SAT-based Model Checking Professors and Supervisors

Florian LercherView profile

Researcher

Technical University of MunichGermany

Florian Lercher is a Researcher at the Department of Cyber Physical Systems at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). He joined the group led by Prof. Matthias Althoff in April 2023 as a PhD student and research assistant. His work focuses on motion planning for autonomous vehicles, particularly integrating reachability analysis and temporal logic for specification-compliant driving corridors. Education: B.Sc. in Informatics (TUM, 2020), M.Sc. in Software Engineering (TUM, LMU Munich, and University of Augsburg, 2022) Research: Traffic rule-compliant motion planning, hybrid systems verification, and formal methods in autonomous driving Teaching: Lectures and practical courses on AI fundamentals and formal methods for cyber-physical systems His recent publications emphasize efficient driving corridor extraction, temporal logic simplification, and model checking for hybrid systems. He actively supervises student theses on topics like SAT-based refinement guidance and inverse reinforcement learning for autonomous vehicles.

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Christian JohansenView profile

Professor

Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyNorway

Christian Johansen is a Professor in the Department of Information Security and Communication Technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. He leads the Systems Security group (S2G) and is affiliated with the Center for Cyber and Information Security (CCIS), the Norwegian Cyber Range, and the S2G Playground. Professor Johansen's research focuses on Security and Theoretical Computer Science, with emphasis on developing formal methods and tools for ensuring reliability of complex systems. His work spans security, safety, and concurrency properties in software systems, cyber-physical systems like Smart Grids, Internet of Things security, and modeling concurrency in multi-core and high-performance computing. Among his notable contributions are the Timed Distributed pi-calculus, ST-structures, Dynamic Structural Operational Semantics, Synchronous Kleene Algebra, and Higher Dimensional Modal Logic. His research interests include modeling of security protocols, programming language semantics, verification of distributed systems, concurrent systems modeling, and legal electronic contracts. His recent publications show a strong trend toward concurrency theory, security, and privacy, with significant contributions to pi-calculus variants, higher-dimensional automata, attribute-based encryption, and semantic access control frameworks. Many of his papers appear in top venues such as CONCUR, ATVA, FM, POST, CCS, JLAMP, IJCIP, FMSD, and LMCS. Professor Johansen actively mentors students and collaborators, having worked with Manish Shrestha on the LightSC Security Classification Method for Smart Grids and IoT, and with Bjørnar Luteberget on the SAT modulo Discrete Event Simulation method for railway capacity verification. He has secured funding from competitive sources including EU-FP7-FET-Young-Explorers, Horizon-2020, NFR-FRINATEK, UK's EPSRC, and ECSEL-JU. His work often bridges theoretical computer science with practical security applications in critical infrastructure domains.

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Rolf DrechslerView profile

Professor

University of MannheimGermany

Rolf Drechsler is a Full Professor and Head of the Group of Computer Architecture at the University of Bremen's Institute of Computer Science since 2001, and Director of the Cyber-Physical Systems Group at DFKI Bremen since 2011. He holds an adjunct professorship at the Indian Statistical Institute and has been affiliated with Duke University. Education: Diploma (1992) and Dr. phil. nat. (1995) in Computer Science from Goethe University Frankfurt Academic Leadership: Dean of Mathematics and Computer Science Faculty (2018-2025), Vice Rector for Research (2008-2013) His research focuses on formal verification , RISC-V architectures , and quantum/in-memory computing . Recent work explores LLM integration in hardware testing and polynomial-based verification techniques. Publications from 2024-2025 span IEEE Transactions , DATE , and DAC , emphasizing automated verification , quantum circuit mapping , and LLM-driven testbench generation . Scientific Awards IEEE/ACM Best Paper Awards (2013, 2018) Berninghausen-Preis for Innovative Teaching (2018) IEEE Fellow (2015) Founder Award for Solvertec (2013) He has served on program committees for DAC, ICCAD, DATE, and founded graduate schools in Embedded Systems and System Design under Germany's Excellence Initiative.

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Elvira AlbertView profile

Professor

National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece

Elvira Albert is a Professor in the Department of Computer Systems and Programming at the School of Computer Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. She leads the COSTA research group, which specializes in formal methods for program optimization and verification, with a strong focus on blockchain technologies and smart contracts. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science. Her research encompasses program verification, static analysis, and compiler construction, particularly applied to blockchain ecosystems. The COSTA group has developed influential tools including circom (for arithmetic circuit compilation), CIVER (for circuit verification), EthIR (EVM decompiler), and superoptimizers such as GASOL and SuperStack. Recent publications (2019-2024) demonstrate her expertise in smart contract safety (e.g., SAFEVM), concurrency testing, and bytecode superoptimization using constraint solvers. Her work consistently bridges theoretical formal methods with practical tool development for the blockchain industry. Albert has secured substantial funding from the Ethereum Foundation for multiple projects (GASOL, GREEN, SOPA, FORVES series, ZK-ARCKIT, GREY). She serves as an area editor for Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP) since 2019. The COSTA group, under her leadership, maintains an active research agenda in blockchain verification, zero-knowledge proofs, and formally verified compilers. Current projects include ZK-ARCKIT for arithmetic circuit analysis and FORYU for formal semantics of Yul.

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Bernhard AichernigView profile

Professor

Johannes Kepler University LinzAustria

Bernhard Aichernig serves as a University Professor at the Institute of Formal Models and Verification at Johannes Kepler University Linz. His academic career focuses on bridging theoretical computer science with practical software verification techniques. He actively contributes to the international research community through publications, program committees, and doctoral examinations. Professor Aichernig's research primarily centers on formal methods and model verification, with significant contributions to automata learning and software testing methodologies. His work explores the intersection of theoretical computer science and practical verification techniques, particularly in state-merging approaches for passive learning systems. His research has direct applications in improving software reliability through formal testing frameworks. His recent publication trends indicate a strong focus on advancing automata learning techniques, particularly extending the AALpy framework with passive learning capabilities. This work represents the cutting edge of model inference and formal verification, addressing challenges in state-merging algorithms for complex software systems. His research bridges theoretical foundations with practical testing applications. Professor Aichernig serves as an active member of the academic community through various roles including doctoral examination committees and program committees for major conferences like the NASA Formal Methods Symposium. He has examined PhD theses on advanced reasoning techniques for quantified Boolean formulas, learning Mealy machines with local timers, and deep integration of SAT solving with model checking. He currently participates in the Cluster of Excellence 'Bilateral Artificial Intelligence' project as a Principal Investigator, working alongside prominent researchers in the AI field. This active research project, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), runs from October 2024 through September 2029 and represents a significant collaborative effort in artificial intelligence research at JKU Linz.

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