Joakim Blikstad

Joakim Blikstad is a theoretical computer scientist working on combinatorial optimization (matchings, maximum flow, matroid intersection) across sequential, dynamic, communication, parallel and online models. He completed his PhD at KTH Royal Institute of Technology advised by Danupon Nanongkai (defended 27 Nov 2024) and was a postdoctoral researcher at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) from February 2025, concluding December 2025. He did his undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo. He received the EATCS Distinguished Dissertation Award 2025 and a Google PhD Fellowship 2023. As a student he represented Sweden at the IMO (2016) and IOI (2014-2016), and placed 13th at the ICPC World Finals 2023.

Notes7

• Quant employment verification: UNRESOLVED. The only source tying Joakim Blikstad to a quantitative-finance role is the LinkedIn-derived people index (Quantitative Researcher at Radix Trading LLC), an index/aggregator rather than independent primary-source confirmation. His personal site states only that he is 'currently employed in industry' and names no employer, so the person-to-role link and the index-listed 2026-02 start date are unverified. Employer classification: Radix Trading LLC is confirmed to be a proprietary algorithmic/high-frequency trading firm (quantitative finance); the employer qualifies, but the individual's employment link is not confirmed. No past quant internships or roles were found in any primary source.
• EMPLOYER CLASSIFICATION: Radix Trading LLC is a proprietary trading firm (Chicago HQ, offices in New York and Amsterdam) using algorithmic/high-frequency trading and machine-learning research strategies; its Amsterdam office matches the index-listed Netherlands location. So the candidate employer does operate in quantitative finance.2026
• Personal site states he was a postdoctoral researcher at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands from February 2025 and concluded the postdoc in December 2025; he describes himself as 'currently employed in industry' without naming an employer.Dec 2025
• INDEX-ONLY (LinkedIn-derived people index, not primary-source confirmation): lists him as Quantitative Researcher at Radix Trading LLC, location Netherlands. The personal site confirms only 'employed in industry', so the employer/title is unverified.
• Awarded the EATCS Distinguished Dissertation Award 2025 for his PhD thesis.2025
• Completed a PhD at KTH Royal Institute of Technology advised by Danupon Nanongkai; defended 27 November 2024.Nov 27, 2024
• Recipient of a Google PhD Fellowship 2023.2023
• Undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo.
• Radix Trading is a private proprietary trading and algorithmic/HFT firm founded 2012 by Benjamin Blander and Michael Rauchman, headquartered in Chicago.
• Peer-reviewed theoretical computer science output: papers at STOC 2021/2023/2024/2025, FOCS 2022/2024/2025, ICALP 2021/2022, ESA 2023, SODA/SOSA 2024/2025; several in SIAM Journal on Computing and TheoretiCS.2025
• Olympiad record: represented Sweden at IMO 2016 (silver, 26 points, rank 68 of the field) and at IOI 2014, 2015, 2016; Codeforces handle Xylofo.2016
• Competitive programming record per the Competitive Programming Hall of Fame: IOI bronze 2014, silver 2015, silver 2016 (Sweden), and ICPC World Finals ranks 41 (2019) and 13 (2023).2016