Skip to main content ITU
Logo
  • Programmes
    • BSc Programmes
    • BSc in Global Business Informatics
    • BSc in Digital Design and Interactive Technologies
    • BSc in Software Development
    • BSc in Data Science
    • Applying for a BSc programme
    • MSc Programmes
    • MSc in Digital Innovation & Management
    • MSc in Digital Design and Interactive Technologies
    • MSc in Software Design
    • MSc in Data Science
    • MSc in Computer Science
    • MSc in Games
    • Applying for an MSc programme
    • Student Life
    • Practical information for international students
    • Ask a student
    • Women in tech
    • Student organisations at ITU
    • Study start
    • Labs for students
    • Special Educational Support (SPS)
    • Study and Career Guidance
    • Exchange student
    • Become an exchange student
    • Guest Students
    • Who can be a guest student?
    • ITU Summer University
    • Open House
    • Open House - BSc programmes
    • Open House - MSc programmes
  • Professional Education
    • Master in IT Management
    • Master in IT Management
    • Admission and entry requirements
    • Contact
    • Single Subjects
    • About single subjects
    • Admission and entry requirements
    • Contact
    • Short courses | ITU Professional Courses
    • See all short courses
    • Contact
    • Contact
    • Contact us here
  • Research
    • Sections
    • Data Science
    • Data, Systems, and Robotics
    • Digital Business Innovation
    • Digitalization Democracy and Governance
    • Human-Computer Interaction and Design
    • Play Culture and AI
    • Software Engineering
    • Technologies in Practice
    • Theoretical Computer Science
    • Research Centres
    • Centre for Digital Play
    • Center for Climate IT
    • Center for Computing Education Research
    • Centre for Digital Welfare
    • Centre for Information Security and Trust
    • Research Centre for Government IT
    • Danish Institute for IT Program Management
    • Research entities
    • Research centers
    • Sections
    • Research groups
    • Labs
    • ITU Research Portal
    • Find Researcher
    • Find Research
    • Research Ethics and Integrity
    • Good Scientific Practice
    • Technical Reports
    • Technical Reports
    • PhD Programme
    • About the PhD Programme
    • PhD Courses
    • PhD Defences
    • PhD Positions
    • Types of Enrolment
    • PhD Admission Requirements
    • PhD Handbook
    • PhD Support
  • Collaboration
    • Collaboration with students
    • Project collaboration
    • Project Market
    • Student worker
    • Project postings
    • Job and Project bank
    • Employer Branding
    • IT Match Making
    • Hiring an ITU student or graduate
    • Make a post in the job bank
    • Research collaboration
    • Read more about research collaboration at ITU
    • Industrial PhD
    • Hire an Industrial PhD
    • Maritime Hub
    • Innovation and entrepreneurship
    • ITU Business Development
    • ITU NextGen
  • About ITU
    • About ITU
    • Press
    • Vacancies
    • Contact
  • DK
Professor portrait: Nutan Limaye is pushing the boundaries of complexity theory
ITU  /  Press  /  News from ITU  /  Professor portrait: Nutan Limaye is pushing the boundaries of complexity theory

Professor portrait: Nutan Limaye is pushing the boundaries of complexity theory

On 22 May 2025 at 14:30, Professor Nutan Limaye from the section Theoretical Computer Science will present her inaugural lecture in Auditorium 0 at the IT University of Copenhagen. The lecture is entitled “My reflections on the last two decades and Complexity Theory”.

Nutan LimayeAbout ITUEventsResearch

Written 1 May, 2025 08:43 by Mette Strange Mortensen

Professor Nutan Limaye was in her own words “reasonably good at math”, when she was in school. She was drawn to algorithms and saw how they affected so many things in human nature. Humans have an innate tendency to design efficient solutions for everyday problems. For example, we often try to find the optimal route from point A to point B or try to find the best deal while shopping. The combination of being reasonably good at math and liking algorithmic thinking later made her find her way into the research field of complexity theory.

Computational complexity theory is one of the basic research areas in computer science. The foundations of this research area can be found in the early works of the British mathematician and logician Alan Turing, who invented the Turing Machine and was also famously involved in decrypting the German codes during World War II. Complexity theory shares close connections to many areas of mathematics such as combinatorics, probability theory, and algebra.

“My research is mainly theoretical. So, in the short-term, it may not seem to have any real-life impact. However, it has connections to several practical areas. For example, when we say data is secure, like when using a credit card, it's because the data is encrypted and sent through a secure channel. Encryption works by applying a function to the data, which is hard to invert. The existence of a function that is ‘hard to invert’ ensures that, the data cannot be decrypted by a malicious adversary. My work attempts to prove that certain functions are hard to compute, which is quite crucial for cryptography," says Professor Nutan Limaye.

On 22 May 2025 at 14:30, Nutan Limaye will present her inaugural lecture at IT University of Copenhagen. The lecture will be on her current research in complexity theory and is entitled: “My reflections on the last two decades and Complexity Theory”.

Groundbreaking research sparks new questions

While complexity theory has been around for a long time, there is still much more to discover within the field.

“My current work focuses on computing polynomials and trying to understand their complexity. We were able to establish that certain polynomials, which have efficient sequential algorithms cannot be computed by efficient parallel algorithms. This hardness result that we proved in 2021 has given rise to many new questions.” says Nutan Limaye about her recent result.

One of the biggest challenges in algebraic complexity theory is the P vs. NP problem, or VP vs. VNP question as it is known in the setting of computing polynomials. This is the main area of research of Nutan Limaye. Her recent result with her co-authors takes a small step towards resolving this big open problem. When asked about what lies ahead, she elaborates on what is on the horizon for her:

“My next big question is looking into proving whether tree structures are more complicated than DAG structures in the setting of computing polynomials. In a tree structure you take two objects, combine them together, then two other objects and combine them together, and then take the output of those and then combine them together, so it kind of looks like a tree. In a DAG structure, a computation can be reused multiple times, not just once. This could look like a property being owned by multiple people, making the structure look more complex. While the DAG structure looks more complicated than the tree structure, in the context of computing polynomials, we do not know how to prove that mathematically.”

Was not meant to become a researcher

Nutan Limaye has now been working as a researcher for 20 years.

“I ended up in this field by a bit of an accident. When I had finished my basic education, I felt a pressure to find a job and settle down, and I did not want to do that. The solution was to continue to study, and then there was the opportunity to do a PhD, so I did that instead,” says Professor Nutan Limaye.

In her first years as a researcher, she was not sure whether she fits in academia. To challenge the stereotypes about what a researcher looks like, she has started her own podcast, where she interviews other academic researchers on how they got to where they are and what keeps them going. Her podcast is called “Life of a researcher”.

“For the first few years of my research life, I always wondered, “do I belong here in academia?”. But now I have found a place for myself. Being a researcher gives me a lot of choice and freedom in my work life. I can choose to work on what excites me. I hope the research, I choose to do, can become useful to the world.

Further information

Theis Duelund Jensen, Press Officer, phone +45 2555 0447, email

News

"The aim is our trust"

"The aim is our trust"

6 May, 2025

As part of the Danish Science Festival, the IT University and the newspaper Dagbladet Information gathered a number of experts to discuss cyber warfare in Denmark and how prepared we are for it. The Minister of Resilience and Preparedness, Thorsten Schack Pedersen, also participated in the talk.

Professor portrait Anna Vallgårda challenges the design of care technology

Professor portrait Anna Vallgårda challenges the design of care technology

24 April, 2025

On 9 May 2025 at 14:30, Professor Anna Vallgårda will give her inaugural lecture in Auditorium 0 at the IT University of Copenhagen. The lecture is entitled: ”Radical Redesign of Care Technologies”.

Is Denmark prepared for cyberwarfare?

Is Denmark prepared for cyberwarfare?

8 April, 2025

A group of researchers from the IT University of Copenhagen is investigating what Denmark can learn from Ukraine in terms of preparing for cyberwarfare. Cyberwarfare does not just affect governments and companies, but also civilians, and the researchers ask what should be done if we come under attack.

Researchers aim to teach math students critical thinking with data science

Researchers aim to teach math students critical thinking with data science

31 March, 2025

In a new research project at the IT University of Copenhagen and the University of Copenhagen, a group of researchers will investigate how data science can become part of high school mathematics education to provide students with a better foundation for critical thinking and the ability to illuminate and nuance claims they encounter in their daily lives.

ITU researcher secures grant to improve safety of AI systems

ITU researcher secures grant to improve safety of AI systems

19 March, 2025

At Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, Associate Professor Alessandro Bruni from ITU is currently conducting research on the mathematical foundation for developing verifiably correct machine learning frameworks. The project is supported by the Carlsberg Foundation.

Professor portrait: Vasilis Galis found his way in research on the Athens metro

Professor portrait: Vasilis Galis found his way in research on the Athens metro

13 March, 2025

On 28 March 2025 at 14:30, Professor Vasilis Galis from the section Technologies in Practice will present his inaugural lecture in Auditorium 0 at the IT University of Copenhagen. The lecture is entitled “Research against dead time”.

ITU researcher investigates elections in Greenland

ITU researcher investigates elections in Greenland

11 March, 2025

On 11 March 2025, the election for Inatsisartut (Greenland's parliament) will take place. For several years, researchers from ITU, led by Professor Carsten Schürmann and Center for Information Security and Trust, have been investigating election and the possibility of internet elections in Greenland, and the election today is no exception.

