With so much to be sad about in the world today, it is with a hopeful eye that we turn to D. J. Bernstein, professor of mathematics and computer science. You may know about Bernstein because his First Amendment lawsuit forced the government to stop banning export of computer encryption software. Or you may know of him because of his mathematical breakthroughs. Or you may know of him because his software, including qmail and djbdns, does important things with grace and without bugs. In any event, Prof. Bernstein has recently posted a statement of selected research activities [PDF] which provides more hope in these dark times. Bernstein is getting back on track: I haven’t published much software in the last few years; my department colleagues have made clear to me that they don’t value anything other than papers. Fortunately, my promotion has now been approved by the department...