Amir Shaikhha

Amir is an Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on the design and implementation of data-analytics systems by using techniques from the databases, programming languages, compilers, and machine learning communities. Prior to that, he was a Departmental Lecturer at Oxford. He earned his Ph.D. from EPFL in 2018, for which he was awarded a Google Ph.D. Fellowship in structured data analysis, as well as a Ph.D. thesis distinction award. He has won the Best Paper Award at GPCE 2017 and the Most Reproducible Paper Award at SIGMOD 2017. He (co-)chaired the program committees of DBPL 2021, Scala 2022, DRAGSTERS 2023, and GPCE 2023.

Recent News

  • March 2024. Jingwen and Callum were awarded the 1st place in CGO student research competition.
  • November 2023. Our paper on optimizing nested recursive queries accepted to SIGMOD 2024.
  • October 2023. We will present our work on probablistic programming in LAFI 2024.
  • August 2023. Our paper on automatic differentiation for sparse tensors accepted to appear at CGO 2024.
  • July 2023. Our paper on structured tensor algebra accepted to OOPSLA 2023.
  • June 2023. The demonstration for OpenDBML accepted to appear at VLDB 2023.
  • May 2023. I was selected for a Best Reviewer Award in SIGMOD 2023.
  • April 2023. The demonstration for SDQL.py accepted to appear at SIGMOD 2023.
  • March 2023. I will serve as the PC Chair of GPCE 2023; consider submitting a paper.
  • February 2023. Our work on combining prefetching with vectorization for hash tables accepted to appear at ECOOP 2023.
  • January 2023. I will be co-chairing DRAGSTERS’23. Consider submitting a paper.
  • December 2022. Two papers accepted in CC 2023: BayesTensor and SDQL.py.
  • November 2022. Our work on using machine learning for data structure selection accepted to appear at CGO 2023.
  • October 2022. Our work on Deep Loop Fusion accepted to appear at GPCE 2022.
  • August 2022. STOREL for tensor processing on flexible storage accepted to SIGMOD 2023.

Publications

You can find my articles on my Google Scholar profile.

2024
Optimizing Nested Recursive Queries
A. Shaikhha, D. Suciu, M. Schleich, H. Ngo
Structured Tensor Algebra for Efficient Discrete Probabilistic Inference
A. Shaikhha
A Tensor Algebra Compiler for Sparse Differentiation
A. Shaikhha, M. Huot, S. Hashemian
2023
Demonstration of OpenDBML, a Framework for Democratizing In-Database Machine Learning (Demo)
M. Ghorbani, A. Shaikhha
Efficient Query Processing in Python Using Compilation (Demo)
H. Shahrokhi, C. Groeger, Y. Yang, A. Shaikhha
Optimizing Tensor Programs on Flexible Storage
M. Schleich, A. Shaikhha, D. Suciu
Compiling Structured Tensor Algebra
M. Ghorbani, M. Huot, S. Hashemian, A. Shaikhha
An Efficient Vectorized Hash Table for Batch Computations
H. Shahrokhi, A. Shaikhha
Fine-Tuning Data Structures for Query Processing
A. Shaikhha, M. Kelepeshis, M. Ghorbani
Building a Compiled Query Engine in Python
H. Shahrokhi, A. Shaikhha
Compiling Discrete Probabilistic Programs for Vectorized Exact Inference
J. Pan, A. Shaikhha
2022
Functional Collection Programming with Semi-ring Dictionaries
A. Shaikhha, M. Huot, J. Smith, D. Olteanu
Deep Fusion for Efficient Nested Recursive Computations
A. Shaikhha
Hinted Dictionaries: Efficient Functional Ordered Sets and Maps
A. Shaikhha, M. Ghorbani, H. Shahrokhi
Denotationally Correct, Purely Functional, Efficient Reverse-mode Automatic Differentiation
A. Shaikhha, M. Huot
Efficient and Sound Differentiable Programming in a Functional Array-Processing Language
A. Shaikhha, M. Huot, S. Ghasemirad, A. Fitzgibbon, S. Peyton Jones, D. Vytiniotis
2021
An Intermediate Representation for Hybrid Database and Machine Learning Workloads (Demo)
A. Shaikhha, M. Schleich, D. Olteanu
Scalable Querying of Nested Data
J. Smith, M. Benedikt, M. Nikolic, A. Shaikhha
2020
Synthesis of Incremental Linear Algebra Programs
A. Shaikhha, M. El Seidy, D. Espino, S. Mihaila, C. Koch
Multi-Stage Programming in the Large with Staged Classes
L. Parreaux, A. Shaikhha
Multi-Layer Optimizations for End-to-End Data Analytics
A. Shaikhha, M. Schleich, A. Ghita, D. Olteanu
BayesCard: Revitilizing Bayesian Frameworks for Cardinality Estimation (Technical Report)
Z. Wu, A. Shaikhha, Rong Zhu, Kai Zeng, Yuxing Han, Jingren Zhou
2019
Efficient Differentiable Programming in a Functional Array-Processing Language
A. Shaikhha, A. Fitzgibbon, S. Peyton-Jones, D. Vytiniotis
Compiler Generation for Performance-Oriented Embedded DSLs (Short Paper)
A. Shaikhha, V. Jovanovic, C. Koch
Polymorphic Extractors for Semantic and Portable Pattern Matching (Short Paper)
A. Shaikhha
Finally, a Polymorphic Linear Algebra Language
A. Shaikhha, L. Parreaux
2018
Building Efficient Query Engines in a High-Level Language
A. Shaikhha, Y. Klonatos, C. Koch
Unifying Analytic and Statically-Typed Quasiquotes
L. Parreaux, A. Voizard, A. Shaikhha, C. Koch
Push vs. Pull-Based Loop Fusion in Query Engines
A. Shaikhha, M. Dashti, C. Koch
Compiling Database Application Programs
M. Dashti, S. John, T. Coppey, A. Shaikhha, V. Jovanovic, C. Koch
2017
Squid: type-safe, hygienic, and reusable quasiquotes
L. Parreaux, A. Shaikhha, C. Koch
Repairing Transaction Conflicts in Optimistic Multi-Version Concurrency Control (Most Reproducible Paper Award)
M. Dashti, S. John, A. Shaikhha, C. Koch
Quoted Staged Rewriting: a Practical Approach to Library-Defined Optimizations (Best Paper Award)
L. Parreaux, A. Shaikhha, and C. Koch
Destination-passing style for efficient memory management
A. Shaikhha, A. Fitzgibbon, S. Peyton-Jones, D. Vytiniotis
2016
How to Architect a Query Compiler
A. Shaikhha, Y. Klonatos, L. Parreaux, L. Brown, M. Dashti, C. Koch
2014
DBToaster: Higher-order Delta Processing for Dynamic, Frequently Fresh Views
C. Koch, Y. Ahmad, O. Kennedy, M. Nikolic, A. Noetzli, D. Lupei, A. Shaikhha
Yin-Yang: Concealing the Deep Embedding of DSLs
V. Jovanovic, A. Shaikhha, S. Stucki, V. Nikolaev, C. Koch, M. Odersky

