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Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eric Sax is a Professor of Electronic Systems Engineering and Management at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), serving as Dean of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (ETIT). He leads the Institut für Technik der Informationsverarbeitung (ITIV) and directs the Forschungszentrum Informatik ESS division . As Program Director of the Electronic Systems Engineering & Management (ESEM) master's program at the HECTOR School, he focuses on integrating academic and professional education. His research spans automotive systems engineering , self-learning functions , cybersecurity , and data-driven validation . Key themes include over-the-air updates, scenario-based testing, and the synergy between machine learning and automotive systems. His work addresses challenges in autonomous driving validation, software-defined mobility, and cyber-physical system security. Prof. Sax's contributions include frameworks for automotive software partitioning, cloud-enabled vehicle architectures, and methodologies for quantifying data quality impacts on perception systems. He actively collaborates with industry partners to bridge academic research with industrial application. His recent projects include OptiCAM (cloud/edge function offloading), Drive4C (autonomous driving benchmarking), and UNCOVER (data-driven security monitoring). He holds leadership roles in both KIT and the HECTOR School's technology business programs.

• Automotive Systems
• Autonomous Driving
• Cybersecurity
• +7 more

Michael D. Ernst is a Professor in the Computer Science & Engineering department at the University of Washington's College of Engineering. His research aims to make software more reliable, more secure, and easier (and more fun!) to produce. Previously, he was a tenured professor at MIT and a researcher at Microsoft Research. Ernst's primary technical interests are in software engineering, programming languages, type theory, security, program analysis, bug prediction, testing, and verification. His research combines strong theoretical foundations with realistic experimentation, with an eye to changing the way that software developers work. He focuses particularly on programmer productivity and developing practical tools that can be integrated into developers' workflows. Analysis of his recent publications (2018-2025) reveals a continued focus on verification techniques, program analysis, and testing methodologies. His work spans from theoretical foundations of type systems to practical applications of NLP for test generation and LLMs for test oracle creation. A consistent theme is developing lightweight, modular approaches that can be practically applied in real-world development environments. Scientific Awards: ACM Fellow (2014) John Backus Award (2009) NSF CAREER Award (2002) ACM SIGSOFT Impact Paper Award (2013) 8 ACM Distinguished Paper Awards across multiple conferences ECOOP 2011 Best Paper Award Microsoft Academic Search ranked #2 in software engineering research (2013) Ernst has received significant research funding including the NSF CAREER Award, supporting his work on program analysis and verification techniques. His research combines theoretical rigor with practical impact, often resulting in tools that are adopted by the software engineering community. He actively collaborates with researchers across institutions and has served in leadership roles for major conferences in programming languages and software engineering. His research group develops practical tools that address real challenges in software development, with a focus on making verification and analysis techniques more accessible to working developers. Current projects include applying machine learning techniques to software engineering problems while maintaining strong theoretical foundations.

• software engineering
• programming languages
• type theory
• +6 more

Michael Pradel is a full professor at the University of Stuttgart, specializing in software engineering, programming languages, and machine learning. He will join CISPA as a faculty member from September 2025 while retaining his Stuttgart position. His research focuses on: Neuro-symbolic software analysis Web application analysis Dynamic analysis and test generation Quantum software testing Machine learning for code Recent publications address: LLM-based program repair (RepairAgent, Treefix) WebAssembly analysis (Wasm-R3, LintQ) Python security and analysis (DyLin, DyPyBench) Quantum program analysis (LintQ) Scientific awards: Ernst-Denert Software Engineering Award Emmy Noether grant (1.3M Euro) ERC Starting Grant (1.5M Euro) 3x ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award at FSE ACM Distinguished Member Best Paper/Distinguished Paper Awards at ISSTA, ASE, ASPLOS, MSR Key contributions include: DeepBugs for name-based bug detection Getafix for automated bug fixing LintQ for quantum program analysis DyLin for Python dynamic analysis Neuro-symbolic developer tools

