I am currently a researcher at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security in Germany. Originally from the Slovak Republic, I lived there until completing my Bachelor’s degree in Informatics at Comenius University. With a strong foundation in mathematics and computer science, I developed an early interest in research, which led me to pursue a joint MSc/PhD program at KAUST, followed by a postdoctoral position at MBZUAI.

My research focuses on advancing the development of optimization methods. Recently, I have been particularly interested in Newton-type methods, while my earlier work spans a range of topics, including distributed optimization, federated learning, and stochastic optimization.

Outside of research, I enjoy playing sports, especially ultimate frisbee. I value the sport for its emphasis on fair play and spirit of the game. During my time in Slovakia, I represented the Slovak youth national team.

• CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, Saarbrücken, Germany
  2026 - present: Postdoctoral researcher
  Research topics: Distributed optimization, higher-order optimization

• Mohamed bin Zayed University of AI, Abu Dhabi, UAE
  2024 – 2026: Postdoctoral researcher
  Research topics: Distributed optimization, higher-order optimization
  Management roles: grant coordinator, student supervisor

2022, Jun-Aug: Research assistant
Developed second-order algorithms that are fast, practical, and provably convergent

• Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, USA
  2022, Jun-Aug: Research associate
  Investigated machine learning loss reformulations and designed fast variance-reduced algorithms

• Wincent (crypto trading company), Bratislava, Slovakia
  2020, Jun–Aug: Research intern/software engineer
  Analyzed and modeled the company's resource allocation. Designed and implemented the resource optimization algorithms under various constraints

• Iuventa (Mathematical Olympiad), Bratislava, Slovakia
  2017 – 2019: Organizer of the national selection camp for the International Mathematical Olympiad
  Created problem sets, marked the solutions
  Restructured the format of the camp (team of 4 people)

• Researcher
  Topics: federated learning, higher-order algorithms, stochastic optimization
  Reviewer at journals JOTA, TMLR, and conferences NeurIPS, ICML, AISTATS

• Programming
  Python, PyTorch, C/C++, SQL, Bash, Julia
  Flexibility: experience with Java, Javascript, Matlab, R, Mathematica, Haskell, Python-FU
  Practicality: automation of recurring tasks (sending emails, filling forms, etc.)

• Cross-cultural communication
  Studied, worked, and lived in various international communities