Principal Scientist
Tom’s research is in cryptography, with an emphasis on theoretical foundations for cryptographic practice, and applying cryptography to build secure systems. For more than 20 years, his work has been featured in top conferences and journals, covering a variety of topics including: symmetric-key cryptographic primitives, cryptographic protocols, analysis of cryptographic standards and software libraries, secure data structures, security for the IC supply chain, and technologies for censorship circumvention. He was the recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award, and his research has been supported by numerous NSF and DARPA grants, and generous industrial gifts.
Prior to joining Galois in 2025, Tom was a professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the University of Florida; before that, he was a professor at the Universita della Svizzera Italiana, and Portland State University. He earned his PhD from the University of California, Davis, his MS from University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and his BS from Virginia Tech.
Outside of academia, Tom has worked for Tokyo Disneyland and the NSA. He has played competitive baseball, soccer, and volleyball; he has boxed, raced sailboats, competed in numerous triathlons, and trained in olympic-style weightlifting.