Octavio Perez-Kempner

Octavio Perez-Kempner

Research Engineer

NTT Social Informatics Laboratories

About me

I was born and raised in Uruguay. From a young age, I wanted to study abroad, and I have been very fortunate to have had several opportunities to do so. Along the way, I met incredible people from many different backgrounds, for which I am equally grateful. Before starting university, I thought I would become a penetration tester or security engineer. After taking mathematics and theoretical computer science courses, however, I became deeply interested in cryptography. That change in direction eventually led me to pursue a Ph.D. in the field. I strongly believe in a world with greater equality of opportunity and where privacy is recognized as a fundamental human right. Through my work and the communities I am part of, I try to contribute in that direction.

Sports

Throughout my youth, I played basketball competitively for Club Biguá. These days, I occasionally play basketball in Chiyoda. I enjoy sports in general and have a tendency to take even casual ping-pong games rather seriously :).

Languages

I really enjoy learning languages. I consider myself fluent in Spanish, my mother tongue, as well as English and Portuguese. I also speak some French and Italian, although I am a bit rusty these days. I am currently working on improving my Japanese.

Philosophy

I very much enjoy discussing philosophy, from epistemology and ethics to metaphysics. Although I am particularly drawn to existentialist authors, I also enjoy reading about Greek mythology and Plato in my spare time.

Cooking

I find cooking a very relaxing and pleasent activity and try to cook as much as I can during the week. Below you can find some recipes/tips that I have tried and highly recommend.