Xuran Cai

Hi — I’m

Computer Science PhD student in the Oxford–Max Planck joint PhD program (2025–present). For Oxford side, I am in college Hertford, with supervisor Prof. Amir Goharshady. For MPI side, I am in institute for Software Systems(SWS) with supervisor Prof. Rupak Majumdar. My research focuses on applications of graph theory in computer science and, more broadly, on optimization and verification problems in theoretical computer science.

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Current: Oxford–Max Planck joint PhD (Computer Science) — 2025–Present

Education

University of Oxford & Max-Plank Institute Joint Program

Doctor of Philosophy, Computer Science — Sep 2025 – Present

Supervisor(s): Prof. Amir Goharshady, Prof. Rupak Majumdar

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

MPhil, Computer Science & Engineering — 2023–2025

Supervisor(s): Prof. Amir Goharshady, Prof. Jiasi Shen

University of Wisconsin–Madison

B.Sc., Computer Science & Mathematics — 2019–2023

GPA: 3.86/4.0 — Graduated with Distinction

Research

My research centers on applications of graph theory in computer science and, more broadly, on optimization and verification problems in theoretical computer science. I am funded by a scholarship from the University of Oxford and a researcher salary from the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS). Selected publications and manuscripts are listed below; for a complete record, please see my CV or Google Scholar profile.

Selected Publications & Manuscripts

Venue rank, higher → lower: CORE A* A B C CCF A B C

Extending Programmable Blockchain Protocols to Enable and Incentivize Parallel Execution of Smart Contracts

Optimization

Sep 2026 — MARBLE'26

Authors: T. Barakbayeva, X. Cai, Z. Cai, A.K. Goharshady

Polynomial Invariant Generation for Floating Point Programs

Verification

Jul 2026 — CAV'26 CORE A*CCF-A

Authors: X. Cai, L. Chen, H. Fu

Series-Parallel-Loop Decompositions of Control-flow Graphs

Optimization

Feb 2026 — JSA'26 CCF-B

Authors: X. Cai, A.K. Goharshady, S. Hitarth, C.K. Lam

Efficient Algorithms for Partial Constraint Satisfaction Problems over Control-flow Graphs

Optimization

Dec 2025 — SETTA'25 CCF-C

Authors: X. Cai, A.K. Goharshady

Enhancing Compiler Optimization Efficiency through Grammatical Decompositions of Control-Flow Graphs

Optimization

Jul 2025 — MPhil Thesis, HKUST Thesis

Author: X. Cai

Faster Chaitin-like Register Allocation via Grammatical Decompositions of CFGs

Optimization

Mar 2025 — ASPLOS'25 CORE A*CCF-A

Authors: X. Cai, A.K. Goharshady, S. Hitarth, C.K. Lam

Faster Lifetime-optimal Speculative Partial Redundancy Elimination for Goto-free Programs

Optimization

Nov 2024 — SETTA'24 CCF-C

Authors: X. Cai, A.K. Goharshady

Teaching & TA

Concurrent Programming

MT 2026–27 — Oxford

Instructor: Prof. Vincent Cheval

Principles of Programming Languages

MT 2026–27 — Oxford

Instructor: Prof. Samuel Staton

Design and Analysis of Algorithms

HT 2025–26 — Oxford

Instructor: Prof. Sandra Kiefer

Functional Programming

MT 2025–26 — Oxford

Instructor: Prof. Andrzej Murawski

Discrete Mathematical Tools for CS (Honors)

Fall 2024–25 — HKUST

Instructor: Prof. Amir Goharshady

Discrete Mathematical Tools for CS

Spring 2023–24 — HKUST

Instructor: Prof. Sunil Arya and Prof. Jiasi Shen

Introduction to Computer Networks

Spring 2021–22 — UW–Madison

Instructor: Prof. Suman Banerjee

Experience

Conferences

CAV'26 — Lisbon, Portugal (July 26–29, 2026), presenter
SETTA'25 — Oxford, UK (Dec 1–3, 2025), presenter & local organization team
SETTA'24 — Hong Kong SAR (Nov 26–28, 2024), presenter
FM'24 — Milan, Italy (Sep 9–13, 2024)

Summer School

HUAWEI 2012 Lab Summer School — Dongguan, China (Aug. 17–21, 2026)
Summer School on Discrete Mathematics — Prague, Czech (July 1–5, 2024)

Contact

louiscaixuran@outlook.com

xuran.cai@cs.ox.ac.uk

If you’d like the full CV, click the Download CV button at the top.

GitHub Google Scholar