Amal Ahmed

Amal Ahmed is a Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs at Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University, where she leads research in programming languages and secure compilation. She received her PhD in Computer Science from Princeton University and has established herself as a leading researcher in compiler correctness, language interoperability, and type systems.

Her research focuses on correct and secure compilation across the software-hardware stack and safe language interoperability, including design of sound foreign-function interfaces (FFIs) and richly typed compiler intermediate languages. She makes extensive use of semantics and type systems for reasoning about imperative and probabilistic programming languages, multi-language systems, security, concurrency, and provenance. Her work has significantly advanced the understanding of gradual typing, compiler verification, and compositional language interoperability.

Dr. Ahmed's publications reveal a research trajectory focused on building solid semantic foundations for language interoperability and secure compilation. Her recent work spans topics from probabilistic separation logic to WebAssembly interoperability, with consistent emphasis on formal verification and semantic techniques. She has developed frameworks for reasoning about multi-language systems that preserve security properties across language boundaries.

• NSF CAREER Award recipient
• Editorial Board: Journal of Functional Programming (2017–present)
• Editorial Board: Mathematical Structures in Computer Science (2016–present)
• Member: IFIP Working Group 2.8 (Functional Programming, 2014–present)

As an educator and mentor, Dr. Ahmed has advised numerous PhD students, postdocs, and undergraduates, many of whom have gone on to successful academic and industry careers. She has organized the Programming Languages Mentoring Workshop and regularly teaches advanced courses in programming languages. She serves on the steering committees of major conferences including POPL, SPLASH, and PLMW, and has chaired program committees for ESOP and POPL.