Iftekhar Ahmed

Iftekhar Ahmed is an Associate Professor in Informatics at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on software engineering, particularly combining software testing, static analysis, and machine learning to develop better tools and techniques for software quality assurance.

His educational background includes:

• PhD in Computer Science (2018) from Oregon State University, advised by Carlos Jensen
• BSc in Computer Science & Engineering (2007) from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology

Dr. Ahmed's research interests center on software testing, static analysis, and the application of machine learning to software engineering problems. He has made significant contributions to mutation analysis, particularly in scaling this technique for real-world software systems. His work often bridges theoretical advances with practical applications, focusing on how to make software testing more effective and efficient for developers. He leads the STAIRS (Software Engineering & Testing Using Artificial Intelligence for Reliable Software) research group at UCI, where his team explores innovative approaches to software reliability through AI and machine learning.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward integrating artificial intelligence with traditional software engineering practices. There's a clear focus on applying machine learning to code analysis, commit message generation, and bug detection, while maintaining rigorous empirical validation through studies of real-world software projects and developer practices. His work spans multiple domains including web accessibility, quantum computing, and Jupyter notebooks, showing both depth in core software engineering topics and breadth across application areas.

Dr. Ahmed has received several prestigious awards:

• IBM Ph.D. Fellowship for academic year 2016-2017
• Graduate School tuition relief Scholarship for academic year 2016-2017
• IBM Ph.D. Fellowship for academic year 2017-2018

Actively involved in the academic community, Dr. Ahmed serves on program committees for major software engineering conferences including ASE, ICSE, and ESEC/FSE. He is currently accepting PhD students into his research group and emphasizes mentorship and professional development. His research has been supported by various grants that enable his team to explore innovative approaches to software testing and analysis.

Dr. Ahmed leads the STAIRS research group at UCI, which focuses on developing AI-powered techniques for software testing and reliability. The group collaborates with industry partners and academic institutions to ensure their research addresses real-world challenges in software development. Current projects include improving mutation testing scalability, analyzing code smells in emerging domains like quantum computing, and developing tools for accessibility testing.