Shiva Nejati

Shiva Nejati is a Professor at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Ottawa, where he leads research in software engineering with a focus on verification and analysis of cyber-physical systems. Previously, he served as a senior scientist (2012-2019) at the SnT Center, University of Luxembourg, and as a scientist (2009-2012) at the Simula Research Laboratory. He earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 2003 and 2008, respectively.

His research interests span Software Testing and Verification, Cyber Physical Systems, Applications of AI to Software Engineering, and Search-based Software Engineering. Nejati's work draws on techniques from formal software modeling, meta-heuristics optimization, machine learning, system engineering, and empirical methods. He has extensively worked on testing and fault localization of cyber physical systems, particularly applied to autonomous vehicles and IoT systems, while also exploring requirements traceability, automated configuration of product line systems, and simulation modeling of CPS.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward integrating artificial intelligence with traditional software verification techniques, particularly for complex cyber-physical systems. His work bridges search-based testing with formal verification methods to address the challenges of testing compute-intensive models in domains like autonomous vehicles and satellite systems. The research shows increasing focus on applying machine learning to solve longstanding problems in software testing and requirements engineering.

Nejati serves in significant leadership roles across major software engineering conferences, including PC Chair for ASE 2026, General Chair for CASCON 2026, and various program committee and organizing committee roles for ICSE, ISSTA, MODELS, and other top-tier conferences. He is also an Associate Editor for EMSE Journal and ASE Journal, and previously served on the IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering editorial board.

He teaches advanced courses including 'AI-enabled Software Verification and Testing' and 'Software Construction' at the University of Ottawa, while leading the Sedna lab which focuses on verification, analysis, and testing of complex systems. His research is conducted in close collaboration with industry partners across telecommunication, maritime, energy, automotive, and aerospace sectors.