Einstein Meets Codd: Tensor Algebra through the Lens of Relational Algebra
Amir Shaikhha ( Edinburgh )
- 14:00 3rd June 2026 ( Trinity Term 2026 )051
Tensor processing systems and relational database systems have historically evolved in separate communities, despite sharing deep algebraic structure. This talk explores recent efforts to bridge these worlds by unifying tensor computation and relational query processing, either by expressing tensor operations as relational queries or by developing new algebraic languages that capture both paradigms. I will then discuss how techniques at the interface of these communities can be used to accelerate workloads in databases, machine learning, quantum simulation, and program analysis. Along the way, I will highlight the trade-offs these methods expose, including performance, expressiveness, and the spectrum between exact and approximate computation.