Registration is now open for the School on the Practice and Theory of Distributed Computing, which will take place October 30 – November 2, 2023, in Paphos, Cyprus.
The JetBrains Foundation is a proud supporter and sponsor of the school, as our learn-by-doing approach perfectly aligns with its hands-on computer science curriculum.
The school offers an all-star lineup of industry experts, including Maurice Herlihy, Dan Alistarh, Gael Thomas, Gregory Chockler, Alexey Gotsman, Pierre Sutra, and Prasad Jayanti. These brilliant minds will guide you through the wonders of distributed computing.
An education and a vacation wrapped into one – who could say no to that?
The short answer is everyone! Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, a seasoned software engineer looking to level up, or a novice developer eager to dive into the world of distributed computing, you’re sure to get something useful out of the event.
In particular, system administrators managing complex infrastructures, computer scientists and researchers working on performance improvements, and big data analysts handling massive amounts of data will find this school specifically tailored to their work. Lessons will involve learning how to handle data storage, processing, and analysis with distributed systems.
While there are no strict prerequisites, basic math and programming skills would enhance your ability to engage with the material. Note that all classes will be conducted in English.
What’s on the agenda?
We’ll take a deep dive into near-memory computing and database isolation. Additionally, to help you ensure the reliability and efficiency of your distributed systems, we’ll cover everything from Byzantine fault-tolerant algorithms to effective machine-learning algorithms. And of course, we’ll also explore the latest techniques for keeping your data safe and sound.
In particular, you’ll learn and practice:
State machine replication, distributed ledgers, and decentralized finance
Formal methods in distributed computing
Memory-efficient and persistent concurrency
Distributed machine learning
Cloud computing and storage systems
Distributed databases
Learn and chill in paradise
Who said learning can’t be fun? This year, we’re taking things up a notch and hosting the school in the beautiful paradise of Paphos, Cyprus. Prepare for classes at the Coral Beach Hotel & Resort, where you’ll enjoy breathtaking views of sandy beaches from your balcony or terrace. Want to unwind after a day of intense discussions? Take a dip in one of the resort’s several pools – there’s even one with waterslides!
All school participants will receive a discount on their accommodations at the resort.
Ready to sign up?
Applications are now open! Just head to our website and fill out a short form. Once you’ve submitted it, you’ll get an email with instructions for paying the registration fee, which is €100 for university students or €200 for all other attendees.
Gael leads the Parallel and Distributed Systems group of the Department of Computer Science of Telecom SudParis. After serving as chair of the French chapter of the ACM SIGOPS from 2011 to 2014, he acted as treasurer from 2014 to 2016. He received his PhD from UPMC Sorbonne Université in 2005 and his Habilitation à diriger les recherche, also from UPMC Sorbonne Université, in 2012.
Dan Alistarh
Efficient Algorithms for Machine Learning
Dan is a Professor at IST Austria. His research focuses on high-performance algorithms and spans from algorithms and lower bounds to practical implementations. Before IST, Dan was a researcher at ETH Zurich and Microsoft Research, and a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT CSAIL. He received his PhD from the EPFL, under the guidance of Prof. Rachid Guerraoui. Dan’s research is funded by an ERC Starting Grant, the Austrian FWF, and generous support from Amazon and Google.
Maurice Herlihy
Cache-Conscious Concurrent Data Structures for Near-Memory Computing
Maurice has an AB in Mathematics from Harvard University and a PhD in Computer Science from MIT. He has served on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University and the staff of DEC Cambridge Research Lab. He was the recipient of the 2003 Dijkstra Prize in Distributed Computing, the 2004 Gödel Prize in theoretical computer science, the 2008 ISCA Influential Paper Award, the 2012 Dijkstra Prize, and the 2013 Wallace McDowell Award. He received a 2012 Fulbright Distinguished Chair in the Natural Sciences and Engineering Lecturing Fellowship, and he is a fellow of the ACM, the National Academy of Inventors, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2022, he won his third Dijkstra Prize.
Pierre Sutra
Modern Techniques for Data Availability and Durability
Pierre has been Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science of Télécom SudParis since October 2015. Previously, he was a junior researcher at the University of Neuchâtel, a postdoc in the Regal team-project at INRIA, and a research assistant at UPEM. Pierre holds a PhD from UPMC Sorbonne Université (2010). He is interested in both the theory and practice of distributed systems, with an emphasis on data consistency and concurrency.
Alexey Gotsman
Database Isolation Levels
Alexey is a tenured Research Professor at the IMDEA Software Institute. Before joining IMDEA he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge, where he also got his PhD. His research interests are at the intersection of software verification and distributed computing.
Prasad Jayanti
A Universal, Sound, and Complete Forward Reasoning Technique for Machine-Verified Proofs of Linearizability
Prasad is a Professor of Computer Science at Dartmouth College with a PhD from Cornell University. His research is on asynchronous concurrent systems, with an emphasis on synchronization and fault-tolerance. Discovering the boundary between solvable and unsolvable tasks, developing efficient or optimal algorithms for solvable tasks, and understanding further assumptions or relaxations needed to solve otherwise impossible tasks are the issues that interest him most.
Gregory Chockler
Modular Construction of Live Byzantine Consensus Protocols
Gregory is a Professor in the University of Surrey’s Department of Computer Science where he is a joint head of the Distributed and Networked Systems (DANS) group and is also affiliated with the Secure Systems Research Group and the Surrey Centre for Cyber Security. Prior to joining the University of Surrey, he was a Professor and the Head of the Centre for Distributed and Global Computing at Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL). He was also a Postdoctoral Associate in the Theory of Distributed Systems group at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) of MIT.
Nikita Koval
Lincheck: A Practical Framework for Testing Concurrent Data Structures on the JVM
Nikita is a researcher at JetBrains and works mainly on concurrent algorithms in Kotlin and concurrent data structures testing and verification.
To learn more about the classes and instructors, check out the school’s website.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn, connect, and enjoy the world of computer science. See you at the School on the Practice and Theory of Distributed Computing!
