Raffi Khatchadourian

Raffi Khatchadourian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). His research focuses on techniques for automated software evolution, particularly automated refactoring and source code recommendation systems, with the goal of easing the burden associated with evolving large and complex software through automated tools. He also conducts research on the automated analysis of Object-Oriented programs.

• Ph.D., Computer Science & Engineering, Ohio State University (2011)
• MS, Computer Science & Engineering, Ohio State University (2010)
• BS, Computer Science, Monmouth University (2004)

Khatchadourian's research spans multiple areas of software engineering and programming languages, with particular emphasis on automated software evolution techniques. His work addresses critical challenges in refactoring legacy systems to modern language constructs, optimizing parallel processing in Java 8 streams, and addressing technical debt in machine learning systems. His recent research has expanded into deep learning program transformation, where he develops techniques to convert imperative deep learning code to more efficient graph execution models while ensuring safety. His approach combines static analysis, program transformation, and empirical validation to create practical tools that developers can integrate into their workflows.

Analysis of Khatchadourian's recent publications reveals a strong focus on bridging the gap between theoretical program analysis and practical software engineering challenges. His work increasingly intersects with machine learning systems, examining both how to improve ML code through refactoring and how to ensure safety in deep learning frameworks. The research demonstrates consistent evolution from foundational work on Java language features toward more complex systems involving concurrency, deep learning, and automated program transformation.

• Distinguished Paper Award at SCAM '18 for work on Java 8 stream optimization
• EAPLS Best Paper Award at FASE '20 for study on Java 8 stream usage
• EAPLS Distinguished Paper Award at FASE '25 for Deep Learning refactoring work
• Best Paper Award nominee at IJCAI '24 for AI safety framework

Khatchadourian actively mentors graduate and undergraduate students, with several advisees going on to successful academic and industry positions. His former Ph.D. student Tatiana Castro Vélez accepted a tenure-track Assistant Professor position at the University of Puerto Rico. He has supervised numerous master's theses and undergraduate research projects, often resulting in co-authored publications at top software engineering venues. His research has been supported by various grants, though specific funding details are not prominently featured in the available information.

Through his work on tools like Fraglight for aspect-oriented programming and Hybridize Functions for deep learning refactoring, Khatchadourian has established a research group focused on practical program analysis and transformation. His lab develops Eclipse plugins and other IDE-integrated tools that help developers with automated refactoring, bug detection, and code optimization. The group maintains active collaborations with researchers at other institutions and contributes to open-source projects on GitHub.