ERCIM established a new Working Group Blockchain Technology to study the potential of this technology for a range of application fields in industry and public administration. First chairperson of the Working Group is Wolfgang Prinz from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT.
Following up on the ERCIM workshop on Blockchain Technology in May 2017 in Paris, ERCIM now established the new Working Group Blockchain Technology. It has become evident that blockchain technology is being investigated in various areas of computer science research. That includes peer-to-peer networks, distributed systems, cryptography, algorithms for consensus building and validation as well as for modeling processes and business models. In addition to these basic technologies, the Working Group will also study applications in relevant fields like Internet-of-Things, supply chains, energy and Smart Grid, the media, the medical field and the financial industry.
“We want to establish blockchain technology as a new field of computer science research in Europe. Our working group will strengthen the young community of European blockchain researchers and foster interdisciplinary cooperation and exchange”, Wolfgang Prinz stated.
The Working Group will also establish a roadmap documenting ongoing research and open research questions in the rapidly moving field of blockchain technology. Another element of its mission is to build a blockchain research community that will be able to successfully initiate and carry out collaborative research projects on a European level.
For its first year the group is planning several meetings and editorial projects in accordance with the objectives of the group. The next major event will be a workshop organized by members of the group, to be held May 8-9, 2018 in Amsterdam, in conjunction with the ERCIM spring meetings.
Researchers from ERCIM member institutions and other organizations are cordially invited to join the new ERCIM working group Blockchain Technology.
Link:
ERCIM Blockchain WG:
https://wiki.ercim.eu/wg/BlockchainTechnology/
Please contact:
Wolfgang Prinz, Working Group chair
Fraunhofer FIT, Germany
