Damian Rovara M.Sc.
Doctoral Candidate
Arcisstrasse 21, 4th floor, room 4999
Phone: +49 (89) 289 - 23558
damian.rovara@tum.de
Go to: Research Highlights Publications Teaching Curriculum Vitae
Research
Interests
- Quantum software engineering, focusing on:
- Runtime assertions and automated debugging methodologies
- Program analysis methods for error diagnosis
- Symbolic resource estimation for large-scale program evaluation
- Structured quantum program compilation to bridge the gap between high-level abstractions and low-level hardware
- Co-design methods for NISQ programs, spanning:
- Automated problem formulation
- Resource-efficient compilation
- Quantum computing education: Design of accessible quantum programming interfaces
Highlights
Awards
| 09/2025 | Best Paper Award (2nd Place) for the paper “Automatically Refining Assertions for Efficient Debugging of Quantum Programs” published at the IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE) by D. Rovara, L. Burgholzer, and R. Wille. |
| 07/2019 | Dean's List Award for outstanding academic performance at Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria. |
| 07/2018 | Dean's List Award for outstanding academic performance at Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria. |
| 09/2016 | Participation in the National-Level Computer Science Olympiads, Catania, Italy |
Publications
Publications at the Chair for Design Automation
Organized Tutorials, Workshops, Special Sessions, etc.
- Y. Stade, L. Burgholzer, M. Reumann, D. Haag, D. Rovara, P. Hopf, and R. Wille. MLIR for Quantum-Classical Compilation: Building a Future-Proof Compilation Framework. In IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE). 2026.
- L. Burgholzer, D. Haag, Y. Stade, D. Rovara, P. Hopf, and R. Wille. The MQT Compiler Collection: A Blueprint for a Future-Proof Quantum-Classical Compilation Framework. In Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE). 2026. PDF.
Conferences, Workshops, etc. with Proceedings
- D. Rovara, L. Burgholzer, and R. Wille. A Framework for the Efficient Evaluation of Runtime Assertions on Quantum Computers. In IEEE International Conference on Quantum Software (QSW). 2026. arXiv:2505.03885, PDF.
- D. Rovara, N. Quetschlich, and R. Wille. A Framework to Formulate Pathfinding Problems for Quantum Computing. In International Symposium on Multiple-Valued Logic (ISMVL). 2026. PDF.
- L. Burgholzer, J. Echavarria, P. Hopf, Y. Stade, D. Rovara, L. Schmid, E. Kaya, B. Mete, M. N. Farooqi, M. Chung, M. De Pascale, L. Schulz, M. Schulz, and R. Wille. The Munich Quantum Software Stack: Connecting End Users, Integrating Diverse Quantum Technologies, Accelerating HPC. In Proceedings of the Supercomputing Asia and International Conference on High Performance Computing in Asia Pacific Region. 2026. DOI, PDF.
- P. Hopf, E. Ochoa Lopez, Y. Stade, D. Rovara, N. Quetschlich, I. A. Florea, J. Izaac, R. Wille, and L. Burgholzer. Integrating Quantum Software Tools with(in) MLIR. In Proceedings of the Supercomputing Asia and International Conference on High Performance Computing in Asia Pacific Region. 2026. DOI, PDF.
- D. Rovara, L. Burgholzer, and R. Wille. Quantum Hardware-Efficient Selection of Auxiliary Variables for QUBO Formulations. In Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE). 2026. Acceptance rate: 25%. PDF.
- D. Rovara, L. Burgholzer, and R. Wille. Automatically Refining Assertions for Efficient Debugging of Quantum Programs. In IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE). 2025. PDF.
- D. Rovara, L. Burgholzer, and R. Wille. A Framework for Debugging Quantum Programs. In IEEE International Conference on Quantum Software (QSW). 2025. PDF.
- R. Wille, L. Berent, T. Forster, J. Kunasaikaran, K. Mato, T. Peham, N. Quetschlich, D. Rovara, A. Sander, L. Schmid, D. Schoenberger, Y. Stade, and L. Burgholzer. The MQT Handbook: A Summary of Design Automation Tools and Software for Quantum Computing. In IEEE International Conference on Quantum Software (QSW). 2024. Invited Paper. arXiv:2405.17543, DOI, PDF.
Conferences, Workshops, etc. without Proceedings
- P. Hopf, E. Ochoa Lopez, Y. Stade, D. Rovara, N. Quetschlich, I. A. Florea, J. Izaac, R. Wille, and L. Burgholzer. Integrating Quantum Software Tools with(in) MLIR. In Software Engineering 2026 Companion Proceedings. Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V., 2026.
- Y. Stade, L. Burgholzer, P. Hopf, D. Rovara, and R. Wille. Learning from the Classical Realm: Leveraging MLIR for a Modular Quantum Compilation Infrastructure. In Gesellschaft für Informatik Quantum Computing Workshop (GI QC). 2025.
- D. Rovara, N. Quetschlich, L. Burgholzer, and R. Wille. Supporting End-Users in Realizing Quantum Computing Applications. In Workshop on Quantum Software (WQS). 2024.
Preprints
- D. Rovara, L. Burgholzer, and R. Wille. Qubit Reuse Beyond Reorder and Reset: Optimizing Quantum Circuits by Fully Utilizing the Potential of Dynamic Circuits. 2025. arXiv:2511.22712, PDF.
Teaching
Courses
- ST2026
- ST2024, WT2024/25, ST2025
- Organization, lectures, and exercise design for Grundlagenpraktikum: Rechnerarchitektur (Practical: Computer Architecture)
Advised Theses
- A. Bußejahn, ‘Advancing Quantum Circuit Translation and Optimization in the MQT Compiler Collection’, BA Thesis, 2026
Curriculum Vitae
Personal Data
| Name: | Damian Rovara |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Languages: | German, English, Italian |
Education
| 09/2020–11/2021 | Master's degree (M.Sc.) Computer Science at The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK |
| Master's Thesis: Variational Quantum Algorithms for the Solution of the Two-Path Problem on Directed Graphs | |
| 10/2017–08/2020 | Bachelor's degree (B.Sc.) Computer Science at Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria |
| Bachelor's Thesis: Rendering n-Dimensional Objects through Recursive Ray Tracing | |
| until 2017 | High School, Bressanone, Italy |
