Instructor:  Tony Vazzana

Office:  2262 Violette Hall

Phone: 785-4284

e-mail: tvazzana@truman.edu

Classroom: VH 1220

Preceptors:  Kensey Riles, Ashley Schachner and Dan Kling

Texts:  The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography – Simon Singh

Cryptological Mathematics – Robert Edward Lewand

Webpage:  http://www2.truman.edu/~tvazzana/jba/

Topics:

·        Cryptography

o       monoalphabetic ciphers (Caesar, affine, substitution)

o       homophonic ciphers

o       polyalphabetic ciphers (Vigenère, onetime pads, Enigma)

o       polygraphic ciphers (Playfair Hill, Pohlig - Hellman)

o       Navajo Code Talkers

o       key exchange (Diffie – Hellman, public key cryptography, RSA)

·        Cryptanalysis

o       Caesar ciphers

o       monoalphabetic ciphers

o       the Rosetta stone

o       Vigenère

o       Hill

·        Related Mathematics

o       basic number theory (divisibility, Euclidean algorithm, fundamental theorem of arithmetic)

o       modular arithmetic

o       counting techniques

o       introduction to matrices

·        Freedom of Speech Issues

Daily Schedule:  A typical day will involve the introduction of new topics, followed by opportunities for students to work on problems or answer questions related to the new topics.  This will be a combination of independent work and work with other students.  Sometimes we will use the aid of a computer, and other times we will just need pencil and paper.  Each day, students will have a set of exercises to work on and assigned reading from the texts.  Time will be allotted during the day to begin on the assignments with the evening study session set aside for completing this work.   We will also begin most days with a brief quiz on material from the previous day.

Projects:  Near the end of the first week, students will select a topic for and independent project to work on which will culminate in a three page paper and a five to ten minute presentation.  A list of possible topics will be made available to students, but students may select their own with instructor approval. 

Evaluations:  Parents of every student will receive a written student evaluation by the instructor.

^{xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxLookforthechangeinfontsxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx}