Vote for Tom Berson (2012 Election Statement)

Directors are responsible for setting strategic directions and overseeing the operations of IACR. Elected Directors represent IACR members in these functions. Directors are expected to attend Board of Directors meetings (twice a year), to be available by email and telephone for business that arises between meetings, to serve on committees of the Board, and to participate actively in IACR activities.

I will appreciate your continued support.

Fifty-Word Candidate's Statement (appears on the printed ballot)

The Value of Experience

I have worked with every IACR President. In my opinion, Bart Preneel is doing a great job as President. I hope he will seek a third term in 2013. But if Bart does not seek re-election, the new IACR President can rely on me for experience, corporate memory, and support.

More About Balance and Tolerance

I have often returned home from an IACR event thinking, "That was a very sweet conference." This is unique to IACR. I know of no other professional organizations or technical conferences about which the word sweet has ever been used.

A strength of our community, which we have been developing and nurturing since the beginning, is that we welcome, include, and respect our members, no matter what their specific cryptologic interests, no matter by whom they are employed, and no matter what national culture they bring.

This spirit of balance and tolerance seems to me to have weakened lately.

• It may be that we have created too many cryptographers, who perceive -- perhaps correctly -- they are competing for too few jobs or too little grant money.
• It may that there is now so much to learn about cryptography that today's experts in one area are unaware (and worse, unappreciative) of the contributions of today's experts in a quite different area.
• It may be that we are all creatures of our times, and that we allow polarizations and tensions on the world stage to color our professional and collegial relationships.

There is no easy fix to any of these problems. Still, I believe that loss of balance, tolerance, and respect threatens the very fabric of IACR. If you re-elect me as Director, I will continue to promote program balance at our flagship conferences and in our publications, and I will promote tolerance of intellectual and cultural diversity in all IACR activities.

Tom's IACR Service Record

• 1985-1988 Secretary-Treasurer (they were a combined job)
• 1988-1991 President
• 1991-2012 Director
  
  
• Founding Member of IACR (1983)
• General Chair, Crypto '84
• Program Committee member (12x)
• Editor, Journal of Cryptology (1986-2001)
• Negotiated Springer-Verlag contracts (2x)
• Editor-in-Chief Search Committee (2x)
• Bylaw Revision Committee
• Election Committee (5x)
• Chair, Audit Committee
• Chair, Asiacrypt Sponsorship Committee
  
  
• IACR Distinguished Lecturer (2000)
• Fellow of the IACR (2004)

Tom's IACR Attendance Record

Please vote for me.