Mark Harman

Mark Harman is a part-time Professor of Software Engineering at University College London's Department of Computer Science within the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, while working full-time as a Research Scientist at Meta Platforms in the Instagram Product Performance team. He previously served as head of Software Engineering at UCL and director of its CREST centre from 2006 to 2017 before joining Meta when his startup Majicke was acquired in 2017.

Harman's research spans multiple domains of software engineering, with particular emphasis on Search Based Software Engineering (SBSE), which he co-founded in 2001. His work has evolved to include LLM-based software engineering, software testing, program analysis, and bias mitigation in machine learning systems. He has made significant contributions to automated testing through systems like Sapienz and WW that have been deployed at scale at Meta.

His publication record shows a clear evolution from traditional software testing and analysis toward increasingly sophisticated integration of machine learning techniques. Recent work demonstrates strong focus on addressing fairness challenges in ML systems, improving test reliability in continuous integration environments, and exploring the applications of large language models in software engineering tasks. This reflects both his ability to identify emerging challenges and his commitment to practical, industry-relevant research.

• IEEE Harlan Mills Award (2019)
• ACM Outstanding Research Award (2019)
• Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2020)

Harman maintains a unique bridge between academia and industry, having co-founded the Simulation-Based Testing team at Meta and previously directing UCL's CREST research centre. His work on Sapienz grew from his startup Majicke and has had significant industrial impact while maintaining strong academic foundations. He frequently participates in academic conferences as both contributor and committee member, demonstrating ongoing commitment to the research community despite his industry position.

At Meta, Harman works within the Instagram Product Performance team, building on his earlier work with the Simulation-Based Testing team where he co-developed platforms for client- and server-side testing. His research on cyber-cyber digital twins represents an innovative application of simulation techniques to virtual software systems rather than physical ones.