IRFD funded ITU project to develop theoretical foundation for probabilistic session types

IRFD funded ITU project to develop theoretical foundation for probabilistic session types

6 March, 2025

The increasing technological complexity makes probabilistic understanding and management of critical computing systems a necessity. A new research project, led by Associate Professor Marco Carbone, aims to develop the foundation for probabilistic session types to that end.

Urban highways are barriers to social connections

Urban highways are barriers to social connections

5 March, 2025

Researchers from IT University of Copenhagen have proved that urban highways limit social connections in the 50 largest cities in the US. It is the first ever quantitative evaluation of the barrier effect of urban highways in reducing social connections across neighborhoods.

New research to find efficient strategies for prevention of epidemics

New research to find efficient strategies for prevention of epidemics

26 February, 2025

Assistant Professor at ITU, Jonas Juul, receives a Novo Nordisk Foundation Data Science Investigator grant of DKK 6.5 million for a project that aims to improve statistical methods for predicting outbreaks of infections.

Within Limits – an exhibition on computation and constraint

Within Limits – an exhibition on computation and constraint

24 February, 2025

On 7 March, join Artist Jacob Remin, Associate Professor James Maguire and Postdoc Frauke Mennes from the Center for Climate IT at ITU for the launch of Within Limits – an art installation that questions and reimagines the scalar logics inherent in computational worlds.

ITU students and alumni win awards at Copenhagen Gaming Week

ITU students and alumni win awards at Copenhagen Gaming Week

21 February, 2025

ITU was represented with games developed by both students and alumni from the university at Copenhagen Gaming Week and ‘Spilprisen’ that took place last week. Students from the MSc Games won the award for ’Best Student Game’, while alumni from the same study programme won for ‘Best Debut’.

New research project to find a more inclusive way to develop algorithms

New research project to find a more inclusive way to develop algorithms

10 February, 2025

Associate Professor Veronika Cheplygina has received a Novo Nordisk Data Science Investigator Grant of almost DKK 11 million. The grant will fund research on how more inclusive teaching and research environments may lead to better algorithms for medical imaging.

Thesis on digital divide in prisons wins award

Thesis on digital divide in prisons wins award

31 January, 2025

Three students from ITU have won the Danish Institute for Human Rights' Thesis Award for their thesis "The Digital Divide in Prisons". The thesis examines how the digital divide between inmates in Danish prisons and the surrounding society can be bridged.

New ITU research analyses attacks on Large Language Models

New ITU research analyses attacks on Large Language Models

16 January, 2025

What are the intentions and profile of someone trying to use LLMs for malicious purposes? And how do they do it? In a new study, researchers from ITU define so-called “red teaming” of LLMs to enable better security in the future.

Jakob Grue Simonsen named new prorector at IT University in Copenhagen

Jakob Grue Simonsen named new prorector at IT University in Copenhagen

22 November, 2024

Jakob Grue Simonsen, who comes from a position as head of department at the Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, will focus on well-being and collaboration when he takes over as prorector at ITU on 1 January 2025.

IT University of Copenhagen reveals two new members of management

IT University of Copenhagen reveals two new members of management

18 November, 2024

At IT University of Copenhagen, future head of education, Luís Cruz-Filipe (L), and future head of research, Morten Hjelholt (R), will become part of the university management when both take up their positions on 1 February and 1 January 2025 respectively.

Video: Is artificial intelligence the key to human consciousness?

Video: Is artificial intelligence the key to human consciousness?

12 November, 2024

"Our future is going to look like science fiction." Associate professor at IT University of Copenhagen, Paolo Burelli, uses artificial intelligence to approach a better understanding of the human brain and consciousness.

ITU researcher awarded Villum Synergy grant for qualitative data project

ITU researcher awarded Villum Synergy grant for qualitative data project

15 October, 2024

Associate Professor at IT University of Copenhagen, Anna Rogers, and Associate Professor Hjalmar Carlsen at University of Copenhagen have received a Villum Synergy grant from Villum Fonden to develop a new tool for conducting large-scale, high-quality qualitative interviews.

Contact us

Phone
+45 7218 5000
E-mail
itu@itu.dk

All contact information

Web Accessibility Statement

Find us

IT University of Copenhagen
Rued Langgaards Vej 7
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
Denmark
How to get here

Follow us

ITU Student /
Privacy /
EAN-nr. 5798000417878/
CVR-nr. 29 05 77 53 /
P-nummer 1005162959

This page is printed from https://itu.dk/Om-ITU/Presse/Nyheder/2022/ITUniversitetet-modtager-positiv-akkreditering