Find Academic Supervisors

• Programming Languages
• Formal Verification
• Rust Programming Language
• +3 more

Ralf Jung serves as Assistant Professor at ETH Zürich where he leads the Programming Language Foundations Lab within the Institute for Programming Languages and Systems in the Department of Computer Science. Dr. Jung completed his PhD at MPI-SWS and Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany under advisor Derek Dreyer, followed by post-doctoral research with the PDOS group at MIT CSAIL. His academic journey reflects a strong foundation in programming language theory and systems research. His research centers on formal language foundations with dual focus areas: advancing the Rust programming language ecosystem and developing the Iris framework . Dr. Jung's work bridges theoretical computer science with practical systems development, aiming to create rigorous foundations for real-world programming languages while maintaining practical applicability. Currently recruiting post-doctoral researchers, Dr. Jung demonstrates active research expansion in programming language verification. His work on Miri (a tool for detecting Undefined Behavior in unsafe Rust) has become standard practice among unsafe Rust developers, while MiniRust represents his ongoing effort to create a precise specification for unsafe Rust that could eventually become official. PhD: MPI-SWS and Saarland University (advisor: Derek Dreyer) Post-doc: PDOS group at MIT CSAIL Current: Assistant Professor at ETH Zürich Outside academia, Dr. Jung maintains a strong commitment to digital privacy and freedom, operating his own server infrastructure and contributing to free software projects as documented on his personal website ralfj.de.

Tiark RompfView profile

Associate Professor

• Programming Languages
• Compilers
• Computer Architecture
• +7 more

Tiark Rompf is the Kevin C. and Susanne L. Kahn New Frontiers Associate Professor at Purdue University, with a scientific focus on programming languages, compilers, and systems research. He co-directs the Purdue Center for Programming Principles and Software Systems (PurPL) and serves as a Scientific Advisor at SambaNova Systems. His research spans Reachability Types (integrating Rust-style lifetime tracking with higher-order abstractions), Rhyme (query languages for nested data), and formal verification using Coq and logical relations. Key techniques include Graph IRs , Mechanized Proofs , and E-Graphs . Scientific Awards : GPCE Test of Time Award (2020) ACM SIGPLAN PL Software Award (2019) NSF CAREER Award (2016) Google Faculty Research Award (2017, 2018) DOE Early Career Research Award (2017) He teaches graduate courses on compilers (CS 502, CS 590) and software foundations. His lab actively recruits PhD students for projects involving type systems, compiler design, and metaprogramming.

• Programming Languages
• Formal Verification
• Type Systems
• +5 more

Derek Dreyer is a Professor at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, where he leads research in programming languages, formal verification, and type systems. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications, particularly in the verification of systems programming languages. His research focuses on developing rigorous semantic foundations for modern programming languages, with significant contributions to the verification of Rust, separation logic frameworks, module systems, and concurrency models. Dreyer's work combines deep theoretical insights with practical verification techniques, often implemented in proof assistants like Coq. His research spans formal semantics, type theory, program logics, and verification methodologies for both sequential and concurrent programs. Dreyer's publication record shows a consistent focus on foundational verification techniques, with recent work advancing separation logic (Iris framework), Rust verification, multi-language semantics, and novel program logics. His publications in top venues like POPL, PLDI, and ICFP demonstrate both theoretical depth and practical impact in programming language research. Dreyer has established himself as a leading researcher through extensive collaborations with prominent figures in the programming languages community, including Lars Birkedal, Ralf Jung, Robbert Krebbers, and Viktor Vafeiadis. His work often bridges multiple subfields, connecting theoretical concepts with practical verification challenges in systems programming.

