Associate Professor at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (aka Gianni Scarpa)
Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Sistemas Informáticos
Calle Alan Turing s/n
28031 Madrid, Spain
Room number: 4304 (Block IV)
Telephone: +34 91 06 73647
email: g.scarpa@upm.es
Member of:
I am interested in quantum information and computation. Particularly, I work on the theory of entanglement and its applications in complexity, graph theory, information theory and foundations of physics.
I graduated from the University of Salerno in Computer Science (cum laude) in 2009, with a thesis on quantum game theory supervised by Giuseppe Persiano.
From 2009 to 2013 I was PhD student at CWI, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. My advisor was Ronald de Wolf. I got my PhD from University of Amsterdam on the 27th of November 2013, defending a PhD thesis entitled "Quantum entanglement in non-local games, graph parameters and zero-error information theory".
From January 2014 to January 2016 I was post-doc in Andreas Winter's group at UAB in Barcelona, Spain, and from February 2016 to April 2019 I was post-doc with David Pérez-García at UCM in Madrid, Spain. Since May 2019 I am professor of computer science at UPM in Madrid, Spain.
My Erdös number is 3, and I have an entry in the Math Genealogy Project.
I am a gender equality and equal opportunity advocate, and I support associations such as WOMAT.
I am not on social media.
Popular science articles:
G. Scarpa. The wisdom in the qubit. In Quantum Views, September 2024.
P. Contreras-Tejada, G. Scarpa. La física cuántica no es tan extraña como temíamos. In The Conversation ES, December 2021.
Scientific publications: (also check Google scholar):
A. Pozas-Kerstjens, S. Hernández-Santana, J. R. Pareja Monturiol, M. Castrillón López, G. Scarpa, C. E. González-Guillén, D. Pérez-García. Privacy-preserving machine learning with tensor networks. Quantum , vol. 8, page 1425, July 2024. (Open access journal version)
A. Brandenburger, P. Contreras-Tejada, P. La Mura, G. Scarpa, K. Steverson. Agreement and Disagreement in a Non-Classical World. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, vol. 382, issue 2268, January 2024. (Open access journal version)
E. Peña Tapia, G. Scarpa, A. Pozas-Kerstjens. A didactic approach to quantum machine learning with a single qubit. In Physica Scripta, vol. 98 num. 054001, April 2023. (arXiv version)
P. Contreras-Tejada, G. Scarpa, A. M. Kubicki, A. Brandenburger, P. La Mura. Observers of quantum systems cannot agree to disagree. In Nature Communications 12, 7021, December 2021. (open access journal version)
V. Auletta, D. Ferraioli, A. Rai, G. Scarpa, A. Winter. Belief-Invariant and Quantum Equilibria in Games of Incomplete Information. In Theoretical Computer Science, vol. 895, pp. 151-177, December 2021. (arXiv version)
G. Scarpa, A. Molnar, Y. Ge, J. J. Garcia-Ripoll, N. Schuch, D. Perez-Garcia, S. Iblisdir. Projected Entangled Pair States: Fundamental analytical and numerical limitations. In Physical Review Letters 125, 210504. November 2020. (open access journal version)
M. Lupini, L. Mancinska, V. I. Paulsen, D. E. Roberson, G. Scarpa, S. Severini, I. G. Todorov, A. Winter. Perfect strategies for non-local games. In Mathematical Physics, Analysis and Geometry, 23, Article number 7, (2020). (arXiv version)
A. Brandenburger, P. La Mura, G. Scarpa. Quantum-Assisted Observatories in Space: Real-time coherence in space telescope arrays via shared quantum states. In Proceedings of the 69th International Astronautical Congress, Bremen, Germany. October 2018. (Extended itabstract)
A. Chailloux, G. Scarpa. Parallel Repetition of Free Entangled Games: Simplification and Improvements. Technical Report (only published on arXiv), October 2014. (arXiv version)
A. Chailloux, L. Mančinska, G. Scarpa, S. Severini. Graph-theoretical Bounds on the Entangled Value of Non-local Games. In Proceedings of TQC 2014. (arXiv version)
T. Piovesan, G. Scarpa and C. Schaffner. Multi-party zero-error classical channel coding with entanglement. In IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol.62, no.2, pp.1113-1123, February 2015. (arXiv version)
A. Chailloux and G. Scarpa. Parallel Repetition of Entangled Games with Exponential Decay via the Superposed Information Cost. Talk at QIP'14, Proceedings of ICALP 2014 and invited talk at AQIS 2014. (arXiv version)
J. Briet, H. Buhrman, M. Laurent, T. Piovesan and G. Scarpa. Entanglement-assisted zero-error source-channel coding. Extended abstract in Proceedings of Eurocomb 2013, September 2013. Talk at QIP'14. Full version in IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol.62, no.2, pp.1124-1138, February 2015. (arXiv version)
A. Cabello, M. G. Parker, G. Scarpa and S. Severini. Exclusivity structures and graph representatives of local complementation orbits. In Journal of Mathematical Physics, Vol.54, Issue 7, July 2013. (arXiv version)
L. Mančinska, G. Scarpa and S. Severini. New Separations in Zero-error Channel Capacity through Projective Kochen-Specker Sets and Quantum Coloring. In IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol.59, no.6, pp.4025-4032, June 2013 (open access journal version)
G. Scarpa and S. Severini. Kochen-Specker Sets and the Rank-1 Quantum Chromatic Number. In IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol.58, no.4, pp.2524-2529, April 2012. (arXiv version)
H. Buhrman, O. Regev, G. Scarpa, and R. de Wolf. Near-Optimal and Explicit Bell Inequality Violations. QIP'11 featured talk, talk at CCC'11, and in Theory of Computing, 8(27):623-645, 2012. (open access journal version)
G. Scarpa. Network Games with Quantum Strategies. In Proceedings of QuantumComm 2009, pp.74-81. (online proceedings - based on my Master's thesis.)
