Featured open-source project
NeuG
A graph-native data engine for agentic applications. Graph, vector, and full-text retrieval over the same transactional data, embedded in your application or running as a service.
Researcher & engineer · Graphs / Data / AI
Longbin (Robin) Lai.
Building systems that make
connected data useful.
Staff Engineer at Token Foundry. My work spans graph databases, distributed processing, query optimization, and applications of large language models.
01 / Engineering
Systems & open source
Graph Database / Query Language
GOpt ↗
GOpt is built on top of a unified intermediate representation (IR) that is capable of capturing both graph and relational operations, thereby streamlining the optimization of graph queries.
Graph Database / Distributed System
GLogS ↗
We develop GLogS system, allowing users to interactively submit queries using a declarative language, which will be compiled and automatically optimized, and eventually executed on the GAIA dataflow engine.
Distributed System / Query Execution Engine
GAIA ↗
GAIA (former name, Pegasus) is a distributed data-parallel compute engine based on the cyclic dataflow computation model. GAIA serves as the computation engine, lying at the core of the GraphScope system. Users can construct the computation via a directed acyclic graph (DAG), and easily run the job on their laptop or even a distributed environment across a cluster of computers.
Graph Database / Graph Pattern Matching
GraphScope Interactive ↗
GraphScope Interactive is a specialized construction of GraphScope Flex, designed to handle concurrent graph queries at an impressive speed. Its primary goal is to process as many queries as possible within a given timeframe, emphasizing a high query throughput rate.
Graph Database / Distributed System
PatMat ↗
To develop a graph pattern matching system in the distributed context, while gluing together the academic results of optimal join algorithms and industrial efforts of query language
02 / Research
Selected publications
A Modular Graph-Native Query Optimization Framework
ACM SIGMOD/PODS International Conference on Management of Data 2025 (to appear)
Graphy'our Data: Towards End-to-End Modeling, Exploring and Generating Report from Raw Data
ACM SIGMOD/PODS International Conference on Management of Data 2025, Demo Paper (to appear)
GraphScope Flex: LEGO-like Graph Computing Stack
ACM SIGMOD/PODS International Conference on Management of Data 2024
GLogS: Interactive Graph Pattern Matching Query At Large Scale
USENIX Annual Technical Conference (ATC) 2023
GAIA: A System for Interactive Analysis on Distributed Graphs Using a High-Level Language
18th USENIX Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation
03 / Notes
Recent writing
Why DuckDB Is Such A Good Database Product
GOpt Optimization Process: An In-depth Case Study Based on LDBC SNB Queries
SJTU Information Security Class of 2010 Alumni Reunion
04 / Background
A little about me
Dr. Longbin (Robin) Lai obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in 2010 and 2013, respectively. He then pursued his Ph.D. studies in the Database Group at the School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, under the supervision of Prof. Xuemin Lin and Prof. Lu Qin. He completed his Ph.D. in March 2017, and his thesis is available here. Dr. Lai joined Alibaba to develop large-scale graph data analytics systems for its e-commerce platform. He is also a lead contributor to the open-source project GraphScope. His work includes GAIA, a distributed dataflow system for large-scale graph queries; GLogS, a distributed interactive pattern matching system; and GOpt, a unified graph query optimization framework. Currently, he is a member of Token Foundry, where he leads research and development initiatives focusing on innovative applications of Large Language Models (LLMs).
Education
- PhD in Computer Science and EngineeringUniversity of New South Wales, Sydney · 2017
- Master in Computer EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong University · 2013
- BSc in Information SecurityShanghai Jiao Tong University · 2010
Research interests
Big Data Management · Graph Database · Distributed Processing · Query Optimizations · Large Language Models
Get in touch
Let’s connect.
Ideas, projects, and life beyond the code.
X / Twitter@LongbinLai
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