The Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory (ACM SIGACT) announced on Monday (9th) that the 2025 Gödel Award will be awarded to Cornell University associate professor Eshan Chattopadhyay and his mentor David Zuckerman for their classic paper titled "Explicit Two-Source Extractors and Resilient Functions," co-authored in 2016.

This paper addresses a long-standing problem in theoretical computer science that has remained unsolved for nearly 30 years, presenting a technique known as an "explicit two-source extractor" capable of synthesizing a nearly perfectly random bit output from two independent but "imperfect" random sources. This solution holds a pivotal position in the study of pseudorandomness.

Chattopadhyay remarked that they started this endeavor with optimism but did not expect their method to be successful. He feels honored to see this work continue to advance the field. Zuckerman also has an illustrious career in research areas such as pseudorandomness, coding theory, and cryptography, having received numerous awards throughout his career.

Since its establishment in 1993, the Gödel Award has become one of the most respected honors in theoretical computer science, intended to recognize outstanding papers that have a profound impact on the field. This award signifies not just a personal achievement, but also sets a direction for the future of theoretical computer science.