University: Macquarie University
Academic supervisor:
Prof. Annabelle McIver
Industry partner: ANZ
Academic Background and Work Experience
Thisal earned a Bachelor of Computer Science with a major in Software Engineering from Edith Cowan University. His academic achievements include the 2017 Gold Medal as the top student in Computer Science and the 2019 Silver Medal for outstanding academic excellence. Thisal has built an extensive portfolio of certifications, including from Harvard and Stanford focusing on cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence, as well as advanced concepts in systems design.
He began his career as a Software Engineer at Yaala Labs, a FinTech company, where he rapidly enhanced his technical expertise in building enterprise-grade solutions with a focus on scalability, fault tolerance, and maintainability. His exceptional performance and leadership capabilities led to his promotion to Senior Software Engineer in under one and a half years, where he has continued to design and develop robust systems while maintaining architectural integrity and preventing both architectural erosion and drift. He has also contributed to scholarly research by co-authoring a peer-reviewed publication in Blockchain:
Research and Applications, a top-tier Q1 journal.
Thesis Topic
Validating the Integrity of Polygon CDK Validium Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Polygon zkEVM’s zero-knowledge proof pipeline may contain implementation flaws that could compromise computational integrity in blockchain transactions. These potential flaws risk cascading across the next generation of financial market infrastructure as TradFi and DeFi integrate. This research develops systematic testing frameworks to validate proof system integrity for digital asset platforms while providing institutional partners essential testing frameworks.
About ANZ
Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) is one of the major banks in Australia offering a vast array of financial services from retail to institutional banking. They are keen to expand their service portfolio from traditional financial solutions to decentralised finance (DeFi). ANZ is a pioneer in the DeFi space, being the first bank to mint a digital asset linked to the Australian dollar, the A$DC stablecoin. They are looking at novel services that can benefit from distributed ledger technology.