Cong Ma

PhD student · Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo

cong.ma@uwaterloo.ca

Profile photo

Research Interests

I study programming languages, advised by Yizhou Zhang. Previously, I worked on security and PL at Penn State University with Danfeng Zhang.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about compilers as mediators of human agency—structuring how intent is expressed and enacted on computational machine. As AI systems grow more autonomous, the role of human agency becomes increasingly ambiguous—so what, then, is the compiler’s task? If this question also interests you, I’d love to connect.

Peer‑Reviewed Publications

Lexical Effect Handlers: Fast by Design, Correct by Proof
Doctoral Symposium 25
preprint
Cong Ma
Zero-Overhead Lexical Effect Handlers
OOPSLA 2025
preprint
Cong Ma, Zhaoyi Ge, Max Jung, Yizhou Zhang
Lexical Effect Handlers, Directly
OOPSLA 2024
paperthe Lexa language
Cong Ma, Zhaoyi Ge, Edward Lee, Yizhou Zhang
Quantifying and Mitigating Cache Side Channel Leakage with Differential Set
OOPSLA 2023
paperthe DSA tool
Cong Ma, Dinghao Wu, Gang Tan, Mahmut Taylan Kandemir, Danfeng Zhang

Talks

Zero-Cost Lexical Effect Handlers
slides
NEPLS ’25 ONPLS ’25
Lexical Effect Handlers, Directly
slides
OOPSLA ’24 MWPLS ’24 NJPLS ’24
Quantifying and Mitigating Cache Side Channel Leakage with Differential Set
OOPSLA ’23

Awards

Service

Organizer: Ontario Programming Languages Seminar (ONPLS) 2025

Misc