Işıl DilligView profile
Associate Professor
Işıl Dillig is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin, where she leads the UToPiA research group. Her academic career spans over a decade of significant contributions to programming languages research, particularly in program analysis, verification, and synthesis. Dr. Dillig received all her academic degrees (BS, MS, and PhD) from Stanford University before joining the faculty at UT Austin. Her educational background established the foundation for her innovative research approach that bridges theoretical computer science with practical applications. Her research focuses on developing techniques to make software systems more reliable, secure, and easier to build through advanced program analysis, verification, and synthesis methods. She has pioneered approaches that combine symbolic reasoning with machine learning to tackle complex software engineering challenges across multiple domains including security, databases, and programming language theory. Her work demonstrates exceptional depth in creating practical tools that address real-world software development problems while maintaining strong theoretical foundations. Analysis of Dr. Dillig's publication record reveals a consistent trajectory of innovation in program synthesis, with recent work expanding into neurosymbolic approaches that bridge neural networks with formal methods. Her research shows strong connections between theoretical foundations and practical applications, particularly in security-critical systems, database technologies, and blockchain applications. The evolution of her work demonstrates increasing sophistication in handling complex program structures while maintaining practical usability. Dr. Dillig has received prestigious recognition for her research contributions: Sloan Fellowship NSF CAREER award As a dedicated educator and research leader, Dr. Dillig has served in significant roles including Program Chair for PLDI 2022 and Steering Committee member for PLDI. She has mentored numerous students through her UToPiA research group, guiding research in program synthesis, verification, and analysis. Her work has been supported by substantial research grants that have enabled innovative projects at the intersection of programming languages and security. Dr. Dillig leads the UToPiA (UT Austin Programming, Languages, and Analysis) research group, which focuses on developing novel techniques for program analysis, verification, and synthesis. The group maintains strong collaborations with industry partners and academic institutions worldwide, translating theoretical advances into practical tools that address real software engineering challenges.









