In this EPF cohort, participants have an opportunity to be mentored by core developers and researchers. Here you can find a list of available mentors and tips on working with them.
⚠️ This list is out of date and will be updated as the cohort starts.
| Name | Team | Area of focus |
|---|---|---|
| Axic | Ipsilon | EVM, EOF, Solidity compiler |
| Fredrik | EF Security Research | General Security |
| Marius van der Wijden | Geth | Execution Layer, EVM, Crypto, Merge |
| Hsiao-Wei Wang | EF Consensus Research | Consensus Layer |
| Piper Merriam | Portal Network | Execution Layer, EVM, Networking, Client Design |
| Alex Stokes | EF Consensus Research | Consensus layer, MEV, (consensus layer) light clients |
| Barnabé Monnot | EF Robust Incentives Group | Cryptoeconomics, economic modeling, data science |
| Kev | Independent | Cryptography, Verkle Trees, Stateless |
| Ignacio | Stateless team | Verkle Trees |
| Mario Vega | EF Testing team | Execution Clients Testing, End-to-end tests, State Tests |
| Tomasz K. Stanczak | Nethermind | Protocol Engineering, MEV, EVM |
| Mikhail Kalinin | TXRX | Engine API, Consensus Layer, Optimistic Sync, In-protocol PBS |
| Michael Sproul | Sigma Prime (Lighthouse) | Consensus layer, fork choice, block fingerprinting |
| Paul Hauner | Sigma Prime (Lighthouse) | Consensus layer, code optimization, rewards profiling |
| Cayman Nava | ChainSafe Lodestar | Consensus layer, browser compatibility |
| DappLion | Lighthouse | Consensus layer |
| Yoav Weiss | EF Security, AA | Account Abstraction |
| Zahary Karadjov | Nimbus, Metacraft Labs | Consensus layer, Nim lang |
| Radosław Kapka | Prysm | Consensus layer, Beacon API |
| Ognyan Genev | Portal Network | Portal Network, trin client |
| Mike Ferris | Portal Network | Portal Network, rust, Glados |
| Kolby ML | Portal Network | History/State Network, (execution layer) light clients |
| Justin Florentine | Besu | Besu, Java, Ethereum roadmap and EIPs |
| Simon (siladu) | Besu | Besu, Java, Engine API, EIPs |
| Mehdi Aouadi | Teku | Consensus Layer, software engineering/architecture |
| Paul Harris | Teku | Consensus layer |
| Georgios Konstantopoulos | Paradigm / Reth | Execution layer, Rust and reth client |
| Cayman Nava | Lodestar | Consensus Layer, Lodestar |
| N.C. | Lodestar | Consensus Layer, Lodestar |
| Nico Flaig | Lodestar | Consensus Layer, Lodestar |
| Vid Kersic | Independent | Account Abstraction |
In general, program participants are expected to take personal responsibility for their work. Working as a core developer requires you to be able to do self-directed work, and this program is no different. You should speak up and ask when you have questions, but you should also take responsibility for asking well informed questions.
Mentors from above list are open to help you during the program. They can propose project ideas, answer your questions, and guide you if you get stuck. Keep in mind that each mentor has different capacity since they work on the protocol full time.
Mentors are primarily available in R&D Discord channel and some will occasionally attend EPF standup calls. If you didn't get your invite to the server or cannot reach a mentor, reach out to cohort organizers.
Each mentor is covering a certain area of the protocol and representing their development team. If you choose a project they proposed or your project is within their area, suggest setting up a project group for easier communication. Otherwise, ask for the advice in Discord channel.
Make sure to do your own research before you ask a question, e.g. making sure something like this hasn't been discussed previously in the channel or answered at stackexchange. If the questions targets a specific mentor, feel free to tag them. Your question should be technical and topical. Avoid general and unnecessary messages.