Jonathan Aldrich

Jonathan Aldrich is a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, with joint appointments in the Software and Societal Systems Department and Computer Science Department. He directs the Master of Software Engineering program (as of July 2025) and previously led the Software Engineering Ph.D. program. Aldrich teaches courses in programming languages, software engineering, and program analysis.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington (2003)
• M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington (1999)
• B.S. in Engineering and Applied Science (Computer Science), Caltech (1997)

Research Focus: Aldrich's work bridges programming languages and software engineering to improve software quality and productivity. His research explores how structural and behavioral design aspects can be expressed in source code, enabling better tooling and error reduction. Key innovations include gradual verification systems, typestate-oriented programming, and ownership models for security. His projects span blockchain safety (Obsidian), concurrency (AEminium), and visualization (Penrose).

Publication Trends: Aldrich's 15 most recent articles reflect a strong emphasis on language-based security, formal verification (especially gradual verification techniques), and human-centered language design. His work increasingly integrates empirical studies to evaluate usability in advanced type systems.

Awards:

• NSF CAREER Award (2006)
• Dahl-Nygaard Junior Prize (2007)
• ICSE Most Influential Paper Award (2012)
• DARPA Computer Science Study Group (2007)
• William Chan Memorial Dissertation Award (2003)

Leadership & Service: Aldrich directs graduate programs, co-authored the textbook 'Programming Language Pragmatics,' and serves on the ACM Publications Board. As CTO of Noteful, he develops educational music technology. He has chaired program committees for OOPSLA, ECOOP, and SPLASH conferences.