The schedule is tentative and will be updated later.
Monday
Workshop: Advanced Tools, Programming Languages, and PLatforms for Implementing and Evaluating algorithms for Distributed systems (ApPLIED)
Time: 09:00-18:00
Website: https://www.cse.chalmers.se/~elad/ApPLIED2026/
Program: https://www.cse.chalmers.se/~elad/ApPLIED2026/ApPLIED26program.pdf
Abstract: Designers of advanced systems wishing to implement and evaluate distributed algorithms in practical settings are often faced with challenging questions regarding the transformation from design to a working prototype. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together designers and practitioners of distributed systems from both academia and industry to share their point of views and experiences.
Keynote Speakers
- Philippas Tsigas (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden) will talk about Relaxed Concurrent Data Structures.
- Philipp Woelfel (University of Calgary, Canada) will talk about Efficient Randomized Shared Memory Primitives and Algorithms.
Workshop: Student Spotlight Workshop 2026
Organizers: Naama Ben-David (Technion), Hanna Komlós (Max Planck Institute for Informatics)
Time: 09:00-10:00, 10:30-12:30, 15:30-16:30
Abstract: This workshop will showcase student-led research through short talks and poster presentations, offering students a welcoming venue to share their ideas, receive feedback, and connect with the broader community early in their academic journeys. The program will feature a mix of published results, work currently under submission, and exciting research in progress on topics relevant to SPAA, PODC, and algorithms more broadly.
We especially encourage senior researchers, faculty, postdocs, and experienced community members to attend. By asking questions, offering perspective, and starting conversations, your presence can help students refine their ideas, build confidence, and feel more connected to the field.
Tutorial: Grassroots Computing: Distributed Systems Without Global Resources
Organizers: Idit Keidar (Technion), Andrew Lewis-Pye (London School of Economics), and Ehud Shapiro (London School of Economics and Weizmann Institute of Science)
Time: 14:00-15:00, 15:30-17:00
Abstract: A distributed system is grassroots if it can have multiple instances that can (1) operate independently of each other and of any global resource other than the network, and (2) coalesce into ever larger instances, possibly resulting in a single global instance.
Introduction (conceptual + formal definitions)
- What are grassroots systems/platforms?
- Characterizing platforms (centralized, decentralized, federated, grassroots) using essential agents
Atomic transactions framework and applications (formal definitions)
- Framework and implementation
- Applications: social networking, currencies, democratic federations
Consensus (technical depth)
- The blocklace
- Morpheus
- Constitutional Consensus
- Flash payment systems
- Optional: Grassroots Federation
Why this matters for PODC:
- Covers PODC scope areas: distributed algorithms, fault-tolerance, consensus, cryptographic protocols, peer-to-peer systems, mobile computing
- Addresses fundamental questions: What can distributed systems achieve without global coordination or resources?
- Novel data structures (blocklace) with provable Byzantine resilience
- Protocols with optimal communication complexity bounds
- Bridges distributed computing theory with emerging societal applications (digital democracy, financial inclusion, sovereign communities)
Prasad Jayanti’s 60th Birthday Celebration
Abstract: We are pleased to announce a special event at PODC 2026 celebrating the scientific contributions and impact of Prasad Jayanti on the distributed computing community.
This celebration builds on a tradition within our community of honoring researchers around the time of their 60th birthdays and recognizing their many contributions to distributed computing. We view this event as a continuation and broadening of that tradition: an opportunity to celebrate distinguished members of our field whose scientific achievements have had a lasting impact on the community. We hope that this tribute to Prasad’s remarkable career will be the first of a continuing series of such celebrations.
The celebration will take place on Monday afternoon, beginning at approximately 16:30, and will conclude just as the conference reception begins. The event will be streamed to allow participation from colleagues who cannot attend in person.
The program will feature a series of short technical talks highlighting several of Prasad’s influential research contributions
and the directions they inspired:
- Eric Ruppert — Lower Bounds and Impossibility Results
- Panagiota Fatourou — Early Results on Snapshots and Their Impact
- Philipp Woelfel — Adaptive Snapshot Algorithms
- Siddhartha Jayanti — Mutual Exclusion
- Srdjan Petrovic (virtual) — Efficient Implementations of LL/SC
Through these presentations and reflections, we hope to celebrate not only Prasad’s remarkable technical achievements, but also the influence he had on colleagues, students, and the community.
We would also like to invite members of the community who would like to contribute to the final session. If you would like to share a brief personal recollection, an insight about Prasad’s work and impact, or a short video message, we would be delighted to include your contribution in the celebration.
Please send your video or indicate your interest in participating to sucharita_jayanti@brown.edu and jayanti.siddhartha@gmail.com by July 1, 2026.
Friday
Lecture Series: Gems of Distributed Computing (GODC@PODC)
Time: 09:00-10:00
Title: Gems of Distributed Computing: Two Complexity Lower Bounds
Speaker: Faith Ellen (University of Toronto)
Abstract: In this talk, I will present the key ideas of the proofs of two lower bounds, both of which are asymptotically optimal. They are elegant, focusing on carefully chosen aspects of the problems. The first proof, by Laurinharju and Suomela, uses round elimination to show that Ω(log*n) rounds are necessary to colour a ring of n processes with 3 colours so that adjacent processes have different colours. The second proof is a covering argument by Zhu, which shows that Ω(n) registers are needed to solve randomized wait-free binary consensus among n processes.
Tutorial: Erasure Coding in Distributed Protocols
Organizers: Vivien Bammert (University of Bern), Mariarosaria Barbaraci (University of Bern), Annalisa Cimatti (University of Bern), and Christian Cachin (University of Bern)
Time: 10:30-12:15
Abstract: An erasure code is a method to divide large volumes of data into pieces so that some pieces may be lost but the data itself can still be recovered. Starting with RAID storage devices, erasure codes have been deployed widely in local and in networked storage systems to increase resilience against failures. More recently erasure codes have been combined with distributed protocols in many ways, often for protocols that tolerate Byzantine faults. When used within broadcast and consensus protocols, erasure codes can reduce the communication complexity of such algorithms to the minimally required cost. Erasure codes have also found compelling applications to blockchain and cryptocurrency platforms where they ensure that transaction data is available. The tutorial will consist of multiple parts that illustrate the basic concepts of erasure codes and how they are used in recent theoretical protocols and practical systems.