Istvan David

Istvan David is an Assistant Professor of Software Engineering at McMaster University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Computing and Software, where he leads the Sustainable Systems and Methods Lab (SSM) and works as a researcher in the McMaster Centre for Software Certification (McSCert). His work bridges the gap between model-driven engineering, digital twins, and sustainability in systems engineering.

Dr. David's research interests focus on digital twins, model-driven engineering, sustainability in computing, cyber-physical systems, and collaborative modeling. His lab develops novel reinforcement learning techniques, digital twin architectures, and modeling and simulation methods with a strong emphasis on sustainability as both a system characteristic and an engineering principle.

His recent publications reveal a strong trend toward integrating digital twin technology with sustainability concerns, particularly in automotive systems, smart farming, and resource-efficient software engineering. The research spans from foundational modeling techniques to applied solutions addressing the four essential sustainability dimensions of technical systems: technical (long-term usage), economic (financial viability), environmental (reduced impact), and social (elevated utility).

Scientific Awards:

• Best Practice Paper Award at MODELS
• Best Paper 2024 Runner-up in the Journal of Computer Languages

Dr. David actively mentors students including PhD candidate Xiaoran (Sharon) Liu, and has supervised undergraduate researchers like Adwita Kashyap and Kyanna Dagenais. He has secured multiple research grants supporting work on sustainable systems and digital twin technologies, with applications in automotive engineering, smart farming, and resource-efficient computing. His lab collaborates with industry partners and academic institutions worldwide, including VU Amsterdam and University of Montréal.

The Sustainable Systems and Methods Lab focuses on the vision of 'sustainable systems by sustainable methods,' addressing the growing problem of unsustainable systems engineering practices. The lab's work on bipartite sustainability aims to both build sustainable systems and develop systems using sustainable methods.