Silvio Micali
Italian-American cryptographer and founder of the Algorand blockchain
- Age
- 72 yrs
- Birthday in 341 days
- Works listed
- 2
- Paper, Blockchain
- Honours
- 2
- Most recent 2012
- Profile views
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Silvio Micali is an Italian-American computer scientist at MIT who co-founded modern cryptography with Shafi Goldwasser and co-invented zero-knowledge proofs. They shared the 2012 Turing Award. In 2017 he founded Algorand, a blockchain platform.
Biography
Education
Micali studied mathematics at Sapienza University of Rome and earned his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1982 under Manuel Blum.
Foundations of cryptography
With Shafi Goldwasser he developed probabilistic encryption and the definitions of security used in cryptography today. With Goldwasser and Charles Rackoff he introduced zero-knowledge proofs in 1985. He also worked on pseudorandom functions and digital signatures.
MIT
Micali has taught at MIT since 1983. His other work includes verifiable random functions and mechanism design.
Algorand
In 2017 he founded Algorand, a blockchain that uses a “pure proof-of-stake” system to agree on transactions quickly and with low energy use.
Timeline
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1954
Born in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
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1982
PhD from UC Berkeley
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1983
Joins MIT
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1985
Zero-knowledge proofs
-
1993
Gödel Prize
-
2012
Turing Award
-
2017
Founds Algorand
-
2019
Algorand main network launches
Notable works
-
1984
Probabilistic Encryption Paper
With Shafi Goldwasser.
-
2019
Algorand Blockchain
Awards and honours
-
Gödel Prize
1993
-
Turing Award
2012
Did you know?
-
1
He is one of the few Turing laureates to found a cryptocurrency platform.
-
2
He was born in Palermo, Sicily.
-
3
Like Goldwasser, he was a doctoral student of Manuel Blum.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Silvio Micali?
Silvio Micali is an Italian-American computer scientist at MIT who co-founded modern cryptography with Shafi Goldwasser and co-invented zero-knowledge proofs. They shared the 2012 Turing Award. In 2017 he founded Algorand, a blockchain platform.
How old is Silvio Micali?
Silvio Micali is 72 years old, born on 13 October 1954 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
Where is Silvio Micali from?
Silvio Micali was born in Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
What is Silvio Micali known for?
Silvio Micali is best known for Zero-knowledge proofs; provable security; Algorand; Turing Award 2012.
What awards has Silvio Micali received?
Notable honours include Gödel Prize (1993), Turing Award (2012).
References
- Silvio Micali — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. www.csail.mit.edu. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Silvio Micali (Q93080) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Silvio Micali”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Silvio Micali.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/silvio-micali
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