Columbia University · Summer School 2026

Theory & Practice of
Blockchain Consensus

Featuring lectures by leading academics and practitioners in blockchain consensus, covering the latest developments in the area.

Dates May 26–29, 2026
Location Columbia University, New York
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About the program

What is this summer school?

Blockchains rely on consensus protocols to enable a large number of physical machines to act logically as a single virtual machine — a "computer in the sky." The last few years have seen exciting progress on both the theory and practice of consensus protocol design.

This summer school will feature lectures by leading academics and practitioners in the area, and will bring attendees up to date on the latest developments.

Hosted by the Columbia-Ethereum Research Center for Blockchain Protocol Design.

About the hosting center

The Columbia-Ethereum Center for Blockchain Protocol Design brings together the multi-disciplinary expertise at Columbia to advance the performance, security, robustness, and economics of blockchain technology — drawing on distributed systems, game theory, cryptography, and more.

Dates May 26–29, 2026
Format In-person lectures & talks
Host Columbia-Ethereum Research Center for Blockchain Protocol Design

Confirmed speakers

Who's speaking

A world-class lineup of researchers and practitioners from top universities, research labs, and industry.

IA
a16z crypto
MA
Princeton University
FD
Ethereum Foundation
SD
Category Labs
DG
Northwestern University
AL
LSE / Commonware
KN
Duke University
JN
a16z crypto
PO
Commonware
GV
Commonware
SS
Aptos Labs
AS
Mysten Labs
YV
Ethereum Foundation
RW
ETH Zurich / Anza Labs

Program

Tentative schedule

The schedule below is tentative. Talk titles and abstracts will be added closer to the event. There will be no livestream; edited videos of all talks will be posted to YouTube after the event.

Tuesday, May 26

9:15–9:30
Tim Roughgarden (Columbia University) — opening remarks / overview
9:30–10:45
Ittai Abraham (a16z crypto)
11:15–12:30
Roger Wattenhofer (ETH Zurich / Anza Labs)
12:30–2:00
Lunch
2:00–3:15
Dongning Guo (Northwestern University)
3:45–5:00
Maria Apostolaki (Princeton University)
5:00–6:30
Reception

Wednesday, May 27

9:30–10:45
Andrew Lewis-Pye (LSE / Commonware)
11:15–12:30
Sasha Spiegelman (Aptos Labs)
12:30–2:00
Lunch
2:00–3:15
Francesco d'Amato (Ethereum Foundation)
3:45–5:00
Yann Vonlanthen (Ethereum Foundation)

Thursday, May 28

9:30–10:45
Sourav Das (Category Labs)
11:15–12:30
Guru Vamsi Policharla (Commonware)
12:30–2:00
Lunch
2:00–3:15
Alberto Sonnino (Mysten Labs)
3:45–5:00
Lightning talks — attendee talks

Friday, May 29

9:30–10:45
Patrick O'Grady (Commonware)
11:15–12:30
Joachim Neu (a16z crypto)
12:30–1:15
Lunch
1:15–2:30
Kartik Nayak (Duke University)

Getting here

Venue

Building

Columbia Engineering
Innovation Hub
Tang Family Hall

Address

2276 12th Avenue, Floor 2
New York, NY 10027

Campus

Columbia University
Morningside Heights, Manhattan

Dates

May 26–29, 2026
New York City