Qirun Zhang is the Catherine M. and James E. Allchin Early Career Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focuses on program analysis, compiler optimization, and formal language theory, with numerous publications in top-tier programming language and software engineering conferences including PLDI, POPL, OOPSLA, and FSE. He teaches courses on compilers, program analysis, and software testing. Dr. Zhang's research interests center on improving software reliability and security through advanced program analysis techniques. He approaches problems from perspectives including computational complexity, analytic combinatorics, graph theory, and formal languages. His work often bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in compiler design and program verification. His recent publications show a strong focus on context-free language reachability, Dyck-language based analyses, and SMT solving techniques. His research demonstrates consistent innovation in making program analysis more precise while maintaining scalability, with applications ranging from debug information validation to software debloating and type inference. PLDI Distinguished Paper Award (2020) SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award (2023) OOPSLA Distinguished Artifact Award (2022) Dr. Zhang actively mentors PhD and MS students, with current advisees including Camille Bossut and Benjamin Mikek. His service to the academic community includes Artifact Evaluation Co-Chair roles for PLDI 2025 and 2026, and program committee membership for numerous top conferences including PLDI, POPL, and OOPSLA. He leads research projects including SLOT, Context-Free Language Reachability with Transitive Redundancy Elimination, and Debug Information Validation.
Amal Ahmed is a Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs at Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University, where she leads research in programming languages and secure compilation. She received her PhD in Computer Science from Princeton University and has established herself as a leading researcher in compiler correctness, language interoperability, and type systems. Her research focuses on correct and secure compilation across the software-hardware stack and safe language interoperability, including design of sound foreign-function interfaces (FFIs) and richly typed compiler intermediate languages. She makes extensive use of semantics and type systems for reasoning about imperative and probabilistic programming languages, multi-language systems, security, concurrency, and provenance. Her work has significantly advanced the understanding of gradual typing, compiler verification, and compositional language interoperability. Dr. Ahmed's publications reveal a research trajectory focused on building solid semantic foundations for language interoperability and secure compilation. Her recent work spans topics from probabilistic separation logic to WebAssembly interoperability, with consistent emphasis on formal verification and semantic techniques. She has developed frameworks for reasoning about multi-language systems that preserve security properties across language boundaries. NSF CAREER Award recipient Editorial Board: Journal of Functional Programming (2017–present) Editorial Board: Mathematical Structures in Computer Science (2016–present) Member: IFIP Working Group 2.8 (Functional Programming, 2014–present) As an educator and mentor, Dr. Ahmed has advised numerous PhD students, postdocs, and undergraduates, many of whom have gone on to successful academic and industry careers. She has organized the Programming Languages Mentoring Workshop and regularly teaches advanced courses in programming languages. She serves on the steering committees of major conferences including POPL, SPLASH, and PLMW, and has chaired program committees for ESOP and POPL.
Gilbert Bernstein is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science & Engineering department within the College of Engineering at the University of Washington. His research bridges computer graphics and programming languages, with a focus on high-performance domain-specific languages. Previously, he was a post-doctoral scholar at UC Berkeley and MIT working with Jonathan Ragan-Kelley, and received his PhD from Stanford University under Pat Hanrahan. His research interests span Computer Graphics, Programming Languages, High-Performance DSLs, Physical Simulation, Geometry & Topology, Differentiable Programming, Hardware DSLs, Tools for Artists, Fabrication, and Human-Computer Interaction. Bernstein develops languages and compilers that enable efficient computation for creative applications, physical simulations, and graphics rendering systems. His recent publications reveal strong trends in differentiable programming for graphics applications, domain-specific languages for hardware acceleration, and computational approaches to traditional crafts like quilting and knitting. His work consistently combines formal language theory with practical applications in graphics and fabrication. Bernstein actively mentors students across multiple institutions including current advisees Felix Hahnlein (UW Postdoc), Ryan Zambrotta (UW PhD), Haoran Peng (UW PhD), and previous students including Alex Reinking (UC Berkeley PhD 2022, now at Qualcomm) and MacKenzie Leake (Stanford PhD 2021, now at Adobe Research). His lab works on diverse projects including debugging CAD programs, compilers for finite element methods, semantics for knitting machines, algebraic scheduling of tensor programs, and exocompilers for hardware accelerators. Bernstein also collaborates on DSLs for networking, Counterstrike bots, gradient-based optimization, memory management, hardware design, and garment design tools.
Adam Chlipala is a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology working at the intersection of programming languages, formal methods, and computer systems. His research focuses on building practical verified systems with end-to-end machine-checked proofs, particularly using the Coq proof assistant. His educational background includes a Computer Science undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University (2003) and a PhD in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley (2007). Following a postdoctoral position at Harvard University through 2011, he joined MIT as faculty. Chlipala's research spans multiple domains with strong emphasis on dependent types , verified compilation , and hardware-software co-verification . His work consistently bridges theoretical foundations with practical implementation, as evidenced by his development of the Ur/Web programming language and his focus on creating clean-slate hardware-software stacks with formal guarantees. Key research thrusts include cryptographic constant-time verification, side-channel security, and verified tensor compilation. His recent publications (2020-2025) reveal a clear trajectory toward increasingly complex verified systems, with growing emphasis on hardware-software integration, cryptographic implementations, and performance-critical applications. The work consistently leverages Coq for machine-checked proofs while addressing real-world constraints like timing channels and hardware interfaces. Chlipala is the author of the influential textbook Certified Programming with Dependent Types , which serves as a primary educational resource for Coq at numerous institutions worldwide. His professional activities include significant service to the PL community through program committees for major conferences including PLDI, POPL, ICFP, and CPP. He leads research initiatives connecting hardware and software verification, most notably through the DeepSpec project which aims to build fully verified computing stacks. His current work focuses on practical applications of dependent types for business applications through Ur/Web and verified cryptographic implementations.
Derek Dreyer serves as Scientific Director at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) and holds the position of Honorarprofessor (Honorary Professor) of Computer Science at Saarland University's Saarland Informatics Campus. With a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University, he has established himself as a leading researcher at the intersection of programming language theory and practical software verification. Dreyer's research focuses on developing formal methods that bridge theoretical foundations with real-world systems programming challenges. His work has significantly advanced the theoretical understanding of programming languages, particularly in the areas of type systems, separation logic, and concurrency. He is renowned for his contributions to the formal verification of the Rust programming language, including the influential RustBelt project. His recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on making formal verification practical for industrial-strength codebases. The research trajectory shows increasing sophistication in handling complex systems properties while maintaining theoretical rigor. His work spans from foundational logical frameworks to applied verification techniques for specific language features and system components. As an academic leader, Dreyer has served as Program Chair for major conferences including POPL and ICFP, and has mentored numerous students and postdocs. He is known for his insightful commentary on academic life, including a widely-read blog post addressing impostor syndrome in research careers. Dreyer leads a vibrant research group at MPI-SWS that collaborates extensively with both academic and industrial partners. His team's work has influenced both theoretical developments in programming languages and practical verification tools used in industry.
Jeremy Gibbons is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford, where he leads the Algebra of Programming research group and serves as Director of the Software Engineering Programme offering part-time professional Masters' degrees. He is a Governing Body Fellow at Kellogg College and has held significant leadership roles including Deputy Head of Department and Chair of the Faculty of Computer Science (2012-2016). His research focuses on programming methodology, particularly functional languages and object-oriented languages, with emphasis on expressing and reasoning about recurring patterns in software structure. He has made substantial contributions to functional programming, program construction, and the mathematics of program design, often drawing connections between category theory and practical programming techniques. His recent publications demonstrate continued innovation in functional programming techniques, memory technologies, and algorithm design, showing consistent focus on mathematical foundations of programming. The work spans theoretical explorations and practical applications of programming language concepts. CEng (Chartered Engineer) MBCS (Member of the British Computer Society) CITP (Chartered IT Professional) FIAP (Fellow of the International Association for Pattern Recognition) Gibbons has supervised numerous doctoral students and actively mentors both current and past students including Juuso Haavisto, Johannes Hartmann, and Jack Liell-Cock. His leadership extends to major conference committees and editorial boards, having served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Functional Programming and current Editor-in-Chief of The Programming Journal. He leads the Algebra of Programming research group at Oxford, which explores the mathematical foundations of programming and develops techniques for program construction based on algebraic principles. The group maintains strong connections with international research communities through IFIP Working Groups 2.1 and 2.11.
