Find Academic Supervisors

Prof. Dr. Andrea Stocco is a Professor at the Technische Universität München (TUM), affiliated with the TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology. His research focuses on the intersection of software engineering and deep learning, particularly addressing the robustness and reliability of data-intensive systems. Key areas include autonomous vehicles, web application testing, and automated functional oracles for deep learning systems. He leads initiatives such as the Lehrstuhl für Software und Systems Engineering , collaborating on projects like CrESt and SUPPRA – Algorand Center of Excellence . Research interests encompass monitoring techniques for AI-driven systems, test suite maintainability, and scenario-based testing of cyber-physical systems (CPS). His work emphasizes practical applications, such as improving testing frameworks for evolving web applications and enhancing interoperability in autonomous driving systems (ADS). Recent efforts include leveraging large language models (LLMs) for secure code assessment and benchmarking generative AI for test input generation. No scientific awards are explicitly mentioned in the provided texts. His publications reflect a strong focus on testing methodologies, with over 40 articles since 2013, covering domains like web test automation, dependency-aware testing, and safety-critical failure prediction in autonomous systems. Advising and grants details are not detailed in the current data, but his lab contributes to TUM's broader efforts in software engineering and systems reliability.

• Software Engineering
• Deep Learning
• Autonomous Systems
• +3 more

Vijay Laxmi is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) Jaipur, India. With over a decade of active research publication from 2014-2024, Dr. Laxmi has established themselves as a prominent researcher in network security, Android security systems, and Network-on-Chip architectures. Their work demonstrates consistent collaboration with Manoj Singh Gaur and numerous doctoral students at MNIT Jaipur. Dr. Laxmi's research interests span Network Security, Android Security, Malware Analysis, Network-on-Chip Architectures, Routing Protocols, Side-Channel Attacks, Wireless Networks, and Mobile Security. Their work bridges theoretical security frameworks with practical implementations, particularly in mobile and embedded systems. Recent publications indicate a growing focus on AI-based security approaches including GAN applications for fuzzing and deep learning for image dehazing. The research trajectory shows increasing sophistication in security analysis techniques, evolving from basic malware detection to advanced side-channel attack analysis and sophisticated network security protocols. Recent publications demonstrate expertise in both theoretical frameworks and practical implementations with applications in real-world security challenges. Dr. Laxmi has mentored numerous graduate students including Vineeta Jain, Anugrah Jain, Sonal Yadav, Mohit Singh, and Gaurav Singal, who appear as co-authors across multiple publications. Their collaborative network extends to researchers at international institutions, indicating strong academic connections beyond their home institution.

• Network Security
• Android Security
• Malware Analysis
• +6 more

Prof. Alexander Pretschner is a Professor of Software & Systems Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Founding Director of the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt). He also serves as Scientific Director of fortiss, a Bavarian research institute for software-intensive systems. His research focuses on software engineering, testing, information security, and ethical software development. Pretschner holds a PhD from TUM and has held academic positions at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and TU Kaiserslautern. He is a co-editor of several prestigious journals, including IEEE Transactions on Reliability and the Journal of Software Testing, Verification and Reliability. Education: PhD in Computer Science, Technical University of Munich MSc in Computer Science, University of Kansas (on Fulbright Scholarship) Diplom in Computer Science, RWTH Aachen University Research Interests: His work spans testing methodologies, secure software design, and ethical considerations in agile development. Notable contributions include frameworks for metamorphic testing, distributed data usage control, and accountability mechanisms for cyber-physical systems. Awards: IBM Faculty Award (2012, 2013) Google Focused Research Award (2011, 2012) EARTO Innovation Prize (2014) 2nd Platz Supervisory Award (2020) Advising & Grants: Pretschner has supervised numerous PhD and Master’s students, contributing to over 200 publications. He leads projects like EDAP (Ethical Deliberation in Agile Processes) and collaborates with industry partners on cybersecurity and AI ethics initiatives. Labs & Teams: His work is anchored in bidt, fortiss, and TUM’s Chair of Software & Systems Engineering, focusing on societal impacts of digitalization and trustworthy AI systems.

• Software Engineering
• Testing
• Information Security
• +5 more

Cristian Cadar is a Professor in the Department of Computing at Imperial College London, leading the Software Reliability Group . His research focuses on improving software reliability and security through practical techniques in software engineering, computer systems, and program analysis. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science, Stanford University M.Eng. in Computer Science, MIT B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics, MIT His research interests center on software engineering and software security , particularly symbolic execution , dynamic symbolic execution (DSE) , and multi-version execution . Current work explores techniques for scalability, constraint solving, and runtime security in software systems. Key trends in his recent articles include optimizing symbolic execution for testing, addressing path explosion in constraint-based test generation, and advancing multi-version execution for dynamic software updates. His publications also cover program analysis , automated testing , and formal methods for software reliability. Awarded prestigious honors such as the Humboldt Research Award (2024) , ERC Consolidator Grant (2018) , and IEEE New Directions Award (2022) . Other accolades include the BCS Roger Needham Award (2019) and SIGOPS Hall of Fame (2018) . Cadar supervises PhD and postdoctoral researchers in software reliability and security. His group has secured grants from the ERC and EPSRC , including a Consolidator Grant (2018) and Early-Career Fellowship (2013) . He actively contributes to conference organizing committees and editorial boards. The Software Reliability Group at Imperial College, led by Cadar, specializes in techniques like KLEE and EXE for automated testing. Their work has been adopted by industry partners such as Fujitsu, IBM, and Microsoft, particularly in runtime security tools like WIT .

• Software Engineering
• Computer Systems
• Software Security
• +11 more

Nils Ole Tippenhauer is a faculty member at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security , leading the SCy-Phy research group . His academic journey includes an Assistant Professorship at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) (2014–2018), a PhD in Computer Science from ETH Zurich (2012), and a Diploma in Computer Engineering from Hamburg University of Technology (2007). He also holds an exchange study year at the University of Waterloo (2004–2005) supported by a DAAD scholarship. Research Interests focus on practical systems security , particularly Security of Cyber-Physical Systems Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Industrial IoT (IIoT) Physical-Layer Security and Wireless Security Privacy-Preserving Technologies (e.g., DP3T project) Embedded Systems Security Threat Detection & Defenses His work integrates both theoretical and applied approaches, addressing vulnerabilities in critical infrastructures like water systems and power grids. Recent Publications highlight trends in Anomaly detection evasion in industrial networks Microarchitectural side-channel defenses Localization techniques in cellular networks Security analysis of ICS protocols Data-driven vulnerability assessments for robotics Cyber-physical simulation for infrastructure security Scientific Awards include Best paper at DIMVA'23 Distinguished Paper at ACSAC 2022 Best paper at CPSIOTSEC 2022 Best paper at CPSS 2017 K-H Ditze Award for diploma thesis (2007) SG Mark Institution award (2016) Runner-Up at smart energy hackathon (2013) Advising and Grants feature PhD defenses of Daniele Antonioli and Hamid Reza Ghaeini (2022), co-organizing conferences like WiSec and CPSS , and leading projects such as the National Science Experiment (NSE) with 50,000 mobile sensors in Singapore. He also contributed to the DP3T project for privacy-preserving contact tracing. Labs and Teams include the SCy-Phy research group at CISPA and the development of testbeds like SWaT (Secure Water Treatment), WADI (Water Distribution), and EPIC (Electric Power and Industrial Control) at SUTD. These platforms enable hands-on security research in realistic industrial environments.

• Cyber-Physical System Security
• Industrial Control Systems Security
• Physical-Layer Security
• +7 more

Christian Rossow is Faculty at CISPA – Helmholtz Center for Information Security in Dortmund, Germany, where he leads the System Security research group. He holds dual academic appointments as a professor in the Computer Science department at Saarland University and as an honorary professor at TU Dortmund University. His research spans systems, software, and network security, with a focus on cyber attacks, defenses, and privacy. Research Interests: His primary research areas include software and system security (e.g., exploitation techniques, compiler-assisted defenses, AI-assisted (in)security), network security (e.g., DDoS mitigation, attack attribution, traffic analysis), and cybercrime (e.g., malware analysis, data-driven studies). He emphasizes foundational research with practical applications. Publication Trends: His recent work (2023–2025) shows a strong focus on microarchitectural attacks (e.g., cache side-channels, prefetcher analysis), browser and web security (e.g., sandbox escapes, CSS fingerprinting), network protocol vulnerabilities (e.g., TCP spoofing, infinite loops), and applied cryptography (e.g., ISA extensions for key management). His research consistently targets top-tier venues like IEEE S&P, USENIX Security, ACM CCS, and NDSS. Distinguished Paper Award at IEEE EuroS&P 2021 Best Student Paper Award at MIT Spam Conference 2010 Advising and Grants: He actively supervises PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, with alumni placed in industry (NVIDIA, Crowdstrike, Continental) and academia. His research is supported by major grants including EU H2020 SISSDEN, BMBF-funded BOB, DFG-funded anonymous communication, and RAMSES. He regularly serves in leadership roles in the community, including PC Chair for RAID 2022/2023 and USENIX WOOT 2018, and Track Chair for ACM CCS 2026. Labs and Teams: He leads the System Security research group at CISPA, a world-leading institution for security and privacy. The group comprises talented full-time researchers and focuses on cutting-edge research with strong individual supervision and worldwide collaborations.

• Software Security
• System Security
• Network Security
• +15 more

Muhammad Ali Gulzar is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at Virginia Tech and an Amazon Scholar at Amazon Web Services. His research focuses on improving developer productivity through automated debugging and testing for applications in emerging domains, including data-intensive software such as dataflow programs, ML/AI applications, and computational notebooks. Education Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of California, Los Angeles (Google Ph.D. Fellow 2017-2020) Research Interests Gulzar's research spans three primary areas: (1) automated tracking-code localization techniques in web applications, (2) re-engineering testing and debugging for data-intensive applications, and (3) advancing current testing and debugging practices in Federated Learning Applications. His work addresses the challenges of debugging in complex systems where traditional approaches fail due to the scale and distributed nature of modern applications. His research has significant implications for improving software quality, developer productivity, and accessibility in web applications. Research Trends Recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on debugging and testing challenges in emerging application domains. His work bridges traditional software engineering with machine learning, data-intensive systems, and web technologies. Notably, he has made significant contributions to Federated Learning debugging (FedDebug), accessibility challenges in ad-driven web applications, and semantic caching for Large Language Models. His approach often combines novel algorithmic insights with practical implementations that address real-world challenges in software development and maintenance. Scientific Awards Google Ph.D. Fellow (2017-2020) $1.1 million NSF award for Federated Learning research ACM CCS 2024 Distinguished Artifact Award Advising and Grants Gulzar leads a productive research group with multiple students contributing to publications in top-tier venues. His NSF-funded research on Federated Learning demonstrates his ability to secure competitive funding for innovative projects. His advising style appears to emphasize practical impact alongside theoretical contributions, with students often taking lead roles in publications. Current research directions include debugging techniques for Large Language Models, accessibility challenges in modern web applications, and novel testing approaches for distributed data processing systems.

• Fault Localization
• Big Data systems
• Data Intensive scalable computing
• +5 more

Prof. Dr. Christian Rossow is a faculty member at CISPA – Helmholtz Center for Information Security in Dortmund, Germany. He also serves as a professor at Saarland University and an honorary professor at TU Dortmund. His research focuses on network security , system/software security , and cyber attacks and countermeasures . His recent publications include work on CSS exploitation for browser fingerprinting, Spectre mitigations on ARM, DDoS attack analysis, and hardware-assisted security extensions. Christian Rossow regularly serves as a PC member and track chair for top cybersecurity conferences like ACM CCS and USENIX Security . He advises multiple PhD students and leads a research group exploring foundational and practical security solutions.

• Network Security
• System Security
• Software Security
• +9 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

Yannic Noller is a Professor at the Faculty of Computer Science at Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), leading the Software Quality group. Previously, he held positions as Assistant Professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Research Assistant Professor at National University of Singapore (NUS). His research focuses on automated software engineering, including program repair, machine learning analysis, and software testing. He earned his Ph.D. from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin under Prof. Lars Grunske, with a thesis on hybrid differential software testing. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science (2016-2020, Humboldt-Universität), M.Sc. (2013-2016, University of Stuttgart), B.Sc. (2010-2013, University of Stuttgart). Research interests include automated program repair techniques, machine learning model analysis, and intelligent tutoring systems for programming education. Notable contributions include HyDiff (hybrid differential analysis tool) and CPR (concolic program repair). Awards include the Distinguished Artifact Reviewer at ISSTA'2021 and multiple scholarships for academic excellence. Teaching includes courses on software engineering, requirements engineering, and automated software engineering.

• Automated Program Repair
• Machine Learning Analysis
• Software Testing
• +3 more

Xin Peng is a Professor and Deputy Dean at the School of Computer Science, Fudan University, China. He leads the CodeWisdom research team focusing on intelligent software engineering techniques for development, maintenance, and operation of software systems. His educational background includes a PhD in Computer Science (2001-2006) and Bachelor's degree in Computer Science (1997-2001), both from Fudan University. He progressed through the academic ranks from Assistant Professor (2006-2010) to Associate Professor (2010-2015) and finally to Professor (2015-present). Professor Peng's research interests span Software Analytics, Intelligent Software Development, Microservice systems, and AIOps. His work leverages AI technologies including deep learning and knowledge graphs to develop intelligent software engineering techniques. A significant portion of his recent work focuses on applying Large Language Models to various software engineering tasks, including vulnerability detection, API usage analysis, and test automation. His publication record shows a clear trend toward increasingly sophisticated applications of AI in software engineering, with recent work heavily featuring LLMs for tasks ranging from vulnerability patch porting to resource leak detection. The research spans multiple domains including microservice systems, automotive software, and Web of Things security. Best Paper Award of ICSM 2011 ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award of ASE 2018 and 2021 IEEE TCSE Distinguished Paper Award of ICSME 2018, 2019, and 2020 IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering Best Paper award for 2018 Professor Peng serves in numerous leadership roles including Deputy Director of CCF Technical Committee on Software Engineering, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Software: Evolution and Process, and Associate Editor for ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology. He has been actively involved in program committees for major software engineering conferences including ICSE, ASE, ESEC/FSE, and ICSME. He leads the CodeWisdom research team at Fudan University, which has developed several benchmark systems including TrainTicket for microservice research. The team's work bridges academic research with industrial applications, particularly in microservice systems analysis and intelligent software development tools.

• Software Analytics
• Intelligent Software Development
• Microservice
• +4 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

Bihuan Chen is an Associate Professor at the College of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Fudan University, specializing in software engineering with focus on software supply chain security and trustworthy AI systems. His research spans multiple programming languages including JavaScript, Python, Java, and C/C++ across application and AI domains. Dr. Chen earned his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Fudan University in 2009 and 2014 respectively, followed by postdoctoral research at Nanyang Technological University (2014-2017). His research interests include software supply chain risk assessment, trustworthy AI systems, and program analysis. His recent publications demonstrate strong focus on malicious package detection in NPM/PyPI ecosystems, vulnerability patch porting using LLMs, and safety verification for autonomous driving systems. The work shows increasing integration of machine learning techniques with traditional program analysis approaches, particularly evident in the 2024-2025 publications that leverage LLMs for vulnerability detection and code refinement. ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award (FSE 2016, ASE 2018, ASE 2022, FSE 2025) IEEE TCSE Distinguished Paper Award (ICSME 2020, SANER 2023) CCF Prototype Competition Awards (2nd and 3rd Prizes) Dr. Chen has advised over 50 students including current PhD candidates and notable alumni now at Huawei, ByteDance, and other leading tech firms. His fuxi platform assesses security, legal, and maintenance risks across the software engineering lifecycle. He serves on program committees for major conferences including ICSE, FSE, ASE, and ISSTA, and as Associate Editor for the Journal of Software: Evolution and Process.

• Software Engineering
• Software Supply Chain Security
• Program Analysis
• +4 more

Kihong Heo is an Associate Professor in the School of Computing and Graduate School of Information Security at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) in South Korea. His academic career includes serving as an Assistant Professor at KAIST from 2017-2019 before being promoted to Associate Professor in 2020, following his postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned both his Ph.D. and B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering from Seoul National University. Dr. Heo's research focuses on developing program reasoning systems for safe and reliable software, with specific interests in AI-based program analysis systems for detecting deep semantic software bugs, general-purpose program simplification systems for secure and efficient software, and scalable program synthesis systems for automatic software generation and repair. His work bridges the gap between programming languages, program analysis, and machine learning techniques to create next-generation programming systems. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong trend toward integrating machine learning techniques with traditional program analysis methods, with significant contributions in compiler validation, software security, fault localization, and program debloating. His research has practical impact, with some of his work incorporated into Facebook's Infer static analyzer. ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award, FSE 2025 Amazon Research Award, 2024 The Soo-Young Lee Teaching Innovation Award, KAIST, 2024 Prize for Excellence in Teaching, KAIST, 2024 Best Artifact Award, ICSE 2022 ACM SIGPLAN Distinguished Paper Award, PLDI 2019 ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award, ICSE 2019 Dr. Heo actively mentors graduate students, currently advising several Ph.D. candidates including Yeonhee Ryou, Taeeun Kim, and Sujin Jang, as well as master's students. He has served on program committees for major software engineering and programming language conferences including PLDI, ICSE, POPL, and SPLASH, demonstrating his active role in the academic community. His laboratory, the Programming Systems Laboratory at KAIST, focuses on creating innovative programming systems that leverage both semantic-based program analysis and AI techniques.

• Program Analysis
• Programming Language
• Machine Learning
• +3 more

Ruben Martins is an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science and serves as the program director of the Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) . His research focuses on the intersection of constraint programming, program synthesis, analysis, and verification, with recent work aiming to make formal methods tools more accessible through automated reasoning. Ruben earned his Ph.D. with honors from the Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal (2013) , followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford (2014-2015) and UT Austin (2015-2017) . Research Interests : Ruben's work bridges constraint programming and program synthesis , with applications in software verification , optimization , and automated reasoning . He has developed award-winning tools like Open-WBO , a modular MaxSAT solver that has won gold medals in international competitions. His publications span top-tier venues such as POPL , PLDI , FSE , SAT , and CP , often addressing real-world challenges from program analysis to network security. Scientific Awards include: Distinguished Paper Award at PLDI 2018 Distinguished Paper Award at FSE 2021 Distinguished Paper Award at SAT 2022 Gold medals for Open-WBO in MaxSAT competitions Teaching & Advising : Ruben mentors Ph.D., Master’s, and undergraduate students in research projects related to program synthesis, formal methods, and constraint solving. He teaches courses such as Bug Catching: Automated Program Verification and Advanced Topics in Logic: Automated Reasoning and Satisfiability , emphasizing hands-on experience with tools like Why3. His advising spans topics from AI-driven program repair to network protocol verification , fostering collaboration across disciplines.

• Constraint Programming
• Program Synthesis
• Formal Verification
• +3 more