TU Delft Partners with Ripple to Accelerate Innovation in Blockchain & Cryptocurrency
Delft University of Technology will participate in the University Blockchain Research Initiative, a new program founded by Ripple to support academic research, technical development and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital payments.
TU Delft will receive a financial donation from Ripple to study software verification and security testing of blockchain applications.
Within the University Blockchain Research Initiative, each university determines its own research topics and areas of focus. In addition to financial resources, Ripple has also committed to collaborating with university partners by providing strategic guidance and technical resources to Delft University of Technology as needed.
Demand for learning, research and project-based experience is at an all-time high among university faculty and students, and the partnership between Ripple and Delft University of Technology will go a long way to fulfilling that demand.
Academia has traditionally been a critical driver of technical innovation. The University Blockchain Research Initiative is an acknowledgment of the vital importance of the unique role universities will play in advancing our understanding and application of cryptography and blockchain technology. It also speaks to the reality that university graduates will fuel a continually evolving and maturing financial marketplace and workforce,” said Eric van Miltenburg, SVP of Global Operations at Ripple. “Much of the enthusiasm and activity to date around blockchain is disconnected from real use cases that result in clear benefits to businesses or civil society. While Ripple won’t dictate research parameters, we are excited to play a role in helping to support faculty and student-led projects that explore increasingly useful applications of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.”
“Our university has a long tradition of strong research in both distributed systems and software engineering,” said prof. dr. Arie van Deursen, chair of the Department of Software Technology of Delft University of Technology. “Our department hosts the TU Delft Blockchain lab which conducts research in blockchain technology and its applications in collaboration with industry and governmental organizations. Furthermore, our department has a leading position in the application of artificial intelligence for the purpose of software testing. We are very excited about this collaboration, as it offers a unique possibility to advance our work in the context of crypto-currency software in general and Ripple’s software stack in particular.
Dr. Annibable Panichella, assistant professor at TU Delft who will lead the research added: “Security of blockchain applications is highly critical. We intend to develop novel search-based penetration testing techniques that scale to the complexity of Ripple’s C++ based software infrastructure. We are very excited about this research collaboration, which will also offer great learning opportunities for our students.
Ripple and Delft University of Technology are hopeful that the partnership will engage students and faculty from a wide range of academic fields and backgrounds to produce interesting research and technical developments that will contribute to the global blockchain ecosystem.