Lindsey KuperView profile

Assistant Professor

• programming languages
• distributed computing
• concurrency
• +5 more

Lindsey Kuper is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the Baskin School of Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research bridges programming languages, distributed systems, and software verification with a focus on developing programming-language-based approaches to building concurrent and distributed software systems that are elegant, correct, and efficient. Her research interests center around programming languages, distributed computing, concurrency, parallelism, and software verification. Recent projects include library-level choreographic programming (in Haskell, Rust, and TypeScript), dependently-typed diagrams for inductive reasoning about concurrent executions, and expressing and verifying causal message delivery with refinement types. Her group's research has been supported by an NSF CAREER Award, a Stellar Development Foundation Academic Research Grant, a Google Faculty Research Award, and a gift from Amazon Web Services. She leads the CASL (Concurrency and Safety Lab) group, part of the larger Languages, Systems, and Data (LSD) Lab at UC Santa Cruz. NSF CAREER Award Stellar Development Foundation Academic Research Grant Google Faculty Research Award ICFP 2023 Distinguished Paper Award Professor Kuper advises multiple PhD students including Jonathan Castello, Tim Goodwin, Nathan Liittschwager, Patrick Redmond, Gan Shen, and Yan Tong. She previously supervised MS student Shun Kashiwa (who completed his thesis on ChoRus in 2024) and BS student Ali Ali (who graduated in 2024). She teaches courses including Foundations of Programming Languages, Distributed Systems, and Programming Abstractions at UC Santa Cruz. The CASL research group (which stands for Concurrency and Safety Lab, Creative, Ambitious Systems and Languages, or other creative expansions) focuses on building reliable distributed systems through programming language techniques. The group's work emphasizes safety, correctness, and efficiency in concurrent and distributed programming contexts.

Derek DreyerView profile

Professor

• Programming Languages
• Formal Verification
• Type Theory
• +6 more

Derek Dreyer is the Scientific Director at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) and an Honorary Professor of Computer Science at Saarland University , Germany. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in 2005 under advisors Bob Harper and Karl Crary. Research Interests : Programming languages, formal verification, type theory, separation logic, concurrent systems, memory models, and machine code verification. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical verification of real-world systems, notably in Rust and C programming. Recent Publications : Focus on Rust's aliasing models (e.g., Tree Borrows), foundational verification (e.g., RefinedC), and separation logic frameworks (e.g., Iris and its extensions). Trends include robust property preservation, interoperability verification (OCaml-C), and incorrectness logic for bug detection. Scientific Awards : European Research Council (ERC) Grant for high-impact research and the ACM SIGPLAN Robin Milner Young Researcher Award (POPL 2018). As an educator and mentor, he has contributed to workshops like PLMW and RTFM, offering guidance on academic writing, talks, and career challenges. His personal blog reflects on impostor syndrome, academic life, and interdisciplinary parallels between science and the arts.

Jonathan ProtzenkoView profile

Researcher

• Software Verification
• Programming Languages
• Type Systems
• +7 more

Jonathan Protzenko is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Azure Research, focusing on advancing software verification through formal methods and programming language design. His work bridges theoretical rigor with practical impact, particularly in cryptography, Rust verification, and computational law. He has contributed to verified cryptographic libraries like HACL* and EverCrypt, which are integrated into major systems such as Python, Firefox, and Linux. His projects include Aeneas , a Rust verification tool, and Eurydice , which compiles Rust to C for legacy compatibility. Prior to Microsoft Azure, he spent nine years at Microsoft Research and was part of the Gallium team at INRIA Paris, where he developed Mezzo for his PhD. His research interests span Type Systems and Programming Languages Software Verification and Formal Methods Security Protocols and Cryptographic Libraries Computational Law and Legal Code Modeling Rust Verification and Compiler Design Low-Level Programming and Memory Safety Recent projects highlight his commitment to transitioning verified codebases to Rust while ensuring backward compatibility with legacy systems. He co-authored the ICFP 2023 paper on modularity and zero-cost abstractions , and his work on Catala explores formal methods in computational law, featured in Communications of the ACM. Jonathan's scientific awards include the Internet Defense Prize and SIGPLAN Research Highlight . He mentors students like Théophile Wallez, Son Ho, and Denis Merigoux, and advises the startup Cryspen. His verified cryptographic libraries power critical infrastructure, with code in BoringSSL, Linux, Python, and Firefox. He maintains open-source projects, including a Thunderbird add-on with 200k users.