Invited talks:
Computational complexity of PEPS zero testing. Research term "Quantum Information Theory" - Focus week on quantum computing, October 2019, Madrid, Spain.
Perfect strategies for non-signalling games. AMS Fall Eastern Sectional Meeting, September 2018, Newark, DE, USA.
Belief-invariant Equilibria in Games with Incomplete Information. Quantum Decision Theory Workshop 2018. January 2018, Pécs, Hungary.
Introduction to Quantum Computing. CROSSING Events. March 2015, Darmstadt, Germany.
Graphs, communication channels and nonlocality: the interplay. CROSSING Events. March 2015, Darmstadt, Germany.
Multi-party zero-error classical channel coding with entanglement. Workshop "Operators, quantum information processing, and communication", February 2015, London, UK.
Graphs, classical channels and nonlocality: the interplay. CEQIP 2014. June 2014, Znojmo, Czech Republic.
Improving Communication with Entanglement. CWI Scientific Meetings. June 2013, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (Video, Slides)
Generalized Kochen-Specker Sets, Quantum Coloring and Entanglement-Assisted Channel Capacity. Workshop on Quantum Physics of Information. August 2012, Shanghai, China.
Introduction to Quantum Computing. Computing 2011. October 2011, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Conference Talks:
A Quantum Agreement Theorem with Almost Common Priors. Talk at Foundations 2023, July 2023, Bristol, UK.
Agreement between observers: a physical principle? Talk at 18th International Conference on Quantum Physics and Logic, June 2021, Gdansk, Poland.
Computational complexity of PEPS zero testing. Talk at Current Problems in Theoretical Physics 2018, March 2018, Vietri sul Mare, Italy.
Belief-invariant Equilibria in Games with Incomplete Information. Talk at UECE Lisbon Meetings in Game Theory and Applications 2016, November 2016, Lisbon, Portugal.
Parallel Repetition of Entangled Games with Exponential Decay via the Superposed Information Cost. Talk at ICALP 2014, July 2014, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Graph-theoretical Bounds on the Entangled Value of Non-local Games. Talk at TQC 2014. May 2014, Singapore.
A Generalization of Kochen-Specker Sets Relates Quantum Coloring to Entanglement-Assisted Channel Capacity. Talk at AQIS 2012. August 2012, Suzhou, China.
Near-Optimal and Explicit Bell Inequality Violations. Talk at CCC 2011. June 2011, San Jose, California. Near-Optimal and Explicit Bell Inequality Violations. Featured talk at QIP 2011. January 2011, Singapore.
Network Games with Quantum Strategies. Talk at QuantumComm 2009. October 2009, Vico Equense, Naples, Italy.
Presented posters:
Observers of Quantum Systems cannot Agree to Disagree. Poster at PuzzleX 2022, November 2022, Barcelona, Spain. Winner of the best poster award.
Belief-invariant Equilibria in Games with Incomplete Information. Poster at WINE 2015, December 2015, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Poster at QIP 2016, January 2016, Banff, Alberta, Canada. Poster at TQC 2016, September 2016, Berlin, Germany.
Multi-party zero-error classical channel coding with entanglement. Poster at QCRYPT 2014, September 2014, Paris, France.
Projective Kochen-Specker sets and their applications. Poster at QIP 2013. January 2013, Beijing, China.
The Rank-1 Quantum Chromatic Number. Poster at QIP 2012. December 2011, Montreal, Canada.
I was a tutor and guest lecturer at the graduate-level school:
LMS Research School on Combinatorics and Operators in Quantum Information Theory. Queen’s University Belfast, UK, 5-9 September 2016. (website)
I taught the following courses:
Quantum Computation. Elective subject in the official bachelor's programs at ETSISI, UPM (2023)
Quantum Cryptography. Master in Quantum Computing Technology of UPM and Accenture (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Fundamentals of Digital Systems. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Information Security. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (2021, 2022, 2023)
Security of Information Technologies. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (2022, 2023)
Quantum Communications. Master in Quantum Computing Technology of UPM and Accenture (2020, 2021, 2022)
Fundamentals of Programming (C language). Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (2020)
Structure of Computers. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (2019)
Introduction to quantum computation and information. Graduate course at University of Salerno, Italy, 1-15 December 2013.
I have been teaching assistant for the following courses:
I co-organized the following events:
Protegiendo el mañana: seguridad en el mundo cuántico. Meetup Cátedra INCIBE ETSISI, September 2025, Madrid, Spain.
1st Workshop on Zero-error information, Operators, and Graphs, November 2015, Barcelona, Spain.
3rd Pyrenees Winter School on Quantum Information, March 2015, Setcases, Girona, Spain.
I was a member of the Program Committee for:
Q-Turn: changing paradigms in quantum science, November 2020, Online.
Q-Turn: changing paradigms in quantum science, November 2018, Florianópolis, Brazil.
I have two elder brothers. The first one is a catholic priest and lives in Rome, the second one is a movie and theater director and lives in Los Angeles. He made a short movie about this.
I also made some short movies for fun. Here are my favourites:
The Cat. (Made for Quantum shorts 2012. Watch it on youtube.)
Serial Killer. (In Italian, with english subtitles. Watch it on youtube.)
Sometimes I write short stories. Normally they stay in my drawer. However, here's one (in Italian):
Spyvorce. (PDF)
I made this videogame during my Master's, together with Angelo Cafaro and Dario Scarpa:
Slugs. A Worms inspired videogame. (video)