Research Seminars @ Illinois

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Tailored for undergraduate researchers, this calendar is a curated list of research seminars at the University of Illinois. Explore the diverse world of research and expand your knowledge through engaging sessions designed to inspire and enlighten.

To have your events added or removed from this calendar, please contact OUR at ugresearch@illinois.edu

Theory Seminar: Dr. Daniel Alabi, "Existence of Error-Correcting Codes Imply Privacy Lower Bounds."

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
Theory and Algorithms Research Area
Location
3401 Siebel Center
Date
Nov 3, 2025   10:00 - 11:00 am  
Speaker
Daniel Alabi
Contact
Allison Mette
E-Mail
agk@illinois.edu
Views
28
Originating Calendar
Siebel School Speakers Calendar

Abstract: We will discuss classic and new results that use error-correcting codes to prove lower bounds on the privacy-utility tradeoffs of differentially private mechanisms. The existence of such codes has been used to show the hardness of privately estimating simple counting queries. Typically, the lower bounds are proven via packing-style arguments and the use of fingerprinting codes. New results extend such arguments, from the simple counting query settings over a finite domain, to situations where the data might be drawn from an infinite (but structured) domain.

Bio: Daniel Alabi is an assistant professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Until June 2025, Daniel was a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University and a junior fellow in the Simons Foundation Society of Fellows. He received his S.M. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. In 2022, he led the founding of NaijaCoder Inc, a non-profit that aims to proliferate early algorithms education in Africa with a focus on Nigeria. (We host annual summer camps in different states within Nigeria and would like to involve UIUC students too.) Daniel's current research interests are primarily in information theory and security. This semester, he is teaching a course centered on information-theoretic security.

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