SIGMOD 2026 Recap

This article recaps the author's experience at SIGMOD 2026, a top database research conference held in Bengaluru, India. The author presented their paper 'LeaseGuard: Raft Leases Done Right' and discusses conference stats (1000 participants, 340 talks), significant visa denial issues affecting speakers, and the resulting hybrid sessions. The author reflects on the 9-minute talk format with 2-minute Q&A, finding it effective for specialists. The article also summarizes key presentations, including a talk by Google's Chief Technologist on AI in mathematics and computer science research, specifically AlphaEvolve. The content is directly related to IT/technology, specifically database research and academic conferences.