Michael Blondin

Michael Blondin is a tenured associate professor of computer science at the Université de Sherbrooke, Canada, and a member of the GRIF research group. His research focuses on theoretical computer science and formal methods, particularly in algorithmic verification, automata theory, and concurrent systems. He holds a joint Ph.D. from ENS Paris-Saclay and Université de Montréal, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Technical University of Munich.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science (2016), ENS Paris-Saclay and Université de Montréal
• M.Sc. in Computer Science (2012), Université de Montréal
• B.Sc. in Honours Computer Science (2009), Université de Montréal
• College Diploma in Computer Science (2007), Collège Lionel-Groulx

Research Interests: Blondin's work bridges theoretical computer science and formal methods, emphasizing foundational aspects of verification. Key areas include Petri nets, automata theory, computational complexity, and distributed systems. His research aims to enhance system reliability through rigorous verification techniques.

Publications & Contributions: Blondin has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed papers in top venues such as LICS, CONCUR, and FOSSACS, focusing on Petri nets, population protocols, and verification algorithms. His work on separators in continuous Petri nets (2024) and weakly acyclic diagrams (2025) advances symbolic verification for infinite-state systems.

Awards & Grants:

• NSERC Discovery Grant ($173,500, 2019–2026)
• FRQNT Research Support for New Academics ($60,000, 2021–2023)
• Teaching Excellence Award (Université de Montréal, 2015)

Tools Developed: He co-created tools like FastForward (reachability verification for Petri nets), Peregrine (analysis of population protocols), and QCover (coverability verification).