Emily First

Emily First is an incoming Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Rutgers University New Brunswick starting Fall 2025. She previously served as a postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego under Sorin Lerner and earned her PhD in Computer Science at UMass Amherst under Yuriy Brun in the Laboratory for Software Engineering Research (LASER). Her research focuses on leveraging AI for theorem proving, working at the intersection of machine learning, software engineering, and programming languages.

She specializes in creating tools for automated proof generation in proof assistants like Coq, Isabelle/HOL, and Lean. Her work explores how AI can enhance human reasoning across domains, with applications in software verification and formal logic systems.

Recent publications show trends in neuro-symbolic AI, software verification, and LLM integration for formal methods. Her team's research has been recognized with ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Awards at ICSE, ACL, and ESEC/FSE conferences, along with workshop presentations at AI and Theorem Proving conferences.

• ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award (ICSE 2025)
• ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award (ACL Main 2024)
• ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award (ESEC/FSE 2023)
• ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award (ICSE 2022)

Contact: emfirst@ucsd.edu (new email coming soon).