BRAINS 2023 Keynotes Speakers
Keynote #1
Title: Blockchain Consensus Protocols, from Bitcoin to Ethereum 2.0.
Abstract: Bitcoin introduced a fully decentralized, peer-to-peer consensus protocol that enables secure transaction validation in an open network, marking a departure from previous Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) protocols primarily designed for closed networks. An innovative combination of cryptographic and incentive mechanisms ensures the protocol’s robustness over the years. However, it’s important to acknowledge the considerable energy consumption of Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work mechanism, which remains a significant concern. To address these energy concerns, there have been efforts to transition to more environmentally friendly solutions, such as Proof-of-Stake BFT protocols, like Ethereum 2.0. While these newer proposals hold promise in terms of energy efficiency, they come with complexities and ongoing issues in incentive design. In this talk I will present the main features and differences of Proof-Stake-BFT proposals with respect to Bitcoin, to appreciate their maturity and outline open issues and ongoing research challenges.
Sara Tucci-Piergiovanni
(CEA List, Paris-Saclay University, France)
Bio: Sara Tucci-Piergiovanni leads the Laboratory for trustworthy Distributed Systems at CEA List, Paris-Saclay University, France. Before joining CEA, she held a lecturer position at the University of Rome La Sapienza, where she obtained a Ph.D. in computer science. Sara’s main research focus is on distributed computing and systems, and she regularly publishes her research findings in renowned conferences and journals in the field. In recent years, Sara’s research has been primarily centered on the design and security of blockchain consensus protocols and incentives, covering both theoretical foundations and applications.
Keynote #2
Title: Creating Business Value with a Decentralized Approach
Abstract: This keynote gives an insight into how technological concepts such as DLT are translated into business value at Deutsche Telekom. Today, also large corporations transact using intermediaries: banks, notaries, governments, stock exchanges, social networks, clearing houses, etc. These intermediaries provide the trust that is necessary when transacting with business partners. However, intermediaries create dependencies, cost, and slow down processes. T-Labs, the R&D unit of Deutsche Telekom, is researching the role of decentralized approaches such as blockchain and distributed ledger technology in the areas of telco with a focus in three key subtopics: communication networks, finance, and digital identity. The aim is to create solutions that overcome the drawbacks of centralized approaches and intermediaries. The keynote includes some concrete examples of past and ongoing projects.
Andreas Sommerwerk
(Deutsche Telekom, Germany)
Bio: Having a product design background, Andreas is an experienced Service Design Lead with a focus in telecommunications industry. He worked in the areas of user research and experience design for various companies and is now focused on translating decentralized technology into real world applications at T-Labs, the research and development department of Deutsche Telekom.
Keynote #3
Title: In education, from vision to pan European public and innovative transformation
Abstract: Last year, Vitalik Buterin said a « one sole token » would be convenient for non transferable assets such as a diploma ? You may wonder why more and more people in blockchain technologies speak about issuing and verifying diploma, skills and competences or even « micro-credits » in a wallet ? the fact is that higher education eco-system has quickly understood how to take the best advantages of the new ideas and technologies, in particular in the open source family.
Perrine de Coëtlogon
(University of Lille, France)
Bio: Perrine de Coëtlogon is in charge of Blockchain & Open Education within the Directorate for Pedagogical Innovation of the University of Lille. She represents French authorities in the European Blockchain Partnership and is the French national contact point of EBSI. With the team of University of Lille, already 50.000 blockchain diplomas have been sent to alumni students, verified in 146 countries more than 80 000 times. She is also in charge of developing open education activities and policy within the university. She has been elected as the President of the Board of Open Education Global in September 2023. https://www.oeglobal.org/
Perrine holds a Master of Law in private law of the University Paris Saclay (France) and a L.LM. of the University of Postdam (Germany). She has been a lawyer at the Paris bar from 2002 to 2009, General Secretary of a public interest grouping promoting open educational resources in health and sport ciences, from 2009 to 2015. She was a digital expert, Europe and International, at the Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation from 2015 to 2018.