CNI CONNECT

Monthly Newsletter from CNI

Issue - March 2026

Upcoming Talks

March continues to have a packed calendar at CNI, with conversations spanning theory, systems, AI, and next-generation networks. From academia to industry, this month’s speakers reflect the breadth of questions shaping our field today.

Here’s what’s ahead
Mar 16: Ashutosh Sabharwal, Rice University

Mar 18: Harshan Jagadeesh, IIT Delhi
Mar 23: Rijurekha Sen, IIT Delhi

Mar 30: Dheeraj Nagaraj, Google

Talk titles, abstracts, and full details are available on the CNI Seminar Series page. Do take a look and mark your calendars.

CNI in the Community

IISc’s AI-Powered Oral Cancer Screening Tool Showcased at India AI Impact Summit 2026

Tejashree S, a CISCO CNI PhD Scholar, along with her team members at TANUH, the AI Centre of Excellence in Healthcare (an IISc-based centre established by the Ministry of Education), participated in the prestigious India AI Impact Summit 2026, held at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi.

Alongside her team, she presented Aarogya Aarohan, a mobile application for oral cancer screening at the AI Impact Expo. This innovative, offline-first, point-of-care, edge AI application is designed to empower frontline health workers in underserved and low-resource settings.

The exhibit drew significant attention from a diverse audience, including policymakers, venture capitalists, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, students and general public. The booth was honoured by visits from eminent dignitaries, including Sri Dharmendra Pradhan (Hon’ble Minister of Education, Government of India), Prof. V. Kamakoti (Director, IIT Madras), and Prof. Govindan Rangarajan (Director, IISc), who lauded the team’s commitment to tech-driven social impact.

Join the CNI Team!

As our research expands, so does our team.

CNI is inviting applications for the following openings in the Distributed Systems Lab:

1. Research Associate: For experienced professionals and fresh graduates planning to get into systems research.

2. Research Intern: For students who are interested in experimental research in systems/networks while pursuing their studies.

More details at the CNI opportunities page.

Highlights from Recent Talks

Quantum Communication Advantage for Leader Election and Agreement

Prof. Gopal Pandurangan (University of Houston, USA) explored how quantum communication can outperform classical methods in coordinating distributed systems. He introduced a new framework enabling highly message-efficient solutions to leader election and agreement problems, demonstrating how quantum approaches can surpass long-standing classical communication limits.

What Can Be Recovered Under Sparse Adversarial Corruption? Assumption-free Theory for Linear Measurements

Prof. Alexandre Reiffers-Masson (IMT Atlantique) addressed a fundamental question in data science: what can be reliably recovered when measurements are corrupted by sparse, adversarial errors? He presented an assumption-free theoretical framework that characterizes the smallest solution set guaranteed to be recoverable, even without prior structural constraints.

Manifold Optimization in Data Science

Prof. Max Pfeffer (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) discussed the role of manifold optimization in matrix and tensor factorizations widely used in data science. He showed how Riemannian optimization techniques can handle constrained factorization problems and enable applications such as interpretable feature extraction and multi-dataset data fusion.

Multi-community Spectral Clustering for Geometric Graphs

Prof. Hariprasad Manjunath (Chanakya University) presented advances in community detection under the Soft Geometric Block Model, where network structure is shaped by both community membership and spatial distance. He introduced a higher-order spectral clustering method that identifies informative eigenvalues to recover community structure in geometric networks.

Trends in AI and Semiconductors

Dr. Sandeep Chennakeshu (COO, Uhnder Inc.) examined the evolving relationship between AI and semiconductor technologies. He discussed advances in computing architectures, memory, interconnects, and packaging, highlighting their implications for system design, R&D costs, and emerging opportunities for AI-driven product development.

Incentive Compatibility in Two-Stage Repeated Stochastic Games

Prof. Bharadwaj Satchidanandan (IIT Madras) explored mechanism design for two-stage repeated stochastic games, motivated by applications in electricity markets. He introduced the concept of dominant strategy non-bankrupting equilibrium (DNBE) and presented a mechanism that encourages truthful behavior while requiring minimal assumptions about other players’ strategies.