Awards

  • [Student: Callum Groeger] 1st place in undergraduate student research competition, CGO 2024.
  • [Student: Jingwen Pan] 1st place in graduate student research competition, CGO 2024.
  • Best Reviewer Award, SIGMOD 2023.
  • Nominated for Best Supervisor of the Year, University of Edinburgh, 2022.
  • Ph.D. Thesis Distinction Award, EPFL, 2018.
  • Service Award, IC EPFL, 2018.
  • Best Paper Award, GPCE 2017.
  • Most Reproducible Paper Award, SIGMOD 2017.
  • Google Ph.D. Fellowship, 2017.
  • Teaching Assistant Award, IC EPFL, 2016.

Service

  • Chairing: GPCE’23 (PC Chair), DRAGSTERS’23 (Co-Chair), Scala’22 (PC Chair), DBPL’21 (Co-Chair).
  • Organization: CGO’24 (Finance Chair), ICDE’24 (PC), VLDB’23 (PC), SIGMOD’23 (PC), GPCE’22 (PC), TFP’22 (PC), DBAI’21 (PC), BICOD’21 (PC), ASPLOS’20 (ERC), DBPL’19 (PC).
  • Reviewer: TODS 2023, TODS 2021, VLDBJ 2020, TODS 2018.
  • PhD Students’ Representative: IC EPFL, 2017-2018.
  • Member of EPIC PhD Student Association: IC EPFL, 2017.

Students

  • Mahdi Ghorbani, Ph.D. (2021-)
  • Hesam Shahrokhi, Ph.D. (2021-)
  • Shideh Heshemian, Ph.D. (2023-)
  • Jingwen Pan, Ph.D. (2023-)
  • Meisam Tarabkhah, Ph.D. (2023-)
  • Pei Mu, Ph.D. (2023-, Co-supervisor: Antonio Barbalace)
  • Amirali Kaboli, MRes. (2023-)
  • Alexandre Lopoukhine, Ph.D. (2023-, Main Supervisor: Tobias Grosser - Univ. of Cambridge)

Positions

I have an open position for MScR (Master by Research) in my lab. The topic is around databases and compilers. Please send me an email with your CV if you are interested.