Smart Contracts, Search of "Good Generals", and Internet of Value

When: Monday, February 26, 2018
Where: PGH 232
Time: 11:00 AM

Speaker: Dr. Weidong (Larry) Shi

Host: Dr. Thamar Solorio

Behind the cryptocurrency systems, blockchain/distributed ledger is considered as one of the disruptive technologies that hold the promise to transform many industries including finance, supply chain, logistics, healthcare, transportation, real estate, sharing economy, insurance, to name just few. Despite its rapid and explosive growth, there is a lack of theoretical foundation, understanding, and consensus in academia regarding blockchain as standalone field of research. In the context of smart contracts and crypto-economics, classical results such as BFT may not be sufficient to capture the underlying dynamics of participants in public blockchain systems.

In this talk, I will provide an overview of blockchain/distributed ledger research conducted by our team at UH. In particular, I will introduce concept of agent based model as foundation for smart contract over decentralized public ledger, describe its implications in correctness of contract execution, highlight attack scenarios such as bribery, and contemplate the question of  “BFT good generals” in smart contract consensus. Furthermore, I will cover our theoretical results on adversary tolerance for blockchain systems relying on trusted execution environment and secure enclave, which fills a gap of knowledge on consensus protocols.  Last but not least, I will conclude with discussions on, future research, emerging trends, and broader impact under the umbrella of Internet of Value.

Bio:

Dr. Shi is currently an Associate Professor of Computer Science Department at University of Houston. He received his Ph.D. from Georgia Tech in 2006. He was previously a senior research staff member of the ubiquitous computing division of Motorola Corporate Research Lab, and senior researcher of Nokia Research Center at Palo Alto. In the past, Mr. Shi contributed to the design of multiple Nvidia platform products and was credited to published Electronic Art console game. His current research includes cyber security, applications of big data, computing for humanity, and a broad range of research topics related to blockchain, crypto-currency, and its applications. His research team has published more than 12 peer reviewed research articles on blockchain and distributed ledger since late 2016.  His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Department of Homeland Security, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and industry. Mr. Shi is a senior member of the IEEE.