Sarang: research funding for 2019 Q1

Friends, neighbors, well-wishers, hello. Dr. Sarang Noether here, back again for Monero Research Lab 2: The Search For More Money. My current funded research time is coming to a close, and I'm good to go for another three months of research and development for the Monero Research Lab.

You can read my reports for October and November, with December coming at the end of this month. There has been, in my not-so-humble opinion, a lot of quality work for the project and community. I've conducted analysis, built useful cryptographic primitives, written code, tested new ideas, and more. One of the original and primary reasons for the creation of the Lab was to continue investigating what's new in applied cryptography and use it to strengthen Monero, and my work has done so.

The next three months will be, as they should be, a mix of tasks and topics. I always stay up-to-date on new developments and literature review. I collaborate with outside researchers and groups on analysis and new technology. There will be more on confidential transaction schemes, payment channel and atomic swap plumbing, security analysis, and whatever comes next.

I work hard to provide value to the Monero community for the value you provide here. For the period beginning January 2019 and continuing to the end of March 2019, my rate will be the equivalent of 10415 USD each month, which is my assessment of fair market compensation for a Ph.D. researcher in this field with a proven track record working from the United States; this takes into the account that making this my full-time job carries irritating but necessary support and tax implications that I take very seriously. Using a 14-day exponential moving average of 47.21 USD/XMR taken from Kraken, the request total is 661 XMR. If there are large fluctuations prior to the close of funding, we can revisit this number.

I invite questions, comments, and discussion on my previous work and this proposal. My thanks for the ongoing support of this community; whether you donate here, volunteer your time developing or translating or documenting, reach out to others for education, or simply use Monero, your dedication is appreciated! The Lab works hard to ensure Monero continues to grow safely and surely. Onwards!

EDIT (9 December 2018): Updated rate from 58.69 to 50.68 USD/XMR and total from 533 to 616 XMR due to large fluctuations.

EDIT (14 December 2018): Updated rate from 50.68 to 44.39 USD/XMR and total from 616 to 703 XMR due to large fluctuations.

EDIT (1 January 2019): Updated rate from 44.39 to 47.21 USD/XMR and total from 703 to 661 XMR due to large fluctuations.