• Software Engineering
• Programming Languages
• Program Analysis
• +9 more

Lionel C. Briand is a Professor of Software Engineering with shared appointments at the University of Luxembourg's SnT Centre for Security, Reliability, and Trust and the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Ottawa. He holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Intelligent Software Dependability and Compliance and serves as Director of Lero, Ireland's national software research center. His academic leadership spans over 25 years of collaborative research with industry partners across automotive, aerospace, energy, financial, and legal domains. Professor Briand's research focuses on software verification and validation, trustworthy AI systems, model-driven engineering, and empirical software engineering methodologies. His work bridges theoretical foundations with industrial applications, particularly in cyber-physical systems where machine learning components interact with safety-critical control systems. He has pioneered techniques for testing AI-enabled systems, GDPR compliance automation, and mutation analysis for space systems. His publication portfolio demonstrates consistent innovation in software testing, with recent emphasis on large language models for test generation, automated compliance checking, and safety analysis of deep neural networks. Key trends include black-box testing methodologies, metamorphic testing for security, and search-based approaches for DNN validation. IEEE Fellow and ACM Fellow IEEE Computer Society Harlan Mills Award (2012) ACM SIGSOFT Outstanding Research Award (2022) IEEE Reliability Society Engineer-of-the-Year Award (2013) ERC Advanced Grant recipient (2016) Fellow of the Academy of Science, Royal Society of Canada (2023) ICSE 2011 Most Influential Paper Award As Director of Lero and holder of a Canada Research Chair, Professor Briand leads major research initiatives including an ERC Advanced Grant on cyber-physical system modeling and testing. His industrial collaborations generate substantial grant funding, particularly in automotive safety validation and regulatory compliance automation. He mentors numerous researchers through his dual appointments and serves on program committees for top software engineering conferences. Professor Briand directs research activities at the SnT Centre's SVV department, focusing on software verification and validation. His team develops practical tools like MASS for space system mutation analysis and COREQQA for compliance requirements understanding, with strong industry adoption in automotive and aerospace sectors.

• Software Engineering
• Software Verification and Validation
• Trustworthy AI
• +6 more

Prof. Dr. Harald Ritz serves as Professor of Practical Computer Science, especially Business Informatics, at the Technical University of Central Hesse (THM) within the Department of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Computer Science since 2003. He holds leadership roles as Chair of Examination Committees for B.Sc. and M.Sc. Business Information Systems and Spokesperson for the MNI department in the Business Informatics Working Group (AKWI). His educational background includes a Diplom in Business Informatics (Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Inform.) and doctorate (Dr. rer. pol.) from the Technical University of Darmstadt, following professional experience at SAP SI AG and a professorship at Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences. Ritz's research centers on AI-driven digital transformation for data-driven enterprises, with focus on the “Data to Decision” value chain encompassing Framing, Allocation, Analytics, and Preparation phases. His work integrates business intelligence, data warehousing, machine learning, and SAP ecosystems to address challenges in SME digitalization, operational IT management, and educational technology. Current projects emphasize AI applications in higher education, including intelligent tutoring systems and automated feedback mechanisms. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals a consistent trajectory toward applied AI solutions in business contexts, particularly in intelligent chatbots for educational support, financial trading algorithms, and cloud-based data infrastructure. The research demonstrates increasing integration of no-code platforms, real-time analytics, and domain-specific AI applications across logistics, banking, and procurement sectors. No scientific awards were documented in the source materials. Professor Ritz actively supervises academic development through bachelor’s and master’s theses, doctoral research, and collaborative projects. Current initiatives include the “Winfy” AI chatbot (v4.0, 2025), AI-based feedback systems for educational content (Freiraum 2025 grant), the frits intelligent tutoring project with Prof. Kammer, and doctoral research on AI adoption in SMEs. His work bridges theoretical research with practical implementation in SAP environments and cloud platforms. He operates within THM’s MNI department infrastructure, collaborating through the Business Informatics Working Group (AKWI) and contributing to the Digital Classroom communication platform for online education.

