Peter Schwabe is scientific director at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI SP) in Bochum, professor at Radboud University in Nijmegen, and now also an official member of the Faculty of Computer Science: In August 2025, Peter Schwabe was appointed adjunct professor (APL professor) by RUB Rector Martin Paul. With this appointment, the faculty and MPI SP continue to grow closer together.
Focus on cryptographic engineering and post-quantum cryptography
Schwabe is interested in cryptographic engineering, in particular the secure and efficient implementation of cryptographic software and the design of cryptographic primitives.
In recent years, his research has focused primarily on post-quantum cryptography. As co-author of various quantum computer-resistant encryption methods, he participated very successfully in the global NIST standardization competition: Of the seven submissions in which he was involved, three were selected for the final round of the competition. Peter Schwabe is thus involved in three of the four encryption standards certified by the federal authority.
A strong connection to RUB
For many years, Schwabe has felt a close connection to computer science at RUB and has maintained long-standing research collaborations with scientists in Bochum. This collaboration was intensified in 2020 when he was appointed to the MPI SP. He is now delighted to be an official member of the faculty: “The establishment of the Faculty of Computer Science has made Bochum even more attractive to me, and I am proud to now be a member of this newest faculty at RUB.”
The close cooperation is to be further strengthened through additional joint research projects, joint supervision of students, and the organization of joint events. One of the professor’s personal goals is to redesign his lecture Engineering Cryptographic Software, which he has been teaching in Nijmegen for many years, so that it fits in well with the Bochum curriculum.
Background
Peter Schwabe received his degree in computer science from RWTH Aachen University in 2006, completed his doctorate at Eindhoven University of Technology in 2011, and then conducted postdoctoral research at Academia Sinica in Taiwan and National Taiwan University before being appointed professor to Radboud University and scientific director at MPI SP.
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