About
Dr. Chelsea Edmonds is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Computer Science at the University of Sheffield, working on the COVERT EPSRC grant project focused on verification and formal modeling of security properties for programs running on concurrent architectures using the Isabelle/HOL proof assistant. She is an active member of the Foundations of Computation research group and will be transitioning to a permanent faculty position as Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) at the University of Western Australia starting November 2025.
Dr. Edmonds completed her PhD in formalised mathematics at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Prof. Lawrence Paulson, fully funded by a prestigious Cambridge Australia Scholarship. Prior to her doctoral studies, she earned dual degrees in Mathematics and Software Engineering with first class honours and a university medal from the University of Queensland, followed by two years of industry experience as a Software Engineer.
Her research program centers on theorem proving, formal methods, and verification with special expertise in the Isabelle/HOL proof assistant. She develops modular approaches to formalising mathematical concepts and verifying security properties of concurrent programs, bridging theoretical computer science with practical applications in secure software development. Her methodology emphasizes creating reusable formal frameworks that capture intuitive mathematical reasoning.
Dr. Edmonds' publication record reveals a clear trajectory in formalising combinatorial mathematics and developing techniques for formal probabilistic reasoning. Her award-winning work on the Lovász Local Lemma represents a significant contribution to formal methods, addressing notable gaps between intuitive probabilistic arguments and formal verification. She has pioneered reusable frameworks for formal probabilistic proofs that enhance the verification capabilities for combinatorial structures.
- British Federation of Women Graduates Academic Award for PhD research
- Women in Technology Young Achiever Award
- GradConnection Top100 Future Leader Australia award (2017)
- Distinguished Paper Award at ACM CPP 2024 (Top 10% of accepted papers)
As an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), Dr. Edmonds is deeply committed to STEM education and outreach, particularly supporting women in computer science. She has lectured at the Midlands Graduate School and will be teaching at the ANU Logic Summer School in December 2025. Her current research is supported by the COVERT EPSRC grant, collaborating with researchers at Surrey and Kent universities on advanced verification tools for secure concurrent programming.
Dr. Edmonds maintains active collaborations within the international formal methods community, regularly presenting her work at major conferences and institutions including Heidelberg University. She contributes to the development of formal methods communities through teaching advanced Isabelle/HOL techniques for program verification and formal mathematics.