• Business Informatics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Business Intelligence
• +10 more

Gabriele Bavota is an Associate Professor at the Software Institute of Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI) in Lugano, Switzerland. He leads the SEART (Software Engineering Advanced Research Team) group and serves as Principal Investigator for the DEVINTA ERC starting grant focused on developer intelligence through mining software artifacts. Dr. Bavota's research spans Software Quality, Empirical Software Engineering, and Mining Software Repositories. His work has evolved from foundational studies on code smells and technical debt to cutting-edge research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and software development. He has made significant contributions to understanding API usage patterns, software quality metrics, and developer behavior through empirical studies of large software repositories. His recent publications reveal a strong focus on AI-assisted software development, with extensive research examining code generation, code summarization, and code review automation using large language models. He has also expanded his research to include quality assurance in game development (detecting game stuttering and low engagement events) and voice user interface testing. His work consistently bridges theoretical insights with practical applications for software developers. ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award for API compatibility research (MSR 2019) ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award for Hugging Face model documentation study (ICPC 2024) ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Artifact Award for deep learning fault taxonomy (ICSE 2020) As an active member of the software engineering research community, Dr. Bavota serves on program committees for major conferences including ICSE, ASE, FSE, and MSR. He has held leadership roles such as Program Co-Chair for ICSME 2023 and Vision/Reflection Track Co-Chair for ICSE. His SEART research group develops practical tools like the SEART Data Hub that streamline large-scale source code mining and preprocessing for empirical software engineering research.

• Software Quality
• Empirical Software Engineering
• Mining Software Repositories
• +3 more

Prof. Peter Hertkorn is a full professor of Computer Science at Reutlingen University's Faculty of Computer Science, specializing in programming languages and databases. He holds leadership roles including Chair of the Examination Board for Media and Communication Informatics B.Sc. and BAföG Officer for the same program. His research focuses on model-driven software development, domain-specific languages, DevOps automation, interactive learning technologies, and distributed ledger technologies. He co-leads the Software Engineering and User Experience (swuxLAB) and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT-LAB) research groups. Education background includes a Diplom-Informatiker (master's equivalent) and Dr.-Ing. (PhD) from University of Stuttgart. Professional experience includes 5 years at T-Systems International GmbH and prior academic roles at University of Stuttgart. His teaching focuses on Software Engineering and Database Systems courses. Publications span interactive learning environments, collaborative innovation systems, and AR-based knowledge spaces. Active in academic service roles and interdisciplinary research collaborations since 2009.

• Model-Driven Software Development
• Domain-Specific Languages
• DevOps Automation
• +2 more

Giles Reger is a Senior Lecturer in the Formal Methods Group of the School of Computer Science at the University of Manchester. He completed his BA in Computer Science at the University of Cambridge in 2009, followed by an MSc in Advanced Computer Science at the University of Manchester in 2010 (awarded Highest Achiever of the Year), and earned his PhD from the University of Manchester in 2014 with a thesis titled "Automata based monitoring and mining of execution traces". His research spans several key areas within computer science: Automated Theorem Proving (first-order) Saturation-based techniques Reasoning with theories and quantifiers Finite Model finding Collaborative and Concurrent proof attempts Runtime Monitoring/Verification Temporal specification languages Specification Mining/Inference Dr. Reger leads multiple EPSRC-funded research projects including SCorCH (Secure Code for Capability Hardware), CAPS (Collaborative Architectures for Proof Search), and QuTie (reasoning with Quantifiers and Theories). His work on the Vampire theorem prover and MarQ monitoring tool demonstrates his bridge between theoretical computer science and practical applications. Recent publications show strong focus on runtime verification, theorem proving, and program analysis with applications to security and performance monitoring. Notable awards: Highest Achiever of the Year Award for MSc studies Dr. Reger collaborates extensively with institutions including the University of Oxford, Arm, Amazon Web Services, and CERN (CMS Experiment). As Manchester lead on the SCorCH project, he develops formal analysis tools for security-aware hardware chips. His work on the VyPR framework enables developers to analyze Python program performance through temporal specification languages and monitoring algorithms.

• Automated Theorem Proving
• Runtime Verification
• Program Verification
• +7 more

Devki Nandan Jha is a researcher specializing in Internet of Things (IoT) , Cloud/Edge Computing , and Cybersecurity . His work focuses on runtime monitoring, security frameworks, and deployment optimization in heterogeneous environments. Collaborations include institutions across Europe and Asia, with frequent co-authorship with Rajiv Ranjan, David Wallom, and David Blundell.

• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Cloud Computing
• Edge Computing
• +6 more

Davide Di Ruscio is a Full Professor at the Department of Information Engineering Computer Science and Mathematics of the University of L'Aquila (Italy), where he leads research in Model-Driven Engineering and Software Engineering. His work spans domain-specific modeling languages, model transformations, and recommender systems applied to open source software and autonomous systems. His research interests focus on Model Driven Engineering , Model evolution , Open Source Software , and Recommender Systems , with recent work exploring LLM applications in code analysis and fairness engineering. Key application domains include service-based systems, autonomous systems, and hybrid polystore systems. Di Ruscio actively contributes to the software engineering community through leadership roles in major conferences and journals. He serves on the steering committees of ICMT, SLE, SATTOSE, MiSE, and RoSE, and is on the editorial boards of SoSyM, IEEE Software, Journal of Object Technology, and IET Software. His work has been published in over 200 papers across top-tier venues. He has contributed to numerous European and Italian research projects since 2006, applying MDE concepts to real-world systems. Current teaching includes Software Engineering for Autonomous Systems and Software Engineering for the Internet of Things, with office hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11:30-13:30 at Edificio Alan Turing, Room 208.

• Model Driven Engineering
• Model evolution
• Open Source Software
• +7 more

Emelie Engström is a software engineering researcher at Lund University, specializing in empirical studies at the intersection of academia and industry. Her work focuses on regression testing, machine learning applications in software quality, DevOps practices, and aligning requirements engineering with autonomous systems validation. University: Lund University Research Areas: Software Engineering, Machine Learning, DevOps, Autonomous Systems Her recent research examines ML-driven bug report classification, sustainable DevOps for cyber-physical systems, and optimizing anomaly detection through industrial case studies. She has developed taxonomies like SERP-test to improve communication between academic researchers and software practitioners. Key article trends show strong emphasis on: 2025: ML techniques for bug classification 2024: Ericsson case studies on automated bug assignment 2023: Anomaly detection in DevOps 2021: Autonomous driving system testing As a prolific collaborator, she works with researchers across Sweden including Per Runeson, Markus Borg, and Kai Petersen on projects ranging from cognitive load analysis in large-scale development to regression test scoping in software product lines.

• Software Engineering
• Machine Learning
• DevOps
• +3 more

Nane Kratzke is a Professor at Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, specializing in cloud computing and cloud-native applications. His research addresses practical challenges in container orchestration, cloud security, and vendor lock-in for small and medium enterprises. He holds a Diplom in Computer Science and a Doctorate in Natural Sciences, though specific institutions are not documented in available sources. Research interests include cloud-native architecture design, Kubernetes orchestration, moving target defenses for cloud security, and cost modeling of cloud services. His work bridges academic research and industry needs, particularly for SMEs seeking cloud portability through multi-cloud strategies and runtime transferability. Analysis of recent publications (2022-2024) reveals a strategic shift toward AI-driven cloud management techniques like prompt engineering, building on foundational contributions in cloud observability, security mechanisms, and transferability frameworks established between 2016-2021. Key recurring themes include mitigating vendor lock-in and enabling seamless application migration across cloud environments. No scientific awards are documented in the provided information sources. Details regarding graduate student advising, research grants, and laboratory facilities are not specified in current datasets, though his publications on programming assessment tools indicate engagement with computer science education.

• Cloud Computing
• Container Orchestration
• Cloud-Native Applications
• +4 more

Gregory Gay is an Associate Professor in the Interaction Design and Software Engineering division within the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. His academic profile spans numerous software engineering conferences where he has served as committee member, program chair, and active researcher since at least 2018. Dr. Gay's research focuses on the intersection of software engineering and artificial intelligence, with particular emphasis on: Software Testing and Analysis Search-Based Software Engineering AI for Software Engineering (AI4SE) AI Engineering Automation of development tasks Software Carbon Footprint and sustainability His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward applying AI and optimization techniques to software testing challenges, with increasing focus on sustainability aspects of software development. Many studies take an industrial perspective, examining real-world applications in automotive software systems. His work blends theoretical foundations with practical applications, making significant contributions to both academic research and industrial practice in software engineering. Dr. Gay has been actively involved in numerous top software engineering conferences including ASE, ICSE, ESEC/FSE, ISSTA, and ICST, serving on program committees and organizing tracks. His research methodology typically combines optimization, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to help developers deliver complex systems in a safe, secure, and efficient manner.

