Itzhak (Zachi) Tamo

Associate Professor · Tel Aviv University

Building the foundations of reliable computation.

I develop mathematical constructions and algorithms for reliable information processing under limited resources. My work connects optimal data recovery with distributed computation, private data access, and quantum error correction.

Explore my research Google Scholar
ERC Starting Grant IEEE IT Society Paper Award
Portrait of Itzhak (Zachi) Tamo
INFORMATION · SYSTEMS · QUANTUMItzhak (Zachi) Tamo

Research contributions

IEEE Information Theory Society Paper Award · 2015

Optimal local recovery

With Alexander Barg, I developed optimal locally recoverable codes that combine efficient repair with strong protection against data loss.

Award-winning paper

Recent research · 2026

Quantum error correction and logical gates

Recent joint work develops coset-based quantum LDPC codes, compact check-measurement schedules, and codes supporting transversal non-Clifford gates.

Quantum LDPC codes Transversal gates

ICML · USENIX ATC

Efficient distributed computation

Joint work introduces approximate gradient coding to reduce computation under stragglers. Collaborations also connect storage-repair tradeoffs with experimental system evaluations.

Gradient coding Storage evaluation

Research

Make information more resilient, computation more efficient, and data access more private. My research connects fundamental questions with the systems they can transform.

Protecting quantum information. Enabling quantum computation.

Quantum Information & Fault Tolerance

Developing quantum codes and fault-tolerant logical operations that connect mathematical guarantees with the resources of a quantum computer: physical qubits, check measurements, and connectivity.

  • Quantum LDPC codes
  • Transversal gates
  • Quantum locality
Inside this direction

Recent collaborations introduce coset-based quantum LDPC constructions and codes with transversal non-Clifford gates. Current directions include physical layout constraints and the tradeoffs between error protection and logical operations.

Explore selected papers

Retrieve the information. Keep the question private.

Private Data Access

Understanding how to query distributed data without revealing which item is being requested. Graph-based models turn storage topology into a precise language for privacy and communication tradeoffs.

  • Private information retrieval
  • Storage topology
  • Information-theoretic privacy
Inside this direction

My work on private information retrieval over graphs studies the limits and protocols of replicated storage systems. These models expose how the pattern of data placement affects achievable retrieval rates and communication costs.

Explore selected papers

Less waiting. Faster recovery. Smarter redundancy.

Reliable Distributed Systems

Designing ways to recover data and sustain computation while reducing the bandwidth, access, and redundancy they consume. Applications span distributed storage, straggler mitigation in learning, and emerging DNA storage systems.

  • Distributed storage
  • Coded computation
  • DNA storage
Inside this direction

My work studies local recovery, optimal repair of Reed–Solomon and MDS codes, approximate gradient coding, and access-efficient linear computation. The goal is to understand and improve the tradeoffs among reliability, communication, and computational cost.

Explore selected papers

Find the limits. Build beyond what was possible.

Foundations of Information & Computation

Advancing error correction through explicit constructions, list decoding, and algebraic and combinatorial methods. Fundamental questions become new tools for reliable storage, computation, and quantum information.

  • List decoding
  • Explicit constructions
  • Algebra & combinatorics
Inside this direction

Contributions include generalized Singleton bounds, Reed–Solomon list decoding beyond the Johnson radius, explicit capacity-achieving subcodes, and algebraic expander codes. These results develop techniques that connect information theory with theoretical computer science.

Explore selected papers

Selected publications

Full list of publications on Google Scholar
Preprints on arXiv

8 of 15 selected publications

Recent talks

Invited workshop talk

Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, UC Berkeley

Algebraic Expander Codes

Presented at the Explicit Constructions workshop.

Watch talk

Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton

Algebraic Expander Codes

Computer Science/Discrete Mathematics Seminar II.

Watch talk

About

Academic home

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering–Systems
Tel Aviv University

Research support

European Research Council
Israel Science Foundation
NSF–BSF

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering–Systems at Tel Aviv University and Head of the Advanced Communication Center. My research combines information theory, algorithms, algebra, and combinatorics to understand the limits of reliable information processing and to construct methods that approach them.

A recurring question in my work is how to obtain stronger protection with fewer resources: less communication during data repair, less computation when workers are slow, or fewer physical resources for quantum error correction and logical operations. This connects my established work on storage codes with my recent research in quantum fault tolerance.

Awards & achievements Students & postdocs

Academic leadership & service

  • Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory (since 2022)
  • Head, Advanced Communication Center, Tel Aviv University (since 2021)
  • Chair, Israeli Chapter, IEEE Information Theory Society (2018–2021)

Awards & achievements

2020

ERC Starting Grant

European Research Council · Informational Properties of Networks

2015

IEEE Information Theory Society Paper Award

A Family of Optimal Locally Recoverable Codes

2018

Krill Prize for Excellence in Research

Wolf Foundation

2013

Data Storage Technical Committee Best Paper Award

IEEE Communications Society · Zigzag Codes

2022

Dean’s Teaching Award

Tel Aviv University

Teaching

Dean’s Teaching Award · Tel Aviv University · 2022

Selected courses taught

  • 01Introduction to Error-Correcting Codes
  • 02Digital Logic Design
  • 03Applications of Codes for Big Data and Networks
  • 04Random Signals and Noise
  • 05Discrete Mathematics
  • 06Signals and Systems

Students & postdocs

Graduate students I supervised and postdoctoral researchers I mentored.

Sandeep Sharma

Postdoctoral researcher · 2024–2025

Assistant Professor, Dhirubhai Ambani University

Roni Con

Graduate student (Ph.D.) · 2019–2023

Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor), Tel Aviv University

Eitan Goldberg

Graduate student (M.Sc.) · 2020–2022

Alon Akiva

Graduate student (M.Sc.) · 2019–2021

Yujie Gu

Postdoctoral researcher · 2020

Associate Professor, Kyushu University

Bar Sadeh

Graduate student (M.Sc.) · 2018–2020

Natan Ardimanov

Graduate student (M.Sc.) · 2017–2018

Netanel Raviv

Postdoctoral researcher · 2016–2017

Assistant Professor, Washington University in St. Louis

Contact

For research conversations and academic inquiries.

Associate Professor · Tel Aviv University