CSE Sponsors Science on Screen Night; Lecture by Prof. Kevin Compton and Screening of “The Imitation Game”

In an event sponsored by CSE and designed to bring the local tech community together, Prof. Kevin Compton will speak on cryptography at Ann Arbor’s historic Michigan Theater on January 8, 2015 in conjunction with a screening of the movie, The Imitation Game.

The event is part of the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s Science on Screen initiative, which creatively pairs screenings of classic, cult, and documentary films with lively introductions by notable figures from the world of science, technology, and medicine. Major funding for the series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. CSE is providing additional support to encourage CS and CE students to attend and is inviting the local tech community to attend.

Prof. Compton’s talk, Breaking the Codes, will address the science of cryptography, the different versions of the Enigma machine that Nazi Germany used to encode communications during World War II, other WW II cryptanalysis efforts aside from what is shown in the film, and the life of Alan Turing. There will be a brief Q&A session after the movie.

The Imitation Game is a film portrayal of English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, who helped to crack the code used by the Enigma machine during World War II. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kiera Knightley, and Matthew Goode.

The event begins at 7:00pm on Thursday, January 8, 2015 and is open to the public. The Michigan Theater is located at 603 E. Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor.