Uwe Zdun is a Professor at the Faculty of Computer Science, University of Vienna, where he serves as Vice-Director of Studies for Computer Science and Head of the Research Group Software Architecture. His teaching portfolio includes core courses such as Software Engineering 2, Advanced Software Engineering, and Practical Software Courses for Bachelor's and Master's theses across multiple semesters (2024W-2025S). His research spans software architecture with emphasis on microservices, cloud computing, and DevOps. Key focus areas include architectural design decisions, infrastructure-as-code conformance, security in distributed systems, and the integration of machine learning operations (MLOps/RLOps). He investigates cognitive aspects of architecture practices through controlled experiments and develops model-driven approaches for quality assessment in complex systems. Recent publications (2024-2026) reveal three dominant trends: (1) Security and coupling analysis in infrastructure-as-code deployments, (2) MLOps/RLOps integration for Industry 4.0 cyber-physical systems, and (3) Performance optimization patterns for CI/CD pipelines and autoscaling. His work bridges theoretical architecture models with industrial practice, particularly in microservice ecosystems and reinforcement learning applications. Professor Zdun leads the Research Group Software Architecture at the University of Vienna's Faculty of Computer Science. The group focuses on empirical validation of architectural patterns, tool development for conformance checking, and advancing design decision methodologies in cloud-native and AI-driven systems.
Harald C. Gall is a Professor of Software Engineering and Dean of the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Informatics at the University of Zurich (UZH). He leads the Software Evolution and Architecture Lab, focusing on software evolution analysis, mining software repositories, and cloud-based software engineering. His research emphasizes improving software development productivity through data-driven insights. He has held visiting positions at Microsoft Research and the University of Washington. Education: PhD (Dr. techn.) and Master's (Dipl.-Ing.) in Informatics from TU Vienna Research Interests: Software evolution, mining software archives, cloud-based tools, developer productivity, and empirical software engineering. Notable contributions include the Evolizer , ChangeDistiller , and SOFAS systems. Key Contributions: Established the Mining Software Repositories (MSR) research area, program chair for ICSE 2011 and ESEC/FSE 2005, associate editor of leading journals like Empirical Software Engineering and IEEE Software. Awards: Most Influential Paper Award, Test of Time Award, and multiple Best Paper Awards. Recognized for contributions to SE research methodologies and tool development. Professional Activities: ACM SIGSOFT awards chair, board member of Informatics Europe, and executive committee member of CHOOSE (Swiss SIG for OO Systems). Labs/Teams: Director of the Software Evolution and Architecture Lab at UZH, leading projects like SURF-MobileAppsData (SNSF-funded) and DevCloud (Hasler Foundation).
Dr. Ilias Gerostathopoulos is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, affiliated with the Network Institute and the Department of Information Management & Software Engineering. He specializes in self-adaptive systems, cyber-physical systems, and machine learning operations (MLOps). His work focuses on software architectures for autonomous systems, decision-making under uncertainty, and experiment-driven adaptation frameworks. He teaches courses such as 'Fundamentals of Adaptive Software' and 'Information Management', emphasizing practical applications of adaptive systems and data-driven decision-making. Gerostathopoulos has been awarded the Best Presentation Award (2021) for contributions to evaluating self-adaptive systems. His research addresses challenges in industrial self-adaptation, MLOps architectures, and robotics. Key research themes include: Architecture-based self-adaptation in robotics and CPS MLOps frameworks and systematic analysis of AI systems Uncertainty management in autonomous systems Experiment-driven learning and tool development Notable contributions include the ExpEngine tool for workflow optimization and the ReBeT framework for robotic systems. His work bridges theoretical software engineering with practical industrial implementations.
Benoit Combemale is a Full Professor of Software Engineering at the University of Rennes , currently on leave as Research Director at Inria . He is affiliated with the DiverSE research team (joint between IRISA and Inria) and the SM@RT team at IRIT. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Springer-Nature journal Software and Systems Modeling (SoSyM) and holds leadership roles in academic conferences like ACM SIGPLAN Intl. Conference on Software Language Engineering and MODELS . Education : Habilitation (2015) and PhD (2008) in Software Engineering from University of Rennes and University of Toulouse, respectively. Research : Focuses on Model-Driven Engineering , Digital Twins , and ICT for Sustainability , with applications in cyber-physical systems, scientific computing, and industrial systems. Recent Publications highlight trends in digital twin modeling, energy-aware software engineering, polyglot programming, and formal verification for heterogeneous systems. His scientific awards include: Editor-in-Chief of SoSyM Steering Committee member of ACM SIGPLAN Intl. Conference on Software Language Engineering General Chair for ICT4S 2023 and MODELS 2016 PC Chair for MODELS 2024, ECMFA 2019, and SLE 2014 Coordinator of Dagstuhl Seminars and Bellairs workshops Advising includes 30+ students in topics ranging from digital twin engineering to software testing and language design. He leads the GEMOC Initiative and contributes to projects like SciHook and GEMOC Studio .
Jim Dowling is a distributed systems researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, focusing on large-scale distributed systems, machine learning, and big data. His work emphasizes improving system dependability, performance, security, and scalability through middleware, peer-to-peer systems, and cloud-native solutions. He leads courses such as Advanced Course in Large Scale Machine Learning and Deep Learning and Scalable Machine Learning and Deep Learning , demonstrating his commitment to education in AI and distributed computing. His research spans topics like feature stores, Kubernetes integration, and AI-driven environmental analytics (e.g., ANIARA project for edge infrastructure automation and ExtremeEarth for Copernicus data analysis). He has contributed to scalable ML pipelines, cloud storage systems (HopsFS-S3), and hyperparameter optimization tools like Maggy. Key projects include the Hopsworks platform for machine learning operations and the development of cloud-native tools for big data analytics. His work bridges theoretical distributed systems research with practical applications in AI, healthcare, and environmental science. He has advised on numerous collaborative initiatives but no formal students are listed. His grants and lab activities are centered around Hopsworks and the ANIARA project, reflecting his focus on scalable, self-managing systems.
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.
Theodora Varvarigou is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). She holds a B.Eng. from NTUA and M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University. Her career includes research at AT&T Bell Labs and roles at the Technical University of Crete. From 2008-2012, she served as director of NTUA's 'Technoeconomic Systems' postgraduate program. Her research focuses on Cloud Computing, Multimedia Content Processing, Social Networking Technologies, and emerging areas like blockchain, edge computing, and cybersecurity. She has published over 200 papers and led numerous European research projects, emphasizing scalable systems, data management, and smart infrastructure applications. Her work spans technical innovations such as intrusion detection systems, edge resource optimization, and blockchain-based solutions for IoT, healthcare, and smart cities. Recent publications highlight advancements in AI-driven resource allocation, privacy-preserving blockchain designs, and predictive analytics for edge computing environments. Professor Varvarigou has contributed to interdisciplinary initiatives, including cohort data harmonization in biomedical research and social media analytics for urban planning. Her teaching includes courses on digital systems, network programming, and fault-tolerant systems.
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
Istvan David is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computing and Software at McMaster University , with research expertise spanning Digital Twins , Model-Driven Engineering , and Sustainability . His work bridges theoretical and applied domains, focusing on smart ecosystems , collaborative modeling , and AI-driven simulation . Key contributions include frameworks for digital twin evolution and interoperability in sustainable systems. Education : BSc, MSc, and PhD in Computer Engineering and Computer Science from Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and University of Antwerp. Research Areas : Digital Twins, Model-Driven Engineering, Reinforcement Learning, Smart Ecosystems, Sustainability, Collaborative Modeling, Cyber-Biophysical Systems, and Software Architecture. Recent Article Trends emphasize AI integration with digital twins, collaborative modeling in industrial contexts, and sustainable systems engineering . His work often combines machine learning with formal modeling to address challenges in technical sustainability and smart agriculture .
Yuqing Wang is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki, Finland, actively contributing to software engineering research with expertise in anomaly detection for microservices and test automation maturity. Contactable via yuqing.wang@helsinki.fi and phone +358505934630/+358294151310, Wang participates in major EU and Academy of Finland projects including LUMI AI Factory (2025-2028) and MuFAno (2023-2026). Research focuses on two interconnected domains: anomaly detection in cloud-native systems using meta-learning for cross-system log analysis and trace categorization, and test automation maturity assessment frameworks. Recent work pioneers datasets like LO2 for microservice API anomalies and tools like LogLead for integrated log processing, while earlier studies establish quantitative links between test automation maturity and product quality in open-source ecosystems. Publications reveal an evolving trajectory from foundational test automation maturity models (2018-2020) toward advanced AI-driven anomaly detection (2024-2025), with 2022-2023 bridging both domains through empirical studies on agile practices and maturity impacts. Current work emphasizes cross-system generalization and multimodal fusion for microservice reliability. No scientific awards are documented in available sources. Wang contributes to two significant grants: the EU Horizon Europe LUMI AI Factory developing AI service infrastructure (2025-2028), and the Academy of Finland MuFAno project advancing multimodal anomaly detection for microservices (2023-2026). These projects drive collaboration with industry partners on real-world system reliability challenges.
David Hästbacka is an Associate Professor (tenure track) at the Department of Computing Sciences, Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences at Tampere University. His research focuses on software engineering, industrial automation, and energy systems, emphasizing system architecture, interoperability frameworks, and dependable IoT solutions. He leads a research group exploring edge and cloud computing, semantic integration, and smart energy systems. Education & Professional Background : While specific educational details are not provided, his academic career includes roles such as Postdoctoral Researcher in the SEMIS project (2017-2020) and extensive involvement in EU-funded initiatives like COCOP (EU H2020) and Horizon Europe projects. Research Projects : Active in high-impact projects like Hedge-IoT (Horizon Europe, 2024-2027), TwinfFlow (Business Finland), and TRINEFLEX (Horizon Europe), with a focus on industrial automation, distributed systems, and energy grids. Past projects include FEMMa (Business Finland), DisMa (Academy of Finland), and Arrowhead (ECSEL). Teaching & Supervision : Specializes in Web/Cloud architectures, IoT systems, and dependable automation technologies. Supervises students in topics like edge computing frameworks and MLOps pipelines. Technical Contributions : Develops frameworks for industrial interoperability (e.g., OPC UA PubSub integration), edge-cloud toolchains, and MLOps methodologies. His work addresses challenges in microservices, Kubernetes distributions, and semantic data integration. Labs & Teams : Leads a research group advancing automation technologies through interdisciplinary collaboration, with partnerships in industry and academia to bridge theory and practice in smart systems.
Dr Sudip Mittal is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science & Engineering at Mississippi State University and Associate Research Director of the PATENT Lab. His research spans cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and cyber-physical systems, with a focus on building self-protecting systems and predictive security for unmanned vehicles. He leads the SECRETS Lab and has published over 70 papers in top venues, with work featured in The LA Times and WIRED. Research interests include: Autonomous intrusion response systems AI-driven threat detection in IoT/CPS Adversarial machine learning His publications (2019-2025) show a strong emphasis on AI security applications, particularly in malware detection, healthcare compliance, and anomaly detection using large language models. Recent articles explore MLOps security, adaptive cyber defense, and synthetic data generation for critical systems.
Bernhard Aichernig is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence. His work bridges formal methods, model-based testing, and artificial intelligence, with a focus on automata learning, digital twins, and AI-assisted programming. Institution: Institute of Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence Key Research Areas: Model-Based Testing, Automata Learning, AI-Driven Verification His research explores the integration of machine learning into formal verification, enabling scalable testing of complex systems like IoT devices and reinforcement learning agents. Recent projects include AI-Augmented DevOps frameworks (AIDOaRT) and digital twin validation (LearnTwins). Notable scientific awards include multiple best paper recognitions at SEFM (2020, 2021) and the TAYSIR Competition first place (2023). His publications emphasize hybrid approaches combining genetic programming, SMT solving, and neural networks for system modeling. 2025 : AI-assisted programming, timed automata via domain knowledge 2024 : Stochastic environment modeling, Git system learning 2023 : Reinforcement learning under partial observability, digital twins for VPN servers He actively contributes to testing frameworks like AALpy and investigates explainable AI for fault diagnosis in cyber-physical systems.
Maria Leonilde Rocha Varela is an Associate Professor with Habilitation at the School of Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal, where she also serves as a Senior Researcher at the Algoritmi Research Centre. She has been an integrated member of the Algoritmi Research Centre since 2012 and works in the Department of Production and Systems. Dr. Varela earned her degree in Production Engineering from the University of Minho in 1994, completed a Master's in Computer Integrated Production at DPS-UMinho in 1999, and received her Ph.D. in Production and Systems from the University of Minho in 2007. Her primary research focuses on Manufacturing Management, particularly Production Planning, Control and Optimization, and Collaborative Paradigms, Networks and Decision Making Models. She maintains extensive international collaborations with institutions worldwide including the National Institute of Industrial Engineering, VSB-Technick Univerzita Ostrava, University of Belgrade, and others. Her research spans Web Applications and Services for supporting Engineering and Production Management, with increasing emphasis on Artificial Intelligence, Robotic Process Automation, and Industry 4.0/5.0 applications. She has made significant contributions to scheduling algorithms, optimization techniques, and decision support systems for manufacturing environments. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong trend toward integrating Artificial Intelligence with traditional manufacturing processes, particularly in Robotic Process Automation applications. Her research increasingly focuses on sustainable manufacturing practices, with numerous publications addressing energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, and resource optimization. There is a clear emphasis on multi-objective optimization approaches to solve complex manufacturing problems, particularly in distributed job shop scheduling. Her work demonstrates an evolution from traditional production planning methods to more advanced AI-driven approaches for Industry 4.0 and 5.0 environments. Dr. Varela has held significant academic leadership roles, currently serving as the director of the master's course in Engineering and Quality Management at DPS-UMinho. She previously coordinated the industrial management and systems subgroup from 2012 to 2021 and was part of the steering committee for the master's course in systems engineering between 2016 and 2019. She has successfully supervised more than 70 MSc projects, with over 15 currently ongoing, focusing on Production and Systems Engineering. Her supervision encompasses collaborative management models, traditional decision approaches, and web-based platforms incorporating AI techniques. She coordinates research projects including 2 concluded Ph.D. projects and 6 ongoing ones. She collaborates as a research member in several R&D projects with national and international industrial enterprises and institutions, and in international Erasmus projects. Dr. Varela is an active participant in the academic community, serving on editorial boards of several international journals and as a member of organizing and scientific committees for numerous international conferences. She is a member of several prestigious research networks including the Euro Working Group of Decision Support Systems (EWG-DSS), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Industrial Engineering Network, and the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE).
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.
