Alexa VanHattum

Dr. Alexa VanHattum is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Wellesley College, where she focuses on improving low-level systems reliability through lightweight formal methods. Her roles include teaching courses like Modeling for Computer Systems (CS340), Principles of Programming Languages (CS251), and Foundations of Computer Systems (CS240).

Education

• B.S. from Brown University
• M.S. from Cornell University
• Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University

Her research specializes in applying formal methods to compiler stacks, including projects like ISLE for instruction lowering in Cranelift and Kani Rust Verifier. She collaborates with industry groups and open-source projects, particularly in Rust and WebAssembly ecosystems.

Her recent publications (2020–2024) highlight trends in compiler verification, energy-efficient code generation, and formal methods for systems programming, with a focus on WebAssembly, Rust, and equality saturation techniques.

Scientific Awards

• NSF GRFP fellowship
• Distinguished Artifact Award for ASPLOS 2024
• Qualcomm’s Innovation Fellowship (Finalist)

She has served on program committees for PLDI 2025, PriSC 2025, and co-organized events like PLMW@PLDI 2024 and the PLDI Student Research Competition. She mentors students through SIGPLAN-M and founded Cornell’s Graduate Students for Gender Inclusion in Computing.