Lennard GäherView profile

Lecturer

• Program Verification
• Separation Logics
• Concurrency
• +3 more

Lennard Gäher is a fourth-year PhD student in the Foundations of Programming group at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS), advised by Derek Dreyer. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Saarland University (2020). His research focuses on program verification, separation logics, and concurrency, with contributions to frameworks like RefinedRust and Simuliris. He has been recognized with the 'Busy Beaver' teaching award for his work as a course designer and lecturer in theoretical computer science at Saarland University. Teaching highlights include co-designing the second half of Saarland's Semantics course (WS 21/22), where he mechanized course material in Coq (thousands of lines of code), and leading a Mathematics Preparatory Course for 150+ students (WS 20/21). His academic roles include multiple teaching assistant positions across core computer science courses since 2017. His publications span PLDI, POPL, and ICFP, addressing challenges in Rust verification, separation logic frameworks, and concurrency theory. Key projects include RefinedProsa (response-time analysis integration) and Quiver (abductive inference tools in Coq).

• Programming Languages
• Formal Methods
• Computer Science Education
• +4 more

Shriram Krishnamurthi is a Professor in the Computer Science Department at Brown University, Providence, RI. With a prolific research career spanning over three decades (from 1994 to present), he has made significant contributions across programming languages, formal methods, and computer science education. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical educational applications, particularly in making complex concepts accessible to students. Dr. Krishnamurthi's research interests encompass programming languages, formal methods, type systems, and computer science education. His work often focuses on the intersection of these areas, particularly how to make formal methods and advanced programming concepts accessible to students through innovative language design and educational tools. He has developed several educational frameworks that have been adopted in both university and K-12 settings, demonstrating his commitment to improving computer science education at all levels. His recent publications reveal a strong focus on making formal methods more approachable through grounded language design, addressing student misconceptions in programming through innovative assessment techniques, and developing practical tools like Forge for teaching formal methods. His work on Rust's type system, privacy-aware static analysis, and document calculus demonstrates the breadth of his research interests while maintaining a consistent thread of improving programming language understanding and usability. As a dedicated educator and researcher, Krishnamurthi has mentored numerous PhD students who have become prominent researchers in their own right, including Ben Greenman, Tim Nelson, Kuang-Chen Lu, and Will Crichton. His collaborative approach is evident in his extensive publication record featuring collaborations with both established researchers and emerging scholars.

• Algorithms
• Theory & Logic
• Programming Languages & Verification
• +5 more

Aaron Turon is a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS), where he focuses on foundational aspects of programming languages, concurrency, and formal verification. His work bridges theoretical insights with practical applications, particularly in systems such as Rust and frameworks for reasoning about weak memory models. His research interests include concurrent programming, type systems, formal methods, and scalable distributed systems. He has contributed to seminal projects like the Iris framework for concurrent reasoning and the development of LVars for quasi-deterministic parallelism. Turon's publications emphasize practical formal verification techniques, such as separation logic and logical relations, to ensure correctness in complex systems. His work on Rust highlights the translation of theoretical concepts into industrial-strength tools. He collaborates with academic and industrial partners to advance programming language design, concurrency control, and software engineering practices.

Andrea DauberView profile

Researcher

• Distributed Systems
• Model Checking
• Concurrency
• +3 more

Dr. Andrea Dauber is a Researcher and Coordinator of the IMPRS-SPCE program at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG) in Cologne, Germany. Her work focuses on developing verification frameworks for distributed systems, particularly through the design of the Must framework. This tool enables efficient model checking of industrial-scale distributed protocols using novel algorithms like optimal dynamic partial order reduction. Her research addresses challenges in concurrency, distributed computing models, and formal verification, with applications to systems like replicated logs and transaction management protocols. Key contributions include demonstrating Must's scalability through real-world case studies and advancing the usability of verification tools via high-level system abstractions. Dauber's interdisciplinary approach bridges programming language design and distributed systems engineering, contributing to both theoretical foundations and practical industrial implementations.

