Alan Scott is a prominent researcher and contributor to the Railgun privacy protocol. Alan is nicknamed by the Railgun DAO as “the janitor". Alan is also a cofounder of the DEFICON conference reimagining philanthropy with DeFi.^[3]

Education

Alan studied Interdisciplinary Asian Studies at East Carolina University until 2013. Multidisciplinary Asian Studies degree focused primarily on Japanese language, culture, and history. Alan also completed a structured business program as a part of his major.^[1]

Career

Alan Scott is an expert in blockchain technology, cryptography, and privacy. His research interests include privacy-preserving solutions for decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts.

After joining Cyclemax in 2010, Alan worked in Dealer Management Systems, Content Management Systems, and Customer Relationship Management systems particular to the powersports market as well as furthered his expertise in the Adobe Creative Suite until 2014. [1]

While Alan didn’t found Railgun, his work has significantly impacted the project. Alan’s contributions to Railgun involve designing and implementing privacy features using zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs). These proofs allow users to interact with the smart contract while keeping their transaction details confidential.

Currently, Alan is handling adoption and partnerships for the Railgun Privacy Project which was in the works for a number of years, finally coming to fruition in 2021. Railgun quickly positioned itself as one of the go-to privacy-specific ecosystems within the Ethereum ecosytem.  Railgun is primarily a community-driven gig spearheaded by privacy advocates and blockchain developers.^[3][4]

Contributors to Railgun Project

Railgun is a collaborative effort, and the following contributors work together to advance privacy solutions in the DeFi space.^[2]

• John Meurer Jr.: John Meurer Jr. is a researcher associated with the Railgun project. His contributions likely involve privacy research and development within the DeFi ecosystem.

• Dylan Oliver: Dylan Oliver is another researcher who has contributed to Railgun. His expertise may lie in privacy-enhancing technologies and smart contract design.

• Dr. Hisham Galal: Dr. Hisham Galal, presumably a privacy expert, has played a role in shaping Railgun’s privacy features. His background likely includes cryptography and blockchain technology.

• Peter Simpson: Peter Simpson is part of the Railgun project. His specific contributions may vary, but he likely contributes to the project’s overall goals.

• Bill Liang: Bill Liang is a researcher within the Railgun community. His work may involve privacy protocols, zero-knowledge proofs, and DeFi applications.

• Matias Grote: Matias Grote’s involvement in Railgun suggests expertise in privacy and blockchain technology. His contributions contribute to the project’s success.