Highlights of This Year
My Master's thesis work is now on ePrint!
Master's thesis won 1st place in the national ie-net thesis competition!
Master's thesis won the ie-net audience award!
Awarded Most Outstanding Science Student out of 345 graduates!
Awarded Best Master's Thesis in Computer Science for my work on ZKPs!
Received bug bounty for vulnerability report in the Self ZKP project!
My research internship project at COSIC is now on ePrint!
Achieved 4th place out of 359 teams in the national Cyber Security Challenge finals!
Security Research Intern
October 2025 - November 2025 · Self, San Francisco
- Invited for the Self Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) Residency.
- Worked on post-quantum cryptography protocols.
- Presented my Master’s thesis research.
- Collaborated with builders on improving real-world ZKP applications.
- Fully funded by the organizers.
Security Research Intern
September 2024 - September 2025 · Nokia Bell Labs, Antwerp
- Conducted research focused on the security analysis of Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), under the supervision of Prof. Coen De Roover and Prof. Janwillem Swalens.
- Part of my Master’s thesis.
- Developed a language-agnostic approach for detecting inconsistencies between computations and constraints in ZKP programs.
Summer School Participant
July 2025 · EPFL & ETH Zurich, Switzerland
- Participated in the EPFL-ETH Summer School on Lattice-based Cryptography, held at EPFL.
- Received lectures from experts including Vadim Lyubashevsky and Jonathan Bootle, covering both the theory and applications of lattice-based cryptography.
- Worked on a small research project focused on the Lattice Isomorphism Problem (LIP), where I explored the problem and identified directions for further research.
- Registration fee and accommodation were fully covered by the organizers.
Security Research Intern
July 2024 - September 2024 · COSIC (KU Leuven), Leuven
- COSIC is a leading research institution in cryptography and software/hardware security.
- Conducted an in-depth security analysis of the Matter standard for smart home communication, with the aim of identifying potential security weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
- Performed formal verification of Matter’s protocols using automated tools, which involved modeling and verifying the protocols.
- Worked under the supervision of Prof. Dave Singelée and Prof. Bart Preneel.
- This experience strengthened my skills in protocol security analysis and formal verification, and expanded my understanding of security challenges within the IoT field.
Summer School Participant
September 2024 · Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
- Attended the ACM Europe Summer School on Distributed and Replicated Environments (DARE) 2024.
- The summer school was focused on advanced topics in distributed systems.
- It offered me both theoretical and practical knowledge, with lectures focusing on CRDTs, Byzantine fault-tolerance, distributed systems, verification techniques for consistency, and programming/debugging/testing distributed applications.
- Participated in hands-on sessions and conducted a small research project on enhancing decentralized access control algorithms with a focus on security.
- Took classes from leading researchers in this field, including Prof. Martin Kleppmann, Prof. Carlos Baquero, Prof. Antonio Fernández Anta, Prof. Mira Mezini, and Prof. Elisa Gonzalez Boix.
- Fully funded by the Erasmus+ grant.
Bachelor's Thesis
September 2022 - June 2023 · Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels
- Conducted research on enhancing the speed of modular static analyses, under the supervision of Prof. Coen De Roover.
- Identified limitations in existing worklist heuristics.
- Designed more efficient ones.
- Benchmarked all new and existing worklist heuristics.
Language-Agnostic Detection of Computation-Constraint Inconsistencies in ZKP Programs
Arman Kolozyan, Bram Vandenbogaerde, Janwillem Swalens, Lode Hoste, Stefanos Chaliasos, and Coen De Roover · November 2025 · Cryptology ePrint Archive
This paper presents a language-agnostic formalization and a corresponding prototype implementation for detecting inconsistencies between computations and constraints in Zero-Knowledge Proof programs. This work was carried out as part of my Master’s thesis in collaboration with Nokia Bell Labs.
What's the Matter? An In-Depth Security Analysis of the Matter Protocol
Sayon Duttagupta, Arman Kolozyan, Georgio Nicolas, Bart Preneel, and Dave Singelée (co-first author) · July 2025 · Cryptology ePrint Archive
This paper is based on the work I conducted, together with my supervisors, during my internship at COSIC. It presents the first formal and practical security analysis of the Matter protocol, an IoT standard adopted by Apple, Google, Amazon, and others. Our work identifies design and implementation vulnerabilities in its key-establishment protocols (PASE and CASE), and proposes improvements to strengthen the protocol. We responsibly disclosed these issues, some of which led to patches in the official codebase.