Sebastian WilczekView profile

Researcher

• Plasma Technology
• Plasma Simulation
• Gas Conversion
• +3 more

Sebastian Wilczek is a researcher at Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA) in Bochum and works part-time at enaDyne GmbH in Leipzig. He completed his PhD in plasma technology at Ruhr University Bochum and serves as a visiting researcher there, teaching Numerical Methods in Electrodynamics . His academic work spans research and teaching in plasma modeling, CO₂ conversion, and simulation techniques. Research Focus: Wilczek’s research centers on plasma technology , particularly radio-frequency (RF) plasma systems , with emphasis on non-thermal plasma catalysis for greenhouse gas conversion . His work includes detailed studies of electron dynamics in low-pressure capacitively coupled plasmas (CCPs), sheath behavior , and ionization mechanisms using advanced simulation tools like PIC/MCC and nonPDPSIM . Publications & Conferences: Wilczek has contributed to multiple peer-reviewed conference papers and simulations on topics such as CO₂ dissociation , electron temperature dynamics , and waveform tailoring for plasma optimization. His recent work compares microwave plasma torches with other sources for carbon recycling and investigates non-neutral discharge regimes at atmospheric pressure. Simulation Tools: He co-developed eduPIC , an educational PIC/MCC code for plasma simulation , available in multiple programming languages including Rust and C/C++. This tool is designed to help students and researchers understand and extend particle-in-cell methods for their own applications.

Dirk MüllerView profile

Professor

• Real-time systems
• Scheduling
• Software Engineering
• +5 more

Dirk Müller is a Professor of Software Technology/Operating Systems at the Faculty of Computer Science/Mathematics, Dresden University of Applied Sciences (HTW Dresden). He has been in this position since 2016 and is an active member of the Faculty Council since June 2021. He was awarded IEEE Senior Member status in April 2023. His academic journey includes a doctorate in Engineering from the University of Kassel in 2006, habilitation at Chemnitz University of Technology in 2014, and prior research positions at Philipps University of Marburg and Florida State University. 1995-2002: Studies in Medical Informatics at University of Leipzig 2003-2006: Research Assistant/Doctoral Student at University of Kassel 2006-2008: Research Associate at Philipps University of Marburg 2008-2014: Academic Councillor at Chemnitz University of Technology 2014-2016: Private Lecturer at TU Chemnitz 2016-present: Professor at HTW Dresden Professor Müller's research focuses on real-time systems and scheduling, model-driven software development, digitalization in companies and administration, and the concept of information. His work particularly emphasizes Rust language applications in software engineering. He has published extensively on real-time scheduling algorithms, mixed-criticality systems, and embedded systems. His teaching responsibilities include Operating Systems I, Software Engineering I & II, Model-Driven Software Development, and Programming in Rust. His publication record shows a consistent focus on real-time systems, with a clear progression from theoretical scheduling algorithms to practical implementations. His recent work has expanded into public administration digitization and biometric conference systems, while maintaining his core expertise in scheduling theory. The publications demonstrate strong international collaboration, particularly with researchers like Matthias Werner, Alejandro Masrur, and Robert Baumgartl. IEEE Senior Member (2023) Erdős number: max. 4 Strict Erdős number: max. 5 Professor Müller actively supervises student theses, with over a dozen bachelor's and diploma theses completed between 2023-2025. His students work on diverse topics including Rust programming, workflow automation, user experience optimization, and real-time event processing. He serves as a reviewer for multiple prestigious journals including IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, Real-Time Systems, and The Computer Journal. He also acts as Senior Editor for Computer Science Books at Versita. His laboratory work focuses on practical implementations of real-time systems, often using Raspberry Pi as a platform for traffic analysis and other embedded applications. His research group maintains strong connections with industry, as evidenced by the applied nature of student projects at companies like IntraConnect GmbH.

