Brown University / Computer Science
Ziheng Shangguan · Computer Science Master's Student
I study and build systems for storing, coordinating, and verifying data. My work explores distributed systems, storage engines, and authenticated data structures for blockchain workloads.
Efficient storage and verification for workloads that change over time.
We introduce the Huffman-Merkle Tree (HMT), an authenticated data structure that adapts to changing access patterns. It combines Huffman-based layouts with hot/cold tiering, frequency estimation, and batched updates. We evaluate hashing overhead and access-weighted membership proofs against Ethereum's Merkle Patricia Trie and the proposed Unified Binary Tree on real-world Ethereum workloads.
Undergraduate Researcher · UC Santa Barbara
Supervised by Dahlia Malkhi and Maofan Yin
Oct 2024 – Jun 2025
Built a lightweight Ethereum block-execution simulator by separating storage components from Geth. The simulator replays blocks and collects static traces without a full client setup, with a modular framework and documentation for storage experiments.
Building systems from the storage layer up.
Storage engine
A Bitcask-based key-value store supporting Redis data structures and pluggable B+ tree / B-tree indexes.
Distributed systems
A sharded, fault-tolerant key-value store built around multiple Raft consensus groups.
Current
Master's in Computer Science
Sep 2022 – Dec 2025
B.S. in Computer Science
Undergraduate Learning Assistant
University of California, Santa Barbara
Formal proofs and discrete mathematics.
C/C++ to assembly, machine logic, and digital logic.
Programming fundamentals, debugging, and memory concepts.