How to Become a Memory Champion?
Arman Kolozyan · July 2020 · EOS Wetenschap
EOS Wetenschap is a renowned Belgian monthly magazine that reports on recent developments in science for a general audience. While not a peer-reviewed academic journal, it has a professional editorial board and often features articles from professors. In this article (written in Dutch), I explored whether anyone can develop a great memory by using techniques such as the memory palace. As part of the research, I interviewed world memory champions, including Nelson Dellis. Quoting from the journal: “Arman Kolozyan is 19 years old. He graduated in Science-Mathematics from GO! Atheneum Emanuel Hiel and has always dreamed of having a fantastic memory. Can anyone become a memory champion? He researched this question and wrote an article on his findings.”
Language-Agnostic Detection of Computation-Constraint Inconsistencies in ZKP Programs
- Nokia Bell Labs, September 2025 (Antwerp, Belgium)
- Veridise, October 2025 (Online)
- zkSecurity, October 2025 (Online)
- Self, November 2025 (San Francisco, USA)
Teaching Volunteer
December 2021 - June 2025 · Infogroep Student Association
- Infogroep is the student association dedicated to supporting Computer Science students at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
- Organized and taught classes on various subjects, including a preparation workshop for my university’s Capture the Flag (CTF) security competition.
- Taught an introductory session on using LaTeX (Overleaf) for writing academic essays and reports.
Programming Lecturer
November 2021 - November 2024 · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Lecturer for additional programming classes (in the programming language Scheme), organized for first- year Computer Science students at my university.
- Always prepared slides to help the students refresh the necessary theory. Then we solved exercises in preparation for the exam.
- During the coronavirus period, I gave a session online and an on-campus session every other week.
- If the session went online, I had the students share their code via a code-sharing website where I provided comments to help them make progress.
Lecturer of Mathematics
September 2022 - September 2023 · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Taught the following topics of mathematics for both mathematics and non-mathematics background students: Linear Algebra, Analysis, Functions, Plane Geometry, Three-Dimensional Geometry.
- This was my first experience teaching a class of more than 40 students.
Teaching Assistant of Preparation/Bridge Course in Mathematics
August 2021 - September 2021 · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- During the coronavirus pandemic.
- Organized live question sessions.
- Answered students’ questions on discussion fora.
- Corrected mathematics tests.
- Updated the solutions of exercises on the website of the mathematics book Wiskundige basisvaardigheden.
Web Developer
April 2022 - September 2022 · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Helped with the development of the new website of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).
- Regularly made small adjustments to the site, created new events, etc.
- Followed up a ticketing system and resolved tickets from VUB staff and external people.
IT Intern
August 2022 · Argenta, Antwerp
- Argenta is a bank and insurance group offering financial services in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
- Spent a month in their IT Shared Service Integration department, assisting with the identification of available APIs.
- Created a comprehensive list of technical and functional descriptions of APIs and researched optimal tools for inventory setup and maintenance.
- This role brought me a first business experience in IT, improved my skills in conveying information clearly, enhanced my ability to ask targeted questions to colleagues, and introduced me to agile/scrum methodologies.
Integration of Usolv-it Exercises into the Canvas Learning Platform
July 2022 · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Wrote mathematics problems in LaTeX format.
- Managed mathematics assignments in Usolv-it.
- Converted Usolv-it assignments into tests and then migrated these to the Canvas learning platform.
Organization of Pretests in Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics
September 2021 · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Corrected pretests (which test the prior knowledge of first-year university students).
- Supervised when the students took their tests.
Logistics and Outlet Employee
July 2020 - September 2020 · ZEB, Merchtem
IT Help Desk Assistant
March 2019 · Famiris, Brussels
- Famiris is the federal agency responsible for managing child benefits in Belgium.
- Assisted its staff with technical problems.
Master's degree in Computer Science
2023 - 2025 · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Distinction: Greatest Distinction (summa cum laude)
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science
2020 - 2023 · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Distinction: Greatest Distinction (summa cum laude)
Science-Mathematics (8 hours of math per week)
2014 - 2020 · GO! Atheneum Emanuel Hiel
Distinction: Ranked first in class
Longlist National mtech+ Technology Thesis Award
November 2025
The national mtech+ Technology Thesis Award honors the most innovative technology-focused Master's theses submitted to the Flemish Thesis Award (Vlaamse Scriptieprijs), which received over 600 submissions this year. My thesis was selected for the longlist (top 10).
