Dr. Wilmer is an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh with a joint appointment in Chemical & Petroleum Engineering and Computer & Electrical Engineering. He is an NSF-CAREER award recipient with 40+ publications and leads a research group that is active in software development, which includes projects funded by the NSF Software Sciences Institute.

Dr. Wilmer is among the earliest scholars to study and develop blockchain technology, having been involved with cryptocurrencies since 2011 (Bitcoin, the first implementation of blockchain technology, was released only two years earlier in 2009). In 2014 he co-authored one of the first books on Bitcoin and blockchain technology, aimed at the lay public, titled “Bitcoin for the Befuddled.” In the following year, 2015, Dr. Wilmer co-founded and launched the world’s first peer-reviewed journal dedicated to blockchain technology research, Ledger. On the editorial board of Ledger are many prominent academics in law, computer science, finance, and economics, but also the founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, and senior researchers from central banks (e.g., Dr. Michael Kumhof, Bank of England). He has been a frequent invited speaker and classroom instructor to educate the public on blockchain technology. His invited talked include giving a seminar at the U.S. Federal Reserve in Richmond, VA, and also presenting to the largest Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer in China: Bitmain Technologies.