Stephan Holzer

Stephan Holzer is a computer scientist and mathematician currently affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he works within the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). He has held postdoctoral positions at MIT (2013–2017) and visiting roles at Harvard and ETH Zurich. His expertise lies in the theory of distributed systems, with a focus on efficient algorithms for networks.

Education: Stephan earned his Diplom (M.Sc.) and B.Sc. from TU Munich within Germany’s TopMath excellence program (2006–2008), followed by a Ph.D. in Computer Science from ETH Zurich (2009–2013) under the supervision of Prof. Roger Wattenhofer.

Research Interests: His work spans distributed algorithms, graph theory, wireless communication, communication complexity, and network optimization. He particularly explores how devices in large-scale networks can compute distances, disseminate information, and coordinate despite interference and limited resources.

Publications & Impact: Stephan has published extensively in premier venues such as PODC, DISC, SODA, and TCS. His recent work addresses security of crypto-currencies, leader election in wireless models, and approximation algorithms for shortest-path problems, reflecting a blend of theoretical rigor and practical relevance.

Scientific Awards & Honors:

• Best Paper Award, 24th SIROCCO 2017
• Member, Young Academy | Mainz 2016
• Nominated delegate, Global Young Scientist Summit 2016
• Participant, Heidelberg Laureate Forum 2013

Teaching & Mentoring: Stephan co-created and lectures the MIT graduate course 6.S899 Distributed Graph Algorithms with Profs. Mohsen Ghaffari and Nancy Lynch. He has mentored numerous undergraduate and master’s students through UROP, UAP, and thesis projects at MIT and ETH Zurich.

Service: He has served on the program committees of SPAA, ICDCN, SSS, SOFSEM, and ALGOSENSORS, and regularly reviews for top-tier journals and conferences in distributed computing and algorithms.