I am a postdoctoral researcher at Aalto University in the group of Prof. Patric Östergård.
Research interests
Approximation algorithms and pattern matching problems.
Interactive systems and parallel computing. I am working with Professor Gheorghe Stefanescu from University of Bucharest in developing AGAPIA language , a programming language for interactive systems.
Education
PhD - University of Bristol . August 2008 - September 2011
Bachelors - University of Bucharest . October 2005 - July 2008
Publications
Synthesizing Minimal Tile Sets for Complex Patterns in the framework of Patterned DNA Self-Assembly. DNA 2012. Eugen Czeizler, Alexandru Popa
Approximating the rainbow - better lower and upper bounds. COCOON 2012. Alexandru Popa
On the Closest String via Rank Distance. CPM 2012. Liviu P. Dinu, Alexandru Popa
Hardness and Approximation of The Asynchronous Border Minimization Problem. TAMC 2012. Alexandru Popa, Prudence W.H. Wong and Fencol C.C. Yung
Approximation Lower And Upper Bounds For Combinatorial Optimization Problems. PhD Thesis - University of Bristol. Alexandru Popa
Restricted Common Superstring and Restricted Common Supersequence. CPM 2011. Raphael Clifford, Zvi Gotthilf, Moshe Lewenstein, Alexandru Popa
Maximum Subset Intersection. Information Processing Letters. Raphael Clifford and Alexandru Popa
On Shortest Common Superstring and Swap Permutations . SPIRE 2010. Zvi Gotthilf, Moshe Lewenstein, Alexandru Popa
Approximation and hardness results for the maximum edge q-coloring problem. ISAAC 2010. Anna Adamaszek, Alexandru Popa
(In)approximability results for pattern matching problems
. Prague Stringology Conference 2010 (PSC 2010). Raphael Clifford, Alexandru Popa
Generalised Matching. SPIRE 2009. Raphael Clifford, Aram Harrow, Alexandru Popa, Benjamin Sach.
Undecidability Results for Finite Interactive
Systems . Alexandru Sofronia, Alexandru Popa, Gheorghe Stefanescu. ROMJIST (Romanian Journal of Information Science and Technology) Volume 12, Number 2, 2009.
Undecidability Results for Finite Interactive
Systems . Alexandru Sofronia, Alexandru Popa, Gheorghe Stefanescu. SYNASC 2008.
Interactive systems with registers and voices and AGAPIA language. Alexandru Popa. Bachelor Thesis, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Bucharest, June 2008
High-level Structured Interactive Programs with Registers and Voices. Alexandru Popa, Alexandru Sofronia, Gheorghe Stefanescu. JUCS (Journal of Universal Computer Science), 13(11) 2007
Cautari in Siruri (Methods of String Matching). Alexandru Popa. Romanian Journal of Computer Science GINFO, March 2007
Bazele Geometriei Computationale (Introduction to Computational Geometry). Alexandru Popa. Romanian Journal of Computer Science GINFO, March 2006
Algoritmul Strassen (Strassen Algorithm). Alexandru Popa. Romanian Journal of Computer Science GINFO, November 2005
Work in progress
Modelling the Power Supply Network - Hardness and Approximation. Alexandru Popa
Better Bounds for the Maximum Edge q-Coloring Problem. Anna Adamaszek, Alexandru Popa, Ola Svensson
New results on Shortest Common Supersequence . Zvi Gotthilf, Moshe Lewenstein, Alexandru Popa
Community service
Program committee member, The Fourth International Conference on Creative Content Technologies
(CONTENT 2012), Nice, France, July 22-27, 2012.
Awards
Travel grant to attend the 12th Max Planck Advanced Course on the Foundations of Computer Science, August 29 - September 2, 2011, Saarbrücken, Germany.
SIGACT Travel Grant to attend STOC 2011, San Jose, California, 6 - 8 June 2011.
Yahoo! Research student support to attend SPIRE 2010, Los Cabos, Mexico, 11-13 October 2010
Studentship to attend the DIMAP Workshop on Extremal and Probabilistic Combinatorics, Petersfield, Hampshire, England, 18 - 25 July 2010
Fellowship to attend 26th Annual British Colloquium on Theoretical Computer Science (BCTCS 2010), Edinburgh, 6-9 April 2010
Fellowship to attend 25th Annual British Colloquium on Theoretical Computer Science (BCTCS 2009), Warwick, 6-9 April 2009
Special prize at FameLab 2008 final Romania , Bucharest, Romania, 17 May 2008
Thrid place at FameLab 2008 regional selection , Bucharest, Romania, April 2008
Erasmus study grant at University of Bristol, Department of Computer Science , September 2007 - January 2008
Member of Romanian National Team of Informatics, 2005
Special mention at Romanian National Olympiads in Informatics, 2004
Special mention at Romanian National Informatics Contest "Great Prize of National Palace of Children", 2004
First prize at Romanian National Informatics Contest "Great Prize of National Palace of Children", 2003
Universities visited
University of Liverpool - March 2011 - hosted by Dr. Prudence W.H. Wong
KTH Royal Institute of Technology - September 2010 - hosted by Prof. Johan Håstad
University of Bar-Ilan - May 2010 - hosted by Prof. Moshe Lewenstein
University of Warwick - February 2010 - hosted by Ms. Anna Adamaszek
University of Warwick - August 2009 - hosted by Dr. Oded Lachish
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - January 2009 - hosted by Prof. Gheorghe Stefanescu
Events and Summer Schools
12th Max Planck Advanced Course on the Foundations of Computer Science, August 29 - September 2, 2011, Saarbrücken, Germany.
