Blockchain, the foundation of Bitcoin, has recently engaged great attention from the industry and academia. In this talk, we will introduce the main concepts of distributed ledger and blockchain technology. The taxonomy and structure of blockchain platforms will be overviewed. A comparative analysis of blockchain simulators will also be given. Also, big attention will be given to consensus protocols that play a key role in any blockchain system. Key concepts and the most popular consensus will be overviewed. Finally, benchmarking techniques to select the most suitable consensus protocol for a blockchain system will be presented.

This seminar will be organized in two sessions, one hour each, as follows:

Session 1: Blockchain platforms and simulators

• Introduction to distributed ledger and blockchain technology
• Blockchain platforms
• Taxonomy of blockchains
• Multi-layered structure of blockchains
• Review and comparative analysis of blockchain simulators

Session 2: Blockchain consensus protocols

• Introduction to consensus protocols in distributed ledger and blockchain
• Fault-tolerance of consensus protocols
• Consensus protocols types: PoW, PoS, DPoS, DAG, etc.
• Benchmarking of consensus protocols
• Application of MCDM techniques for consensus protocol selection

On workshop completion, the participants will have:

• An improved knowledge of Blockchain technology.
• A deeper understanding of Blockchain platforms structure.
• An improved knowledge in consensus protocols.

Planificación: the seminar will be held on Wednesday, February 2nd during the afternoon. The first session will start at 17:00 and will last one hour. The second session will begin at 18:30, after a short break, and will also last one hour. At the end of each session there will be a few minutes for questions and discussion.

Ponentes:

Prof. Remigijus Paulavičius received a Ph.D. degree in computer science from Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania, in 2010. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher with Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania, and a Research Associate with Imperial College London, London, U.K. He is currently a Professor and the Head of the Blockchain Technologies Group, Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies, Vilnius University. In 2019 he was elected as a Member of the Young Academy of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. His research interests include distributed ledger technologies, parallel and distributed computing, the development and application of various operation research (mathematical optimization) techniques.

Assoc. prof. Ernestas Filatovas received his Ph.D. degree in Informatics Engineering from Vilnius University, Lithuania, in 2012. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania, where he is currently a Senior Researcher and Co-founder of the Blockchain Technologies Group at the Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies. His research interests include Blockchain Technology, High Performance Computing, Machine Learning, Multiobjective and Global Optimization, and the development and application of various operation research techniques. He successfully participates/leads in national and international research projects, cooperates with foreign scientists, advises doctoral students. He also actively cooperates with business companies from the research side.

Inscripciones: participation will be open to the members of the university community who pre-register through this link before Monday, January 31st, at 14:00. The number of seats will be established according to the health situation and the availability of resources. Before the beginning of the seminar, pre-registered persons will be contacted by e-mail to let them know whether or not they have a seat in the seminar.