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Tom Gur

@tomgur.bsky.social
1.1K followers 176 following 84 posts

Professor of Computer Science at Cambridge.

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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I really like Raghu Meka's post about the barriers of perception. It's thought-provoking and well worth a read. terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/10/07/t...
terrytao.wordpress.com
The barriers of perception
[This is a guest post by Raghu Meka. This blog post was initially written in a different file format and converted using AI. — T.] “This problem has been tried by several famous mathema…
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Cambridge Computer Science @cst.cam.ac.uk · 07/10/2026
We're excited that our researchers @tomgur.bsky.social @martin.kleppmann.com & Amanda Prorok are receiving funding from the @aria-research.bsky.social 'Scaling Trust' programme to lead teams exploring ambitious new ways of improving #AI security. Read about their projects here: shorturl.at/8K1ck
The image shows Professors Tom Gur, Martin Kleppmann and Amanda Prorok who are exploring new ways of improving AI security. Their approaches range from borrowing tools from cryptography to finding a way to 'watermark' robot control systems to identify their creators.
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Clément Canonne @ccanonne.github.io · 05/10/2026
Moni Naor is awarded the Knuth Prize, for his incredible body of work, spanning cryptography, pseudorandomness, algorithms, and much more! tc.computer.org/tcmf/2026/10... h/t @gautamkamath.com
tc.computer.org
2026 Knuth Prize is awarded to Moni Naor - IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Mathematical Foundations of Computing
Moni Naor is the recipient of the 2026 Donald E. Knuth Prize.The Knuth prize honors sustained and profound contributions to thefoundations of computer science, and it is difficult toimagine a career t...
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Clément Canonne @ccanonne.github.io · 29/09/2026
If you're in #TheoreticalCS and on the postdoc job market, now or soon: this opportunity to work with Tom Gur (@tomgur.bsky.social) on "cutting-edge research on the interplay of theoretical computer science, mathematics, and quantum mechanics" sounds amazing: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...
cam.ac.uk
Research Assistant/Associate in Theoretical Computer Science (Fixed Term)
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 1 year.
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Goldreich’s short take on AI proofs is thought-provoking (and the Borges reference is quite on point). www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/~oded/on-pro...
wisdom.weizmann.ac.il
On AI replacing Mathematicians
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Ryan O'Donnell @booleananalysis.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Am teaching grad complexity theory at CMU; about 1/3 of the lectures will be new (vs. last time), 'modern' results. Videos are going onto www.youtube.com/@ComplexityT... which will later also feature student videos. We did Williams (/Cook-Mertz/Shalunov) TIME(t) in SPACE(~√t) today.
youtube.com
Complexity Theory At Carnegie Mellon
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CompSciOxford @compscioxford.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Recruiting: We're hiring two Associate Professorships or Professorships of Computer Science (with Tutorial Fellowships) to start on 1 September 2027 as part of the University of Oxford’s @ox.ac.uk expansion in Computer Science. Details & applications: my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
A salmon pink graphic with the Department of Computer Science logo at the top left and text reading 'We’re hiring: Two Associate Professorships or Professorships of Computer Science (with Tutorial Fellowships). Full time and permanent upon completion of a successful review. 30S: Combined salary £57,986 - £77,366 + substantial additional benefits. Application Deadline: 12:00 16 December 2026. @compscioxford #CompSciOxford'. There are also lines and dots pointing to the text that look like a computer board.
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Clément Canonne @ccanonne.github.io · 01/08/2026
TCS+, the longest-running theoretical #computerscience seminar, will soon resume for the Fall. Let us know what you'd like to hear about (results, speakers, topics), and any suggestions you may have! sites.google.com/view/tcsplus... #TCSSky @tcsplus.bsky.social
sites.google.com
TCS+ - Suggest a talk
Suggest a talk
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International Association for Quantum Information @iaqi.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Let's have a community discussion about the impact of LLMs on quantum information research, and how to react to it as a research community! 👩‍🔬⚛️🤖 🏛️ Head over to the IAQI forum 👇 discuss.iaqi.org/t/quantum-in... 🦋 Please share widely!
discuss.iaqi.org
Quantum Information Processing research in the age of AI
Dear colleagues, Over the past weeks there have been more and more results in which AI models played a crucial role, not only in mathematics and theoretical computer science, but right at the heart o...
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Congratulations!!
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Exciting! Book about GCT?
