Interests

I am drawn to problems that touch on control systems, decentralization, and usable and practical systems, which taken together have led me to networking. I enjoy systems thinking and the problems that come along with it. Outside of systems, I am very interested in computer science education and pedagogy.

News

• Jun 1, 2026:I will be lecturing Intro to CS in Ethiopia this summer as part of AddisCoder
• Apr 15, 2026:I released a 1-hour deepdive lecture on Principles for Autonomous System Design on YouTube.
• Apr 12, 2026:I'm co-organizing a workshop at CAIS on AI Discovery in the Wild, submit by May 4th!
• Mar 2, 2026:Our framework for AI-driven discovery, SkyDiscover, is released
• Jan 10, 2026:I'll be giving a 45-minute talk on Decentralizing SDN at NANOG 96 in February
• Dec 16, 2025:Our paper on bandwidth allocation for autonomous vehicles will appear at NINeS '26
• Dec 9, 2025:Our paper on Input Validation will appear at NSDI '26
• Dec 6, 2025:My interview on Berkeley and AI systems appears in a (Russian-language) documentary
• Oct 1, 2025:Our paper arguing for model-free network verification will appear in HotNets '25
• ... (older news removed)

Publications

Talks

• CrossCheck: Input Validation for WAN Control Systems [ Slides | Video ]

  • Apr 29, 2026 - Google, Sunnyvale, CA
  • Apr 30, 2026 - UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
  • May 4, 2026 - NSDI 2026, Renton, WA

• Principles for Autonomous System Design: OpenClaw Deepdive [ Slides | Video ]

  • Mar 30, 2026 - NEXT, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
  • Apr 8, 2026 - Google Research, Sunnyvale, CA

• Decentralizing Software Defined Networking: The Hidden Complexities of SDN & What We Can Do About Them [ Slides | Video ]

  • Feb 2, 2026 - NANOG 96, San Francisco, CA
  • Apr 28, 2026 - Meta, Menlo Park, CA

• Towards Accessible Model-Free Verification [ Slides ]

  • Nov 6, 2025 - UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
  • Nov 17, 2025 - HotNets 2025, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
  • Dec 2, 2025 - Google, Sunnyvale, CA

• The Case for Validating SDN Inputs [ Slides | Video ]

  • Oct 31, 2024 - UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
  • Nov 12, 2024 - Google, Sunnyvale, CA
  • Nov 19, 2024 - HotNets Conference, UC Irvine, CA

• Narrative Building for Career Pivots [ Slides ]

  • May 17, 2025 - Accel Retreat, Santa Cruz, CA

• Grad School 101: What, Why, and How [ Slides ]

  • Oct 16, 2024 - Berkeley, CA

• Decentralizing the SDN WAN Control Plane [ Slides ]

  • Jul 30, 2024 - Google, Sunnyvale, CA
  • Aug 8, 2024 - SIGCOMM Conference, Sydney, Australia
  • Aug 12, 2024 - KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea
  • Nov 4, 2024 - University of Houston, TX
  • Nov 20, 2024 - SF Systems Meetup, San Francisco, CA

• From Google to Berkeley PhD, Systems Research, and Teaching [ Video ]

  • May 2024 - Thinking about Computers Podcast, Berkeley, CA

• Lessons Learned from a 10-Year Cal Journey [ Slides ]

  • Apr 20, 2024 - UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

• How to Write Letters of Recommendation [ Slides ]

  • Dec 22, 2022 - Googler-in-Residence Summit, Washington, DC
  • Oct 9, 2023 - Googler-in-Residence Summit, San Francisco, CA
  • Aug 19, 2024 - Google, Sunnyvale, CA

• Ethics Questions are Everywhere in Computer Science [ Slides ]

  • Nov 3, 2022 - Fisk University, Nashville, TN

Teaching

• Su '26: Lecturer, AddisCoder: Accelerated Intro to CS, Ethiopia [ upcoming ]
• Su '25: Lecturer, Jamcoders: Accelerated Intro to CS, Jamaica [ Materials (Week 1) ]
• Su '23: Lecturer, AddisCoder: Accelerated Intro to CS, Ethiopia [ Materials (Week 2) ]
• Fa '22: Head GSI, CS168: Internet Architecture, UC Berkeley
• Fa '21: Lecturer, CSCI100: Intro to Computer Science, Howard University [ Syllabus | Videos | Slides ]
• Sp '21: TA, CS106A Online: Code-in-Place, Stanford
• Sp '20: TA, CS106A Online: Code-in-Place, Stanford
• Sp '19: UGSI, CS189/CS289: Machine Learning, UC Berkeley
• Fa '18: UGSI, CS168: Internet Architecture, UC Berkeley
• Sp '18: UGSI, CS61B: Data Structures and Algorithms, UC Berkeley [ New Project Designed ]
• Sp '17: UGSI, EE16A: Introduction to Electrical Engineering, UC Berkeley
• Fa '16: UGSI, EE16A: Introduction to Electrical Engineering, UC Berkeley

Music

Outside of research and teaching, I occasionally perform on violin with friends in classical and contemporary ensembles.

• Feb 15, 2026 MAQAMAT (90s Arabic Tarab) — BATS Theatre, SF, CA [ Event ]
• Dec 18, 2025 Four Quarters Quartet (Beethoven String Quartet Op. 132) — Hôtel Biron, SF, CA [ Event ]
• Dec 15, 2025 Lunar Noon (Experimental Indie Pop) — Back Room, Berkeley, CA [ Event ]
• Nov 14, 2025 Four Quarters Quartet (Beethoven String Quartet Op. 132) — tiat, SF, CA [ Event | Video ]
• Oct 24, 2025 Lunar Noon (Experimental Indie Pop) — RGB House, SF, CA [ Event ]
• Oct 1, 2025 UC Berkeley Noon Concert (Franck Violin Sonata) — Hertz Hall, Berkeley, CA [ Event | Video ]
• Aug 3, 2025 MAQAMAT (Arabic Tarab) — BATS Theatre, SF, CA
• Aug 2, 2025 Two Quarters Duo (Wedding Music) — Brazilian Room, Berkeley, CA
• May 30, 2025 Three Quarters Trio (Wedding Music) — Memorial Church, Stanford, CA
• May 25, 2025 MAQAMAT (Arabic Tarab) — BATS Theatre, SF, CA [ Event ]
• Oct 27, 2024 MAQAMAT (Arabic Tarab Medleys) — BATS Theatre, SF, CA [ Event ]