Computer science

Jelani Nelson designs clever algorithms that only have to remember slivers of massive data sets. He also teaches kids in Ethiopia how to code.

A cryptographic master tool called indistinguishability obfuscation has for years seemed too good to be true. Three researchers have figured out that it can work.

Deep neural networks, often criticized as “black boxes,” are helping neuroscientists understand the organization of living brains.

Vinton Cerf helped create the internet 40 years ago, and he’s still working to connect people around the world — and off it.

After 44 years, there’s finally a better way to find approximate solutions to the notoriously difficult traveling salesperson problem.

A small community of mathematicians is using a software program called Lean to build a new digital repository. They hope it represents the future of their field.

To tame urban traffic, the computer scientist Carlos Gershenson finds that letting transportation systems adapt and self-organize often works better than trying to predict and control them.

Computer scientists are trying to build an AI system that can win a gold medal at the world’s premier math competition.

Two computer scientists found — in the unlikeliest of places — just the idea they needed to make a big leap in graph theory.