Dr Peter Donovan lectures on World War II cryptology in the US
Published on the 29 May 2013
Dr Peter Donovan recently spent time in the US, where he spoke at the National Cryptologic Museum in Maryland for the 2013 Henry F. Schorreck Memorial Lecture.
The National Cryptologic Museum is a museum of cryptologic history, which claims to share the country's "cryptologic legacy and place in world history".
Dr Donovan presented two lectures on World War II cryptology on two consecutive days, "Understanding the Allied Approach to Radio Intelligence in the Pacific Theatre during World War II", and "The Thought Behind High-level Cryptological Discovery, 1930-1945". The lectures looked at the cipher war in the Pacific, with revelations about the weaknesses in the Japanese naval codes exploited by the Allies, which led to stunning successes on the battlefield.
Dr Donovan is a prominent expert on cryptologic history, whose research on the topic spans 12 years. WWII is recognised as a time of modernisation and advancement of mathematical cryptology.