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Clément Canonne @ccanonne.github.io · 12/06/2026
The website and registration link for WoLA 2026, the Workshop on Local Algorithms, is up! Registration is free, and the workshop will take place on August 16-18 at Boston University. Details and registration: www.local-algorithms.com/WOLA2026/
local-algorithms.com
Workshop on Local Algorithms - WOLA 2026
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Paul Goldberg @paulwgoldberg.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
5-year postdoctoral research fellowship in theoretical Computer Science (also 4 other research fields), a nice opportunity! Needs PhD to be awarded between 1/Aug/24 and 1/Oct/27. Please share with whoever may be suitable! www.asc.ox.ac.uk/post-doctora...
asc.ox.ac.uk
Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships | All Souls College
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Oded Goldreich posted a very insightful digest of the interactive proofs of proximity paper by Rothblum, Vadhan, and Wigderson. This is one of my favourite TCS papers, and Oded's new exposition makes it even easier to appreciate its beauty and elegance. eccc.weizmann.ac.il/report/2026/...
eccc.weizmann.ac.il
ECCC - TR26-088
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Splendid news for TCS@Cambridge: Anuj Dawar @anujdawar.bsky.social has been elected Fellow of the Royal Society. A wonderful recognition for a towering figure in logic and computational complexity. Many congratulations, Anuj! www.cst.cam.ac.uk/news/royal-s...
cst.cam.ac.uk
Royal Society Fellowships honour two Computer Scientists | Department of Computer Science and Technology
The Royal Society has today honoured our colleagues Professors Anuj Dawar and Srinivasan Keshav by electing them as Fellows. Many congratulations to them both!
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
What a beautiful result! Do you think these techniques could extend to von Neumann entropy equivalence testing of quantum states?
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Timothy Gowers @wtgowers.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
OpenAI's claim that this is a central conjecture in discrete geometry is not an exaggeration. This will I think be looked back on as the first time that AI solved a major mathematics problem (defined as a problem that all experts in some subfield had thought about). openai.com/index/model-...
openai.com
An OpenAI model has disproved a central conjecture in discrete geometry
An OpenAI model solved the 80-year-old unit distance problem, disproving a major conjecture in discrete geometry and marking a milestone in AI-driven mathematics.
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Superb exposition. Highly recommended!
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Clément Canonne @ccanonne.github.io · 08/05/2026
Congratulations to Scott Aaronson, awarded the inaugural Luca Trevisan Award for Expository Work in Theoretical Computer Science "for his sustained and high-impact inspirational efforts to explain and promote our field to broad audiences"! Read the commendation: sigact.org/prizes/trevi... #TCSSky
sigact.org
ACM SIGACT - Trevisan Award
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Clément Canonne @ccanonne.github.io · 13/04/2026
How did I miss this?! A recent (2025) survey by Rocco Servedio on PAC learning and its variants, and recent results in these learning models: arxiv.org/abs/2511.08791 (Anything by Rocco is worth reading!)
arxiv.org
The Probably Approximately Correct Learning Model in Computational Learning Theory
This survey paper gives an overview of various known results on learning classes of Boolean functions in Valiant's Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) learning model and its commonly studied variants...
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Excited about this new paper: it subsumes the quadratic Goldreich-Levin [BC26] and algorithmic PFR [ACDG26] papers, and makes explicit a connection between quadratic Fourier analysis and symplectic geometry, as speculated by Green and Tao. arxiv.org/abs/2604.04547
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Thanks for making everything available online! Can’t wait to watch the lectures.
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Submissions are now open for RANDOM 2026: easychair.org/conferences/... Call for papers: randomconference.com/random-2026-... RANDOM 2026 will be held in Boston, MA, on August 19–21, 2026, together with APPROX 2026. We look forward to your submissions!
easychair.org
Log in to EasyChair for RANDOM 2026
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TCS+ @tcsplus.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
📢 Our next TCS+ talk of the season will be Wednesday, April 8 (10am PT, 1pm ET, 19:00 CEST): Rahul Ilango, from MIT, will tell us about Gödel in Cryptography! RSVP to receive the link (available one day prior to the talk): docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
TCS+ RSVP: Rahul Ilango (2026/04/08)
Gödel in Cryptography: Zero-Knowledge Proofs With No Interaction, No Setup, and Perfect Soundness
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Postdoc position in Cambridge with the amazing Anuj Dawar!
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Timothy Gowers @wtgowers.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
I've created a couple of mathematical games, both based on word problems in groups or semigroups. One of them could lead to a Polymath project if enough people are interested in it, as it is connected with an open problem. More details in the linked blog post.
gowers.wordpress.com
Group and semigroup puzzles and a possible Polymath project
An Artin-Tits group is a group with a finite set of generators $latex a_1,\dots a_k$ in which every relation is of the form $latex (ab)^r=(ba)^r$ or $latex (ab)^ra=(ba)^rb$ for some positive intege…
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Happy days! A perfect excuse to share my favourite quantum cryptography origin story, as recounted in Brassard’s paper: arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph...
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
A quantum computer here at Cambridge!
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Plus, you’ve gotta love the leaderboards!
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
I’ve been enjoying Dor Minzer’s new survey “The Lens of Abelian Embeddings”. It gives a clear, additive-combinatorics-flavoured perspective on inverse theorems for k-wise correlations, with applications in discrete maths/TCS and plenty of open problems. arxiv.org/abs/2602.22183
arxiv.org
The Lens of Abelian Embeddings
We discuss a recent line of research investigating inverse theorems with respect to general k-wise correlations, and explain how such correlations arise in different contexts in mathematics. We outlin...
