ESP Biography



WENDY MU, ESP Teacher




Major: math/computer science

College/Employer: Stanford

Year of Graduation: 2012

Picture of Wendy Mu

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Not Available.



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

M2093: Introduction to Cryptography in Splash! Spring 2012 (Apr. 21 - 22, 2012)
Have you ever wondered how information is protected on the internet? How do companies protect your private information? We answer these questions in this class. Cryptography is the study of securing information. In the first part of the class, we will learn some basic number theory that is used in cryptography. In the second part of the class, we will learn some common cryptographic techniques used by companies and websites to secure information. If there is time, we will discuss some advanced and emerging techniques.


M1689: Number Theory and its Applications to Modern Cryptography in Splash! Fall 2011 (Oct. 29 - 30, 2011)
In this class, we will start by discussing some number theory that motivated the creation of RSA and modern cryptography. For the second half of the class, we will provide modern cryptography techniques, such as symmetric and public/private key encryption schemes (RSA, elliptic curves). We will also discuss mistakes commonly made in cryptography as well as attacks on RSA and elliptic curve systems. If there is time leftover or if there is significant interest, we will also discuss recent and current research being done in cryptography.


M1316: Simplifying Complexity in Computer Science in Splash! Spring 2011 (Apr. 16 - 17, 2011)
In this class, we will explore two categories of "speed" in computer science. The first part of the class will introduce two categories of quickness in computer science. Specifically, we will introduce the notions of P and NP, which are still not very well understood by computer scientists. Unfortunately, most problems in real life can only be solved in NP time (the slower category). In the second part of the course, we will show different ways to get around this, using randomness and approximation.


C1182: Number Theory and Applications to Modern Cryptography in Splash! Fall 2010 (Nov. 13 - 14, 2010)
Are you interested in learning how your information is kept secure and hidden across the internet? In this class, we are going to learn two specific techniques (RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography) for hiding information and also how these techniques could theoretically be broken. These techniques have been widely adopted and used throughout the world. For the first part of the class, we will discuss some mathematical foundations necessary to understand the techniques above. Then, we will apply these concepts to cryptography. If we have time, we will also discuss some advanced research topics in cryptography and computer security.