DIMAP Workshop on Extremal and Probabilistic Combinatorics, Petersfield, Hampshire, England, 18 - 25 July 2010
DIMAP Summer School on Approximation and Randomized Algorithms, University of Warwick, England, 12 - 16 July 2010
10th Max Planck Advanced Course on the Foundations of Computer Science, September 14 - 18, 2009, Saarbrücken, Germany.
LMS-EPSRC Short Course 'Probabilistic Combinatorics', Cambridge, 12-17 July 2009.
Beautiful Science Networking Event, Istanbul, Turkey, 23-26 October 2008.
Computers are nothing without maths! from ScienceSLAM Helsinki, 13 December 2011.
The maximum edge q-coloring problem. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, 2 December 2011.
The maximum edge q-coloring problem. University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 17 March 2011.
Approximation and hardness results for the maximum edge q-coloring problem. ISAAC 2010, Jeju Island, South Korea, 15-17 December 2010.
On Shortest Common Superstring and Swap Permutations. SPIRE 2010, Los Cabos, Mexico, 11-13 October 2010.
Approximation and hardness results for the maximum edge q-coloring problem. KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 24 September, 2010.
(In)approximability results for pattern matching problems.
Prague Stringology Conference 2010, Prague, Czech Republic, August 30 - September 1, 2010.
Tree Decomposition of Graphs. DIMAP Workshop on Extremal and Probabilistic Combinatorics, Petersfield, Hampshire, England, 18 - 25 July 2010
Permuted Common Supersequence . BCTCS 2010 . University of Edinburgh, 6-9 April 2010.
(In)approximability results for problems inspired from biology . University of Bucharest, 29 March 2010.
Colouring 3-Colourable Graphs Using SDP . Theory of Computing Reading Group. University of Bristol, 4 December 2009.
Online Computation and Competitive Analysis . Theory of Computing Reading Group. University of Bristol, 16 October 2009.
Generalized Matching . SPIRE 2009 . Saariselkä, Finland, 25-27 August 2009.
Bourgain's Embedding Theorem . Theory of Computing Reading Group. University of Bristol, 23 July 2009.
Farytales about Hardness. Theory of Computing Reading Group. University of Bristol, 4 June 2009.
Generalized Matching . BCTCS 2009 . University of Warwick, 6-9 April 2009.
Generalized Matching . Departmental Seminar. University of Bristol, 2 April 2009.
Tree Embeddings . Theory of Computing Reading Group. University of Bristol, 19 February 2009.
Scheduling Processes on Machines. Theory of Computing Reading Group. University of Bristol, 27 November 2008.
Counting problems. Theory of Computing Reading Group. University of Bristol, 6 November 2008.
Interactive Systems with Registers and Voices. Students Communications Session, Bucharest, June 2008
Interactive Computation (video in Romanian). FameLab 2008, Bucharest, Romania, 17 May 2008
Interactive Programs with Registers and Voices - Foundations. GlobalComp Workshop , Technical University Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 26 February 2008
High Level Structured Programs with Registers and Voices: Agapia v0.2 Language. GlobalComp Workshop , Technical University Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 26 February 2008
Teaching
University of Bristol
Teaching Assistant - Theory of Computation (Spring 2011).
Teaching Assistant - Theory of Computation (Spring 2010).
Teaching Assistant - Advanced Algorithms (Fall 2009).
Teaching Assistant - Theory of Computation (Spring 2009).
A few teaching assistance hours on Data Structures and Algorithms (Fall 2008).
A few lectures on Advanced Algorithms (Fall 2008).
Teaching Assistant - Advanced Algorithms (Fall 2008).
Non-academic achievements and activities
I like very much literature and poetry (both reading and writing). To view my poems (in Romanian) click here. Please e-mail me if you have any suggestions or critics regarding the poems.
I have published the essay O noua forma de libertate (joint work with Oana Gabroveanu) in Gheorghe Paun's magazine Curtea de la Arges .
I have published a poem in the collective volume Antologia vinovatelor placeri. Some of the co-authors of this volume are the artists Mircea Albulescu, Tudor Gheorghe and Dorel Visan.
Special metion at the International Poetry Contest in Romanian Language STARPRESS 2010 (5612 participants).
I have published several poems in Antologia scriitorilor romani din intreaga lume - STARPRESS 2011.
I have published eight poems in the collective volume Ce enigmatica esti, femeie... .
I also like to play the guitar.
Some of my dangerous hobbies are motorcycling and horse riding.
I have yellow belt at Judo.