News Releases

     A Binghamton University faculty member has been awarded $300,000 through the Air Force’s new Young Investigator Research Program.

     Assistant Professor Scott Craver was one of only 21 scientists and engineers selected from a pool of 145 for the honor. Craver plans to use the Air Force funding to develop an automated process to break digital watermarks. Watermarks can be used to provide proof of ownership or as copy protection devices; in theory they could also be used to send covert messages. Craver’s research will be relevant to any security system that relies on a detection algorithm, including face-recognition and thumbprint-recognition systems.

     The program, Air Force officials said, is designed to foster creative basic research, enhance early career development and increase opportunities for the young investigators to recognize the Air Force mission and related challenges in science and engineering.

     Craver has taught undergraduate courses in cryptography and security engineering as well as graduate-level classes in cryptography and information theory.
This is his second major grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, which earlier provided $150,000 for other work in computer security.