Hui LiuView profile

Professor

• Software Engineering
• AI-based Software Development
• LLM-based Program Generation
• +5 more

Hui Liu is a Professor in the School of Computer Science and Technology at Beijing Institute of Technology, where he leads research in AI-based software development with a focus on LLM applications. His work spans software refactoring, quality improvement, and maintenance, funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Key Research and Development Program of China. PhD from Peking University (2008) Former graduate student at Software Engineering Institute, Peking University Distinguished member of China Computer Federation Secretary-General of CCF Technical Committee on Software Engineering Professor Liu's research centers on LLM-based program generation, evaluation and testing of large language models, software refactoring techniques, and automatic construction of software engineering datasets. His work bridges artificial intelligence and software engineering, with particular emphasis on improving code quality through empirical studies and machine learning techniques. Current projects include code contamination detection, context-aware naming recommendations, and refactoring validation using LLMs. His research has evolved from traditional code smell detection to cutting-edge applications of large language models in software development. Liu's publication record shows a strong trend toward LLM applications in software engineering, with recent work focusing on code review generation, commit message generation, and refactoring validation using large language models. His research combines empirical methods with machine learning approaches, often analyzing large code corpora from open-source projects. The work spans both theoretical foundations and practical tool development, with several contributions merged into Eclipse as part of the open-source community. ACM Distinguished Paper Award (ESEC/FSE 2023) ACM Distinguished Paper Award (ICSE 2022) RE'2021 Best Research Paper Award IET Software Premium Award (2018) New Century Excellent Talents in University (2013) Beijing Higher Education Young Elite Teacher (2013) Professor Liu actively mentors PhD and Master's students, with recent graduates including Waseem Akram (awarded Outstanding Graduate) and several students publishing at top venues. His research is supported by major Chinese funding agencies, and he serves on program committees for leading software engineering conferences including ASE, ICSE, and FSE. He maintains strong industry connections through contributions to Eclipse and studies of open-source ecosystems like Rust. Liu leads a research group focused on AI for software engineering, with active projects on code generation, refactoring, and quality improvement. The group collaborates extensively with international researchers and contributes directly to open-source tools, particularly in the Eclipse ecosystem where multiple refactoring improvements have been merged.

Zhiyuan WanView profile

Associate Professor

• Software Engineering
• Software Security
• Programming Languages

Zhiyuan Wan is an Associate Professor in the College of Computer Science and Technology at Zhejiang University, China. His academic career spans multiple prestigious institutions across North America and Asia, with a focus on advancing software engineering practices through empirical research and tool development. Dr. Wan's educational background includes: Ph.D. in Computer Science from Zhejiang University (2014) His postdoctoral journey featured positions at: University of British Columbia, Canada (2019-2020) Singapore Management University (2018) Zhejiang University (2016-2020) Lehigh University, United States (2014-2015) Dr. Wan's research program centers on empirical software engineering with particular expertise in blockchain technologies and software security. His work bridges theoretical insights with practical tool development, focusing on: Smart contract security and vulnerabilities in cryptocurrency ecosystems Code search and recommendation systems for developer productivity Empirical studies of developer practices and challenges Impact of machine learning on software development workflows His approach combines rigorous empirical methods with practical tool building to address real-world challenges faced by software practitioners. Analysis of Dr. Wan's recent publications reveals a strategic evolution toward blockchain security research, beginning around 2020 with studies on smart contract security and expanding to cover NFT ecosystems, Solana blockchain transactions, and cross-chain vulnerabilities. His work consistently applies empirical methods to uncover practical insights while developing tools that directly address identified challenges in software development. Dr. Wan actively contributes to the software engineering community through service on program committees for major conferences including ASE, ICSE, ESEC/FSE, and ISSTA. His academic leadership extends to mentoring relationships with students and collaborators across international institutions, though specific advisees are not documented in the provided materials.