Benjamin C. Pierce

Benjamin C. Pierce is Henry Salvatori Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania, with appointments in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. A Fellow of the ACM, his research spans programming languages, formal verification, and security-privacy technologies. He directs the DeepSpec project on verified systems infrastructure and leads climate computing initiatives.

Research interests focus on:

• Formal methods for reliable software via proof assistants like Coq
• Bidirectional programming and data synchronization
• Language-based security and differential privacy

Publication trends show consistent contributions to type theory foundations, with recent emphasis on property-based testing methodologies and real-world verification. Articles frequently appear in top PL/SEC venues with practical applications in compilers and secure systems.

Scientific Awards:

• ACM Fellow (systems verification)
• SIGPLAN Distinguished Educator Award (textbook innovations)

Advises graduate students through the Penn PL Club. PI for NSF Expeditions in Sustainable Computing. Leads the VERSE project for verified C code and Unison file synchronizer.

Directs the Penn Programming Languages Research Group collaborating with industry partners including Amazon and Microsoft Research.