1st Place National ie-net Master's Thesis Award
November 2025
The national ie-net Thesis Competition recognizes outstanding Master's theses in Belgium, with eligibility limited to students in the top 20% of their faculty. After reaching the finals, I defended my thesis in front of a five-member jury from different backgrounds. I won first place (€1000) in the engineering track.
National ie-net Master's Thesis Audience Award
November 2025
The national ie-net Thesis Competition recognizes outstanding Master's theses in Belgium, with eligibility limited to students in the top 20% of their faculty. Finalists can also compete for the audience award (€250) by creating a two-minute video explaining their thesis to a broad audience. My video received 700+ likes on LinkedIn and was awarded this prize.
Most Outstanding Science Student Award
October 2025
Awarded annually to the most outstanding student of the Faculty of Sciences based on academic excellence across the full study track. Selected among 345 graduating students.
Best Master's Thesis in Computer Science Award
October 2025
Awarded annually to the student with the best Master's thesis in Computer Science. Selected for my thesis on improving the security of Zero-Knowledge Proofs, conducted in collaboration with Nokia Bell Labs.
Grant for EPFL-ETH Summer School on Lattice-based Cryptography
July 2025
Awarded a grant to attend the EPFL-ETH Summer School on Lattice-based Cryptography, covering both the registration fee and accommodation.
BelCham Brights Membership
May 2025
Granted a 1-year BelCham Brights membership, which provides eligibility to apply for a J-1 visa through the Belgian-American Chamber of Commerce.
4th Place Cyber Security Challenge Belgium 2025
March 2025
National team competition for students about cyber security. Our team secured the 4th place out of 359 teams. My main contributions were to the cryptography category.
Erasmus+ Grant for ACM Europe Summer School (DARE 2024)
September 2024
Received an Erasmus+ grant to attend the ACM Europe Summer School on Distributed and Replicated Environments (DARE) 2024 at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany.
Winner Cyber Security Challenge Belgium 2024 (qualifiers)
March 2024
National team competition for students about cyber security. We advanced through the qualifiers, securing first place out of 286 teams. We later finished 8th in the finals. My main contributions were to the cryptography category.
Finalist Cyber Security Challenge Belgium 2023
March 2023
National team competition for students about cyber security. We successfully advanced through the qualifiers and secured 7th place out of 289 teams in the finals. My main contributions were to the cryptography and forensics categories.
Pre-Finalist Cyber Security Challenge Belgium 2022
March 2022
National team competition for students about cyber security. We successfully advanced through the qualifiers and secured 43rd place out of 253 teams in the pre-finals. Unfortunately, we did not progress to the finals. My main contributions were to the cryptography and forensics categories.
Winner Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) CTF 2021
November 2021
Capture The Flag (CTF) is a competition in which teams solve tasks related to cyber security. This competition was organized by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. My contribution was mainly on the cryptography category, where I successfully solved all of the crypto challenges.
Interview in BRUZZ (Belgian magazine)
September 2021
After I successfully completed my first academic year, I was interviewed in this Belgian news article about the Computer Science major and my academic achievements. I was also later invited for a radio interview.
Finalist Wiskunnend Wiske Wedstrijd 2020
March 2020
Competition where hard mathematics questions must be solved by students in their final years of secondary school. I solved the challenges of the first round on my own and, upon hearing that my submission qualified for the finals, gathered a team to compete in the finals.
Co-organizer of Capture The Flag (CTF) Competition
September 2024 - September 2025 · Infogroep Student Association
Student Representative in Study Program Committee
September 2021 - June 2025 · Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Volunteer at FOSDEM
February 2025 · FOSDEM
Corporate Relations, Lectures & Seminars
September 2023 - September 2024 · Infogroep Student Association
Student Volunteer at Computer Science Workshop
March 2024 · Brussels Workshop on Real-Time Scheduling and Operating System Synergies
Job Fair Organizer
December 2021 - September 2023 · Infogroep Student Association
Student Volunteer at Gaming Event
October 2022 · GameForce
Student Volunteer at Computer Science Conference
September 2022 · International Conference on Managed Programming Languages & Runtimes