A Close Look at The Graph’s Technical Advisory Board

TL;DR: The Graph’s Technical Advisory Board (TAB) is set to enhance research and development by providing expert scrutiny for technical plans and Graph Improvement Proposals (GIPs).

Hey there! If you’ve been following The Graph, you might have heard about the recent introduction of the Technical Advisory Board (TAB). Wondering what it’s all about? Let’s dive in together.

What’s the TAB?

In simple terms, the Technical Advisory Board, or TAB, is a fresh addition to The Graph’s ecosystem. Its main goal? To supercharge the research and development (R&D) efforts of The Graph. The TAB will team up with The Graph Council and the broader community to give technical plans, proposals, and implementations a thorough look-over.

Why should we care about the TAB?

1. Technical know-how: The world of The Graph spans a bunch of technical areas, from smart contracts to data engineering. While the folks at The Graph are pretty savvy in these domains, the TAB adds an extra layer of expertise to the mix, ensuring that Graph Improvement Proposals (GIPs) get the attention they deserve.
2. Boosted confidence: With the TAB on board, both the community and The Graph Council can feel more at ease when giving the green light to technical proposals and software upgrades. Think of the TAB as that friend who double-checks your work, making sure everything’s on point.
3. R&D in the fast lane: The TAB isn’t just there to review; they’re here to help. By supporting core contributors, the TAB ensures that R&D initiatives move forward at full speed.

The TAB’s to-do list

The TAB has a robust set of responsibilities, ensuring The Graph’s technical trajectory remains innovative and secure. Here’s what the board will be tasked with:

• GIPs and upgrades review: They’re the eagle eyes reviewing GIPs and Graph Node upgrades, including all indexer-stack software, for that extra layer of scrutiny.
• R&D support: The TAB is the R&D team’s sidekick, facilitating GIPs and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
• Technical Q&A: They’re the go-to experts for The Graph Council’s technical queries, providing answers that are both insightful and actionable.
• Grant assessment: By supporting The Graph Foundation, the TAB helps in assessing and awarding technical grants to foster innovation within the ecosystem.
• Ecosystem updates: Transparency is key, and the TAB ensures the community stays updated with regular reports on progress and developments.
• Security and integration: They confirm transaction and integration details with The Graph Foundation and smart contract teams, prioritizing security and completion.
• Code reviews: The TAB works closely with core contributors, reviewing code and changelog details to maintain high standards.
• Technical execution: They coordinate with The Graph Foundation and core contributors on executing technical upgrades, ensuring smooth rollouts.

Who’s on the TAB?

The nomination window for The Graph’s Technical Advisory Board closed on October 20, 2023. Community members were invited to nominate candidates via a standardized template in the Forum. The Graph Council, alongside The Graph Foundation, is currently reviewing the nominations to create a shortlist of potential candidates. Interviews are ongoing and conducted by representatives from The Foundation or Council. The final decision on the inaugural TAB members by The Graph Foundation is pending.

Meet the applicants

As the TAB initiative gains traction, we’ve seen a surge of interest from the community. Here’s a list of applicants who’ve thrown their hat in the ring so far:

1. Derek Meyer (@Datanexus)
   • Expertise: Entrepreneurship, Indexing, Subgraph Development
   • Background: Database administrator, prominent figure in The Graph community, Director of Graph BuildersDAO.
2. Naruto11
   • Expertise: Rust, GraphQL, Web3 Development, ML/AI
   • Background: Co-founder of a web3-focused startup in India and active educator on The Graph through university bootcamps.
3. Abhay Singh (@napolean)
   • Expertise: Subgraph Development, Graph Core Stack, Analytics, Indexing
   • Background: Leader at DappLooker, early contributor to The Graph, and award-winning subgraph developer from the 2019 Graph hackathon.
4. Facundo Spagnuolo (@facuspagnuolo)
   • Expertise: Subgraph Development, Decentralized Applications, DeFi
   • Background: Formerly at Aragon and Balancer, current CTO at Mimic, with active contributions to over 20 subgraphs and significant community support.
5. Marc-André Dumas (@ellipfra)
   • Expertise: Smart Contract Integration, Oracles and Bridges, System Engineering, Graph Indexing
   • Background: Led development teams in Oracle stacks and L2 Bridges, extensive experience in system design across various industries, and active Graph indexer since the network’s Mission Control phase.
6. Juan Manuel Rodríguez Defago (@juanmardefago)
   • Expertise: Subgraph R&D, Protocol Development
   • Background: Research and Development Lead at GraphOps, early participant in The Graph’s development, contributor to various subgraph implementations for different protocols.
7. Thierry Bleau (@0xJoBlo)
   • Expertise: DeFi Protocols, Smart Contract Analysis, Substreams Design, Data Science, Analytics
   • Background: Co-founder and COO of Playgrounds Analytics, participant in The Graph Curator Program, Graph Foundation Grantee for Subgrounds development, member of Graph Builders DAO, founder of Protean Labs.
8. Jonathan Zy (@Jonathan | BytesIO#9554)
   • Expertise: Data Engineering, Solidity, Python, Web3 Development
   • Background: Wave 1 Grantee of The Graph, founder of Chinese Subgraph dev Community, Graph AdvocatesDAO member, founder of BytesIO.
9. Ilia Groshev (@zkchn)
   • Expertise: Full-Stack Web Development, Crypto since 2016, CTO/DevOps/RnD in Ryabina
   • Background: Participated in Mission Control Testnet, developed graphscan.io, contributed to poifier.io, integrated web3alert.io & graphscan.io.
10. Ford Nickels (@fjjjord)
    • Expertise: Indexer Components, Graph Node, Network Components, Arbitration
    • Background: Engineering manager at Edge & Node. Key contributor to The Graph’s core software and network operations.
11. Stake Machine (@stakemachine)
    • Expertise: Product Development, Network Architecture, DevOps, Coding, Hosting
    • Background: Active in The Graph since Mission Control. Developed tools like the Graph Exporter and Indexer Agent WebUI. Advocates for accessible blockchain data for developers.
12. Anton Gaev (@toxf1) of P2P.org
    • Expertise: Former Data Analyst of Ethereum, Product Manager of The Graph, ZK Research
    • Background: Represents P2P.org, a major validator in the web3 ecosystem. Advocates for The Graph’s evolution. Envisions The Graph as a comprehensive DWH solution. P2P has developed dashboards and initiated the altruistic indexer movement.
13. Hope Yen (@hhkyen) from GraphOps:
    • Expertise: Skilled in New Technologies, Protocol Economics, and Mathematical Models with a knack for simplifying complex concepts
    • Background: Operated three indexers for a year, contributed to Graph projects, and actively participated in community discussions. Key contributor to GraphOps projects and leading a Rust rewrite of the indexer-service.

Final thoughts

The TAB’s arrival marks a big step for The Graph. By bringing in this team of experts, The Graph is doubling down on its commitment to technical excellence and community collaboration. So, the next time you hear about a new GIP or software upgrade, you can bet the TAB’s had a hand in making sure it’s top-notch. Cheers to a brighter, more innovative future for The Graph!