Title: Efficient Zero-Knowledge Proofs for Real-World Programs

Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Time: 8:30am - 10:00am (ET)

Locations: Coda C0915 “Atlantic”

Zoom: https://gatech.zoom.us/j/99605750255 (Meeting ID: 996 0575 0255)

Yibin Yang

Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy

Georgia Institute of Technology

Dissertation Defense Committee:

Prof. Vladimir Kolesnikov (Advisor, School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, Georgia Institute of Technology)

Prof. Alexandra Boldyreva (School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, Georgia Institute of Technology)

Prof. Carmit Hazay (Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University)

Prof. Joseph Jaeger (School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, Georgia Institute of Technology)

Prof. Taesoo Kim (School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, Georgia Institute of Technology)

Abstract:

Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) enable one party to prove the validity of a statement without revealing anything beyond its truth. While foundational in cryptography, existing ZKP systems often target circuit representations, leading to significant inefficiencies when applied to real-world programs written in high-level languages. 

This dissertation addresses these challenges by designing new cryptographic systems and algorithms that make ZKPs more practical and scalable. It presents: 

• ZK toolchains that execute off-the-shelf C programs efficiently in ZK;
• Constant-overhead ZK memory that reduces read-write costs to a minimal number of cryptographic operations;
• Advanced ZK branching techniques that enable scalable ZKPs for non-batched and batched disjunctions;
• A tight ZK CPU protocol that integrates memory and branching techniques for efficient CPU-step emulation inside ZK. 

Together, these contributions pave the way for a new generation of high-performance ZKP toolchains that can scale to real-world applications.