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Postdoc position in Cambridge with Julia Wolf: Julia is a phenomenal researcher and a wonderful collaborator. She is advertising a 2-year postdoc in additive combinatorics and model theory. Closing date: 16 March. Details: jobs.ac.uk/job/DQP803/postdoctoral-research-associate-fixed-term
jobs.ac.uk
Postdoctoral Research Associate (Fixed Term) at University of Cambridge
Explore an exciting academic career as a Postdoctoral Research Associate (Fixed Term). Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
The 2nd Quantum Cambridge–Oxford–Warwick (QCOW) Workshop will take place at Warwick on April 23–24. Theme: Quantum Learning Theory. The programme will feature tutorials and accessible in-depth talks on recent advances by leading experts. Speakers/updates: qcow.cs.ox.ac.uk/
qcow.cs.ox.ac.uk
QCOW
Department of Computer Science - People: Sergii Strelchuk - QCOW
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
I’m tempted to order it too. Let me know if you enjoy the exposition
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Congrats to ToC for having you!
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Clément Canonne @ccanonne.github.io · 13/02/2026
The list of accepted papers at #STOC2026 is out: acm-stoc.org/stoc2026/acc... Congratulations to all authors!
acm-stoc.org
STOC 2026 - 58th ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing
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Clément Canonne @ccanonne.github.io · 08/02/2026
Theoretical CS community! I have a small favor to ask. If you ever used, read, watched some of the (excellent IMO) exposition content by Ryan O'Donnell, would you mind filling this very short survey, and maybe say how useful to you it was? 📝 forms.gle/xrvc2mLRbMqK... Please spread this! #TCSSky
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
A *very* enthusiastic yes for both!
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Thanks for sharing! I would have missed this gem if not for your crisp expository note.
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National Academy of Sciences @nasonline.org · 22/01/2026
Congrats to Irit Dveer Dinur of the Institute for Advanced Study & Weizmann Insitute, #NASmember Subhash Khot of New York University, Guy Kindler of @hebrewuniversity.bsky.social, Dor Minzer of @mit.edu, and Muli Safra of Tel Aviv University, winners of the 2026 Michael and Sheila Held Prize! (1/2)
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
ICALP 2026 CFP is out. This year it’ll be at Royal Holloway (London area), July 7–10, 2026. Abstract registration: Feb 3 Paper deadline: Feb 6 Details: icalppodcspaa2026.cs.rhul.ac.uk/icalp/
icalppodcspaa2026.cs.rhul.ac.uk
ICALP
The 53rd EATCS International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP) will take place between 7–10 July, 2026.
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
I strongly recommend Tobias Osborne's lectures on general relativity. They are full of insight and lots of fun to watch. www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
youtube.com
General Relativity - YouTube
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Would you recommend Open World?
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Thanks! It depends for which object. For RLDCs, we have this lower bound: eccc.weizmann.ac.il/report/2025/... For PCPPs and dPCPs, in general that’s a big open problem, but one can view c^3 LTCs as codes augmented with PCPPs.
eccc.weizmann.ac.il
ECCC - TR25-192
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
New paper with the brilliant Dor Minzer, Guy Weissenberg, and Kai Zhe Zheng: we show a separation between RLDCs and LDCs via HDX-based PCPs. This one is special to me; it answers a question Oded Goldreich posed to me in my 1st PhD year, and it’s been on my mind ever since. arxiv.org/pdf/2512.129...
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Reminder: Two weeks left to apply for the Assistant/Associate Professor positions in Theoretical Computer Science at Cambridge. Application deadline: 15 December 2025. Details and application portal: cst.cam.ac.uk/assistantass...
cst.cam.ac.uk
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Ryan O'Donnell @booleananalysis.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Wow! Yuansi Chen resolves 1 of the 2 remaining $1000 Talagrand problems (michel.talagrand.net/prizes/prize... ): If you take any f : {-1,+1}ⁿ → ℝ⁺ and apply the noise operator T_{.99}, the resulting function g = T_{.99} f satisfies a better-than-Markov inequality. That is, Pr[g > t E[g]] < o(1/t).
michel.talagrand.net
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
A new paper with the brilliant Guy Goldberg and Sidhant Saraogi (now on the job market!). We prove nearly tight lower bounds for relaxed LDCs via a new combinatorial notion of relaxed sunflowers with pseudorandom structure, obtained from new spread lemmas. eccc.weizmann.ac.il/report/2025/...
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Tom Gur @tomgur.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Join us for the first Quantum Cambridge–Oxford–Warwick Colloquium (Quantum COW, if you insist...), 11–12 December 2025 at the University of Oxford. This meeting focuses on Quantum Low-Depth Complexity, with talks, tutorials, and open discussions. Details: qcow.cs.ox.ac.uk
qcow.cs.ox.ac.uk
QCOW
Department of Computer Science - People: Sergii Strelchuk - QCOW
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Clément Canonne @ccanonne.github.io · 14/11/2025
Reminder: the School of Computer Science at #USyd is hiring across the board, equiv. tenure-track positions! Join us at @sydney.edu.au! Deadline ⏰ December 1 🇦🇺
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Felix Leditzky 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @felixled.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
The list of accepted papers for #QIP2026 is now online at qip2026.lu.lv/programme/ac...
qip2026.lu.lv
Accepted papers
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