Frank Rubin

Frank Rubin – short bioI have a BS and MS in Mathematics and a PhD in Computer Science. I worked for 28 years at IBM in the Design Automation field, meaning that I designed and wrote specialized software which IBM engineers used to design computers and circuits.I am the owner of Master Software Corp. which produces cryptographic software. I have been issued four U.S. patents on cryptographic methods.I taught a two-semester course on cryptography at Marist College CLS (Continuing Life Studies) as well as lecturing on various topics in mathematics and science.I have about 50 papers published in refereed journals on cryptography, computer circuits, graph theoryand pure mathematics, plus several books (user's manuals and project specifications) publishedinternally at IBM.In cryptography I am best known for solving the Jefferson Cypher Wheel (Computer Methods forDecrypting Multiplex Ciphers, Cryptologia 2 (Apr. 1978), pp 152-160) and for breaking the PlessCipher which uses 8 interlaced linear feedback shift registers (Decrypting a Stream Cipher Based onJ-K Flip-flops, IEEE Trans. on Computers 28 (July 1979), pp 483-487. Reprinted in Cryptologia5 (Jan. 1981), pp 51-57).In Computer Science I am best known for arithmetic coding, now one of the standard methods for textcompression (Arithmetic Stream Coding Using Fixed Precision Registers, IEEE Trans. on Info. Theory25 (Nov. 1979), pp 672-675), and for my algorithm for finding Hamilton paths (A Search Procedure for Hamilton Paths and Circuits, J. ACM 21 (Oct. 1974), pp 576-580).In pure mathematics I am probably best known for introducing the concept of a finite-state recognizer to measure theory (The Measure of Recognizable Sets of Real Numbers, Amer. Math. Monthly 83 (May 1976), pp 348-349).I am a former editor of Cryptologia, and of Journal of Recreational Mathematics. I have 3 publishedbooks of Sudoku puzzles and two self-published books of SumSum puzzles.I am the author of more than 3500 puzzles published in The Cryptogram, Technology Review, Journalof Recreational Mathematics, etc. I am the only person ever honored by having a special issue of JRMdedicated entirely to his own puzzles. My website www.contestcen.com also has hundreds of thesepuzzles. I publish more than 50 new interactive puzzles each week on www.sumsumpuzzle.com. Myserious cryptographic work is on my third website www.mastersoftware.biz.I am active in my local ACM chapter, and have presented lectures on cryptography and other subjects.From 1980 to 2009 I ran a puzzle contest company, The Contest Center, which held about 1650 puzzlecontests, published two newsletters, and paid some $985,000 in cash prizes.