Michele Mosca helped start and works as a deputy director at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo. He is also a researcher and one of the first members of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. At the University of Waterloo, he teaches mathematics in the department of Combinatorics & Optimization. Since January 2002, he has held a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Quantum Computation. Since September 2003, he has been a member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Mosca's main areas of study focus on creating quantum algorithms. He is also known for his early research on NMR quantum computation with Jonathan A. Jones.

Graduate and post-graduate education

Mosca earned a B.Math degree from the University of Waterloo in 1995. In 1996, he was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to study at Wolfson College, Oxford University, where he completed his M.Sc. degree in mathematics and the foundations of computer science. Later, while receiving another scholarship and holding a fellowship, Mosca obtained his D.Phil degree from the University of Oxford. His doctoral research focused on quantum computer algorithms.

Mosca's theorem

In the field of cryptography, Mosca's theorem explains how organizations should prepare to protect their data from the future threat of quantum computers. A quantum computer, once created, could break current encryption methods like RSA, which are widely used today. While this risk is known, no one can predict exactly when quantum computers will be developed. Mosca's theorem offers a tool to help organizations decide how quickly they must begin using new encryption methods that are safe from quantum computers.

Mosca's theorem was introduced in a 2018 paper titled "Cybersecurity in an era with quantum computers: will we be ready?" The paper suggests that if X + Y > Z, organizations should take action to protect their data. In this formula, X represents how long the data must remain secure, Y is the time it will take to switch to new encryption methods, and Z is the time until quantum computers become powerful enough to break current encryption.

The value of Z is not known, but many technology experts estimate it could be around 2030 or 2035. Because switching to new encryption methods is complex, Mosca's theorem shows that most organizations should begin the process soon or may be falling behind.

Mosca's theorem supported the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s 2016 plan to work with international groups to develop a few post-quantum cryptography algorithms.

Awards and honors

• Listed in Canada's Top 40 under 40 by The Globe and Mail in 2010.
• Member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research's Quantum Information program since 2010. Member of the program since 2003.
• Recognized in Waterloo Region's 40 under 40 list in 2010. The list honors individuals who are making a positive impact in the region.
• Invited speaker at the AAAS Science and Technology Workshop "Plug into Canada," held by the Canadian Embassy in January 2005. The event included the National Science Advisor, the NSERC President, and two other Canadian researchers.
• Part of a group of fifteen young leaders at the PAGSE Symposium "Leaders of Tomorrow" in Ottawa, Canada, in 2004. The Partnership Group for Science and Engineering was created in 1995 at the request of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada to represent Canadian scientists and engineers to the government.
• Contributed an article to the inno'va-tion and inno'v@-tion2 project, which is part of the Canada Foundation for Innovation's effort to highlight top researchers in the country.
• Visited King's College, University of Cambridge, as a fellow in October 2005.
• Held the position of Canada Research Chair from 2002 to the present.
• Received the Premier's Research Excellence Award in Ontario from 2000 to 2005.
• Member of the Institute for Combinatorics and its Applications since 2000.
• Received the Robin Gandy Junior Research Fellowship at Wolfson College, Oxford, from 1998 to 1999.
• Scholar in the Communications and Electronic-Security Group from 1996 to 1999.
• Earned a Distinction for a Master of Science degree from Oxford in 1996.
• Received a UK Commonwealth Scholarship from 1995 to 1996.
• Graduated as valedictorian and received the Alumni Gold Medal from the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo in 1995.
• Won a Bronze Medal, which was the third highest in Canada, in the Descartes Mathematics Competition in 1990.

Select publications

• M. Mosca, "Cybersecurity in an Era with Quantum Computers: Will We Be Ready?," in IEEE Security & Privacy, volume 16, issue 5, pages 38-41, September/October 2018, doi: 10.1109/MSP.2018.3761723.
• An Introduction to Quantum Computing. (2007). Phillip Kaye, Raymond Laflamme, and Michele Mosca. Published by Oxford University Press in New York City. ISBN 978-0-19-857049-3.
• Algorithmica: Special Issue on Quantum Computation and Cryptography. (2002). Michele Mosca and Alain Tapp, Editors. Algorithmica, volume 34, issue 4.