Maciej Besta

I lead research on sparse graph computations and large language models at the Scalable Parallel Computing Lab (SPCL) at ETH Zurich; I also work on network topologies and occasionally other aspects of the high-performance computing landscape. I also lead collaborations and project management at the SPCL's part of the ETH Future Computing Laboratory (EFCL). I am fortunate to work with and be mentored by Prof. Torsten Hoefler and to be a part of the rich and vibrant SPCL, EFCL, and ETH research environments.

I am particularly interested in graph-enhanced language models, graph neural networks, graph databases, graph streaming, sparse models, or classical graph algorithms, in any types of settings and workloads. I research these computations holistically, at different abstraction levels, including (1) hardware, (2) interconnects and their underlying network topologies, (3) middleware (runtimes, frameworks, OS), (4) algorithms, and (5) paradigms, abstractions, programming models; usually resorting to formal reasoning such as rigorous performance modeling. More details can be found in CV.

I also organize and conduct solo mountaineering and polar expeditions into the coldest and the most inaccessible mountain ranges and plateaus in the world (North Siberia, Chang Tang, Arctic). I'm supported by the Fellowship in The Explorers Club. I also research how to synergistically use HPC and AI for more effective and more efficient exploration, and how to use the mental and physical resources developed in these hostile environments to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of my research. See Exploration & Expeditions for details.