.

University of Connecticut, USA

• Alexander Russell – professor of computer science and mathematics at the University of Connecticut and IOR area leader for algorithms.

By integrating blockchain into various academic programs, The University of Connecticut aims to prepare students and researchers to contribute to the growing blockchain ecosystem.

University of Oxford, UK

• Elias Koutsoupias – professor of computer science and IOR area leader for game theory.

Through its research groups and partnerships, Oxford University explores blockchain’s societal and economic impacts and its technical underpinnings, influencing policy and innovation globally.

Zhejiang University, China

• Bingsheng Zhang – professor of security specializing in cryptography, verifiable electronic voting (e-voting), and zero-knowledge proofs.

Zhejiang University collaborates with industry partners to develop practical blockchain applications, contributing to the rapid advancement of blockchain technology in China and beyond.

Current research projects and highlights

Alongside the EDI and ZK Lab initiatives with the University of Edinburgh, the research department oversees several focused short- to medium-term projects, each addressing distinct topics within blockchain technology. At the AUEB, a project is underway to create a publish/subscribe framework for Cardano, enabling more efficient communication by allowing clients to disseminate events to specific node subsets based on topic subscriptions.

Utrecht University is conducting a PhD project to develop a certifying compiler for smart contracts, which will generate machine-checkable proofs that the compiled Plutus code accurately reflects its source, thereby increasing trust in smart contract behavior. Meanwhile, at Delft University of Technology, a project aims to expand agda2hs for verifying practical Haskell code in Agda, focusing on usability enhancements and a deeper exploration of theoretical correctness.

Further research includes the University of Connecticut’s work on constraint-based local search algorithms within a proof-of-useful-work framework, which could significantly enhance blockchain efficiency. Additionally, in a collaboration with Harvard University, Boston College, and the University of Oxford, the ‘Colossal Auction’ project explores auction theory as applied to unique, high-value goods—in this case, the proposed sale of rights to a mammoth, as part of Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences’ research into de-extinction. This multidisciplinary effort leverages economic theories of bidding processes to explore novel fundraising models for scientific innovation.

Projects like these provide a more dynamic and practical way to partner with world leading research fellows to investigate priority research areas alongside the more fundamental partnership approach of labs and hubs.

Cardano Vision

As IOR works closely with Intersect, and other key technical contributors in the Cardano ecosystem to help shape the vision for Cardano’s evolution over the next five years and beyond, IOR brings to bear a multi-award winning network of academics and engineers from leading institutions across more than four continents.

To continue leading in blockchain over the next five years, Cardano requires a robust research and innovation agenda focusing on scalability, interoperability, and sustainability. This includes advances in consensus algorithms, such as Ouroboros Omega, zero-knowledge proofs, quantum-resistant cryptography, and enhanced smart contract functionality. The goal is to address global and societal challenges to create impact, while driving innovation and maintaining high standards of security and efficiency.

The Cardano Vision, driven by the 11 blockchain tenets, outlined through nine thematic focus areas, proposes an ambitious research roadmap to deliver blockchain’s promise to the world. Each thematic focus area is chosen to tackle critical issues, drive technological advancements, and ultimately enhance the Cardano platform's capabilities, sustainability, and global impact.

Delivering this truly global vision requires a leading worldwide academic blockchain network. By fostering collaboration and focusing on cutting-edge research initiatives, IOR and its award winning team play a crucial role in advancing the future of blockchain technology within the research community. The growing recognition of IOR’s library of more than 200 published papers provide startups, innovators, and engineers within the Cardano ecosystem with the foundational IP to commercialize core features and applications, strengthening Cardano’s leadership and delivering blockchains’ promise to the world.

Find out more

To learn more about the Intersect Research Working Group and its proposal to the Product Committee for the 2025 Intersect Budget, please follow:

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To follow IOR and for further details of its library of research papers please visit:

IO Research

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