- The Sui Foundation announces recipients of the Sui Academic Research Awards for Web3 technology.
- Projects include research on decentralized organizations, consensus protocols, smart contract auditing, and scalability.
- Researchers from renowned institutions aim to advance innovation and enhance security in decentralized systems.
The Sui Foundation is thrilled to announce the recipients of the prestigious Sui Academic Research Awards. This program is dedicated to funding cutting-edge research that advances the field of Web3 across various verticals. Specifically, it focuses on pushing the limits of technology related to blockchain networks, smart contract programming, and products built upon the Sui platform.
Over the last two cohorts, they have approved a total of 17 exceptional proposals, with a combined funding amount of $425,000. These proposals have been submitted by leading universities renowned for their expertise in the field of blockchain technology. Some of the notable institutions include KAIST, University College London, EPFL, and the National University of Singapore.
Advancing Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs): Voting-Bloc Entropy
Awardee: Ari Juels (Cornell University)
Ari Juels from Cornell University is embarking on a research endeavor to address the fundamental question of what it truly means for an organization to be decentralized. This project aims to establish a metric that effectively gauges organizational decentralization within a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). By identifying the level of decentralization exhibited by a DAO, this research will unlock valuable insights and identify practices that can enhance decentralization within organizations.
Enhancing Robustness through Adaptively-Secure Asynchronous DAG-based Consensus
Awardee: Philipp Jovanovic (University College London)
Philipp Jovanovic, representing University College London, is spearheading a project that aims to develop an asynchronous directed acyclic graph (DAG)-based consensus protocol. The objective is to enhance the robustness of blockchain networks against potential attacks while adapting to ever-changing adversaries. Unlike current partially synchronous models that are vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks and static adversaries, this proposed protocol offers improved security and adaptability while maintaining performance levels comparable to its partially synchronous counterparts.
Large Language Model Guided Auditing of Sui Smart Contracts
Awardee: Arthur Gervais (University College London)
Arthur Gervais, also from University College London, is leading a research initiative that explores the use of large language models (LLMs) in auditing Sui smart contracts. By leveraging state-of-the-art LLMs like GPT-4-32k and Claude-v2-100k, this project aims to significantly enhance the process of auditing Move smart contracts. The initial analysis of 52 Solidity DeFi smart contracts has already identified various vulnerabilities that resulted in nearly $1 billion in reported losses. This research expands on that work, focusing on Sui smart contracts and emphasizing prompt engineering for robust security assessment. The project also evaluates the performance of LLMs using synthetic benchmark datasets.
Mapping the Landscape of Consensus Protocols
Awardee: Christopher Cachin (University of Bern)
Christopher Cachin, representing the University of Bern, is embarking on an ambitious project that involves surveying the current landscape of consensus protocols. By conducting in-depth research and analysis, this project aims to offer novel insights into cryptographic consensus protocols. The findings will not only contribute to a better understanding of existing algorithms but also pave the way for new structures in designing distributed protocols.
A Framework for High-Assurance Verification of Decentralized Oracle Protocols
Awardees: Giselle Reis (Carnegie Melon University) and Bruno Woltzenlogel Paleo (Djed Alliance)
Giselle Reis from Carnegie Melon University and Bruno Woltzenlogel Paleo from Djed Alliance are collaborating on a project that focuses on creating a comprehensive framework for rigorously analyzing and verifying blockchain oracles using formal methods. This research aims to ensure accurate and fair external data in smart contracts. Building upon prior work, the project extends a basic oracle protocol and business model formalized in the Coq proof management system. The objective is to develop a comprehensive library of definitions and proof tactics, which will significantly contribute to the field of decentralized oracle protocols.
Identifying Scalability Bottlenecks
Awardee: Roger Wattenhofer (ETH Zürich)
Roger Wattenhofer from ETH Zürich is leading a research project that aims to identify scalability bottlenecks stemming from smart contract design flaws. By conducting a thorough analysis, this project seeks to enhance the parallelization potential of blockchain applications. Additionally, it explores the impact of adjusting transaction fees on parallelization potential, offering valuable insights into optimizing the performance of blockchain networks.
Mechanizing Bullshark Protocol
Awardee: Ilya Sergey (National University of Singapore)
Ilya Sergey, representing the National University of Singapore, is conducting research to formally verify the properties of the Bullshark protocol. Utilizing modern computer-aided verification tools, this research aims to advance the understanding of directed acyclic graph (DAG)-based consensus protocols. The project also contributes to the broader field of distributed systems research by providing the first mechanized formalization of the Bullshark protocol.
Conclusion
The Sui Academic Research Awards celebrate the exceptional work being done by researchers in the field of Web3 technology. These pioneering projects will undoubtedly drive innovation, enhance security, and push the boundaries of what is possible in the realm of decentralized systems. The Sui Foundation is proud to support these researchers and looks forward to the insights and advancements that will emerge from their efforts.
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