If you are interested in doing a Computer Science PhD under my supervision, please send me an informal application email including your CV, unofficial transcripts, and links to github and competitive programming profiles (if any). Be patient after sending the email. I often receive hundreds of messages per day and it will take me a while to reply, but I will eventually reply.
Vacancies. We currently have openings for a number of PhD positions at the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), L'Aquila, Italy, starting in the academic year 2026-2027. There are 10 GSSI-wide scholarships in Computer Science + 4 additional scholarships in Theoretical Computer Science reserved for the European Research Council Grant SPES: Sparsity-guided Efficient SMT-solving for Program Verification. The official call in Italian and its English translation are available here.
Topics. The positions in our group are focused on designing Parameterized Algorithms for problems in Formal Program Verification and Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMT). The ERC project SPES focuses on the wide family of problems in program verification that are currently being solved by means of reductions to SMT. Its goal is to exploit the structural and sparsity properties of programs, which are inherited by SMT instances, to design bespoke SMT-solving algorithms that are much more efficient than the current state-ofthe-art and scale to much larger programs. It is particularly focused on the non-linear theories of integers and reals (NIA/NRA).
Degree Requirements. Candidates should have or be completing a four or five-year degree in Mathematics or Computer Science with a theoretical focus, e.g. in logic, formal methods, or algorithms and complexity. 3-year BSc degrees are not sufficient. Candidates graduating from Italian/EU universities must have an MSc before the PhD's starting date. Other candidates must have at least a 4-year degree. It is up to the selection committee to decide if a candidate's foreign qualification is sufficient to give access to PhD studies at GSSI. If your degree does not meet the legal requirements for access to the PhD, you should consider GSSI's master's scholarships in L'Aquila. See this link.
Expectations and Desired Qualities. Candidates are expected to be comfortable and fluent in programming, especially implementing algorithmic ideas and combinations of various data structures, and have a strong mathematical background. Prior research experience in theoretical computer science or computational mathematics is a plus, as is a track-record of success in computing and mathematics Olympiads or competitive programming. The successful candidates will complete a truly interdisciplinary and impactful PhD and their research will interface with SMT-solving, parameterized algorithms, logic, graph decompositions, compilers, program analysis and computational real algebraic geometry. While knowledge in all of these areas is certainly not expected at the beginning of the PhD, the successful candidate is expected to be able and eager to learn about them during their doctoral studies and use them in their research.
Funding. PhD positions at GSSI come with a full scholarship for the whole duration of studies (4 years) which includes:
Tuition-fee Waiver
Monthly stipend
Free lunch on GSSI's working days
Free accommodation in the city of L'Aquila or an accommodation grant
A grant to purchase a laptop
Accident and Injury Insurance
Additional funds during research stays abroad
There are also ample funds available for attending international conferences to present research results.
Process. After an application is submitted, I will first check whether it seems promising. This is a simple check and your application passes if you satisfy any of the following conditions:
Having or expecting to graduate from a bachelor's/master's degree in mathematics or computer science with a substantial theoretical content and a high GPA. Normally, I expect you to rank in the top 5-10%;
Having research experience, e.g. internships or publications, in theoretical computer science or related areas in maths, e.g. combinatorics or computational algebra;
Providing strong recommendation letters from one or more professors in these areas;
Having a medal in one of the major national or international Olympiads and competitions in mathematical problem-solving or programming, e.g. IMO, IOI, IMC, ICPC, or alternatively providing a link to a competitive programming profile, e.g. on codeforces or topcoder, with a high rating;
Any other significant achievement that strongly indicates the potential to do a successful PhD in Computing or Mathematics.
Candidates who pass the first stage will be interviewed. In the technical interview, you will be given a few algorithmic, programming or mathematical problems, depending on your background. This is similar to SWE interviews at companies such as Google or Meta. The problems usually have 8-10 levels of difficulty and I keep track of how many levels you can successfully handle. Candidates who solve the most problems will be offered PhD positions.
Success Rate. In the past years, the interview process has had a success rate of 1.9% (number of offers/number of interviewees).
Commitment to Equality. I am committed to maintain a recruitment policy that is fully meritocratic and offers equal opportunities to all candidates, minimizing the effect of my own opinions or any unconscious biases. As a direct result, our team is one of the most diverse and international research groups anywhere in the world. If your CV does not look impressive at the first glance or you do not come from a brand-name university, do not hesitate to apply to our group. The process outlined above is designed to ensure fairness to all candidates. I do not recruit students solely based on their GPA, CV, former university, standardized test scores or recommendation letters, precisely because such metrics often fail to adequately capture the abilities of many top candidates. In our group, if you can solve problems, you will be given a fair chance to show it in an interview and then be offered a PhD position. This is irrespective of your educational background, gender, where you come from, or anything other than mathematical and computing talent.