• Software Testing
• Search-Based Software Engineering
• AI for Software Engineering
• +4 more

Brian Fitzgerald holds the Frederick A Krehbiel II Chair in Innovation in Business and Technology at the University of Limerick and serves as Director of Lero - the Irish Software Research Centre. He is a globally recognized leader in software engineering and information systems research with significant contributions to open source, agile methodologies, and global software development. His research interests focus on software development methodologies, particularly in open source, inner source, crowdsourcing, agile, lean, BizDevOps, and continuous software engineering. Fitzgerald's work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in global software engineering contexts. The trends in his recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on empirical studies of software development practices, with increasing attention to large language models, community dynamics in open source, and scaling agile methodologies in enterprise environments. His research spans both theoretical frameworks and practical applications across multiple software development domains. AIS Fellow award recipient LEO Award for outstanding lifetime contribution to the IS discipline (2024) President of the Association for Information Systems (2020) Fitzgerald has secured over €115 million in peer-reviewed research funding, including a notable €6 million project with Huawei. He serves as General Chair for major conferences including the 49th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) in Dublin 2027 and previously chaired the 37th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) in 2016. His leadership extends to directing Lero, Ireland's national software research center that coordinates researchers across nine third-level institutions. As Director of Lero, Fitzgerald oversees a major research center focused on critical software domains including driverless cars, automation, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. His work connects academic research with industry applications through collaborations with major technology companies and government initiatives.

• Software Engineering
• Information Systems
• Open Source Software Development
• +6 more

Prof. Tegawendé F. Bissyandé is a Chief Scientist in the Professor category at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg. He holds the prestigious position of ERC Fellow and serves as Principal Investigator of the NATURAL project focused on Artificial Intelligence for Program Repair. His research spans software engineering, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, with particular emphasis on applying machine learning techniques to software development and security challenges. Dr. Bissyandé's research interests include: Software Debugging (especially bug localization and program repair) Software Security (especially malware detection and analysis) Code Search (both free-form and semantic code-to-code) Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing for software engineering Cyber-security applications in mobile and cloud environments His recent work demonstrates a strong focus on leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) for various software engineering tasks. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals several key trends: extensive application of LLMs to program repair and code generation; innovative approaches to Android security and malware detection; development of novel techniques for code search and understanding; and exploration of the intersection between natural language processing and software engineering. His research increasingly bridges theoretical software engineering with practical applications in mobile security and developer productivity tools, with a significant portion of his work focusing on Android ecosystem security and program repair technologies. Dr. Bissyandé has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career: APSEC Best ERA Paper Award (2018) for 'LSRepair: Live Search of Fix Ingredients for Automated Program Repair' IPSJ SIG SE Excellent Research Award (2018) for 'FaCOY: a Code-to-Code Search Engine' FOSS Impact Paper Award (2018) for 'Characterizing Deprecated Android APIs' SANER Best ERA Paper Award (2016) for 'Parameter Values of Android APIs: A Preliminary Study on 100,000 Apps' ASE Best Paper Award (2012) for 'Diagnosys: automatic generation of a debugging interface to the Linux kernel' As an active member of the software engineering research community, Dr. Bissyandé serves on program committees for major conferences including ICSE, ASE, and ISSTA, and has been an Area Chair for ICSE 2024. His industry partnerships include significant collaborations with BGL BNP Paribas (since January 2019), Luxembourg Stock Exchange (since January 2018), and Paul Wurth (January 2015 to 2018), demonstrating the practical impact of his research. He leads the SerVAL lab at SnT, which focuses on software validation and analysis, with particular expertise in mobile security and program repair technologies, and actively mentors PhD candidates through FNR research grants.

• Program repair
• Software Security
• Code Search
• +6 more