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PhD Student

Theoretical Computer Science

I am a current doctoral student at the University of Liverpool since October 2024. I am a member of the ACTO and NDC groups. I work under the guidance of Sebastian Wild, Nikhil Mande and Viktor Zamaraev. Prior to this, I completed my Master’s degree at the University of York under the guidance of Detlef Plump.

Note: My surname is “Ismaili Alaoui,” in full. My first name is “Ziad.” I do not have a middle name.

Interests: Graph Transformation, Graph Rewriting, Graph Algorithms, Succinct Data Structures, Compression, Tournaments, Query Complexity

To contact me, please send me an email at [email protected] (in reverse; sorry, web scrapers are not super cool).

Education

• PhD, Computer Science

  University of Liverpool (Since October 2024)

• MScR, Computer Science

  University of York (September 2023 to September 2024)

• BSc, Computer Science

  University of York (September 2020 to July 2023)

Work Experience

Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Liverpool (Since January 2025)

• I assist with delivering the tutorials for the module titled “Complexity of Algorithms” (COMP202).
• I assist with demonstrating and delivering the tutorials for the module titled “Data Structures and Algorithms” (COMP108).

Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of York (February 2024 to May 2024)

• I demonstrated for the module titled “Object Oriented Data Structures & Algorithms” (COM00016C).

Talks

1. “Succinct Preferential-Attachment Graphs”, Analysis of Algorithms (AofA) 2025, Toronto (Canada), May 8th 2025.
2. “Finding Strong Kings in Tournaments”, Postgraduate Combinatorics Conference (PCC) 2025, Glasgow (the United Kingdom), May 2nd 2025.
3. “Linear-Time Graph Programs for Unbounded-Degree Graphs”, International Conference on Graph Transformation (ICGT) 2024, Enschede (the Netherlands), July 11th 2024.

Publications

1. Z. Ismaili Alaoui and N. S. Mande, Hardness of Finding Kings and Strong Kings, ArXiv e-prints, arXiv:2504.19386, 2025.
2. Z. Ismaili Alaoui and D. Plump, Rule-Based Graph Programs Matching the Time Complexity of Imperative Algorithms, ArXiv e-prints, arXiv:2501.09144, 40 pages, 2025.
3. Z. Ismaili Alaoui and D. Plump, Linear-Time Graph Programs without Preconditions, Proc. 15th International Workshop on Graph Computation Models (GCM 2024). Electronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science, arXiv:2503.20465.
4. Z. Ismaili Alaoui and D. Plump, Linear-Time Graph Programs for Unbounded-Degree Graphs, Proc. 17th International Conference on Graph Transformation (ICGT 2024). Lecture Notes in Computer Science 14774, pages 3-20. Springer, 2024. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-64285-2_1.