Ranjit Jhala is a Professor of Computer Science Engineering in the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. His research focuses on building reliable computer systems through programming languages and software engineering techniques. His primary research interests include Programming Languages, Formal Verification, and Software Engineering. He draws from and contributes to areas such as Type Systems, Model Checking, Program Analysis, and Automated Deduction, bridging theoretical foundations with practical implementations for real-world software development. Prof. Jhala's publication record shows a consistent trajectory in refinement type systems, evolving from Liquid Haskell to Flux for Rust, while also exploring neurosymbolic approaches to error repair and type error diagnosis. His work demonstrates a commitment to making formal verification techniques accessible to practitioners. He leads the Programming Systems Group at UCSD, mentoring graduate students and collaborating with researchers across the programming languages community. His service includes General Chair roles for POPL 2018 and PLDI 2022, reflecting his leadership position in the field. Prof. Jhala is also known for his mentoring activities, including talks on academic presentation skills and participation in ICFP's mentoring programs for students and early-career researchers.
Konstantinos Kallas serves as Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), commencing his appointment in January 2025. Previously affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania as evidenced by his 2020 PLDI contribution, his research bridges theoretical formal methods with practical systems engineering across multiple high-impact conferences including PLDI, POPL, and SPLASH. His research program centers on enhancing computational efficiency and correctness in systems software, with three flagship projects defining his trajectory: PaSh for automatic shell script parallelization, Durable Functions for stateful serverless computing semantics, and DiffStream for differential testing of stream processing. These efforts consistently target the intersection of programming language theory and real-world systems constraints, particularly in parallelism, concurrency, and cloud-native environments where correctness guarantees are challenging to implement. Analysis of his publication history since 2020 reveals a methodological pattern: developing formal semantic models to enable practical optimizations in distributed systems. His work increasingly focuses on serverless architectures and data-intensive pipelines, with recent contributions emphasizing automated verification techniques. The evolution from shell script optimization (2020-2021) to serverless state management (2021-2022) demonstrates strategic expansion into cloud computing's hardest problems. Dr. Kallas actively contributes to the academic community through program committee service for PLDI (2022, 2025), POPL (2021, 2022, 2023), and SPLASH (2020-2023), including leadership roles as Publicity Co-Chair for PLDI 2025 and 2026. His June 2024 announcement confirms recruitment for Fall 2025 students at UCLA, targeting researchers interested in systems, compilers, and programming languages who can advance his work on correctness-preserving parallelization and serverless computing.
Sam Lindley is a Reader in Programming Language Design and Implementation at the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science within the School of Informatics at The University of Edinburgh. He holds a prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship focused on Effect Handler Oriented Programming. His academic career spans multiple institutions including Heriot-Watt University and Imperial College London. His research interests center on programming language theory and implementation, with specific expertise in type systems, effect handlers, session types, and functional programming. Lindley's work bridges theoretical foundations with practical implementation, particularly in compiler design and language semantics. His research has significant implications for language safety, efficiency, and expressiveness. Lindley's publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to top programming languages venues including PLDI, POPL, ICFP, and OOPSLA. His recent work explores modal effect types, scoped effects, and the application of effect handlers to systems programming and WebAssembly. The trend shows increasing focus on practical applications of theoretical concepts in real-world language implementations. Major Awards: UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship in Effect Handler Oriented Programming Lindley has served in significant leadership roles including ICFP 2023 Program Chair and PLDI 2025 Area Chair. He actively participates in the programming languages community through numerous program committees and workshop organization. His research is conducted within the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science, a leading center for theoretical computer science research at Edinburgh.
Anil Madhavapeddy is the Professor of Planetary Computing at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, where he co-leads the Energy & Environment Group and is a member of the Systems Research Group. He is also a Fellow at Pembroke College where he serves as Director of Studies in Computer Science. Madhavapeddy completed his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2003 and his BEng in Information Systems Engineering from Imperial College in 1999. He holds a JM Keynes Fellowship since 2022 for his work combining computer science with economics, and serves on the management committee of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative where he co-directs 4C (Cambridge Centre for Carbon Credits) and the Centre for Earth Observation. His research spans computer systems and programming languages with a strong focus on applying these technologies to global conservation, biodiversity, and climate change challenges. He leads the OCaml Labs group and has made significant contributions to open-source projects including OCaml, Docker, Xen, and OpenBSD. His work often bridges computer science with environmental science, developing computational approaches to address planetary-scale challenges. Madhavapeddy's recent publications demonstrate a clear trajectory toward integrating programming language research with environmental monitoring and conservation. His work spans from foundational programming language techniques to applied geospatial computing systems, with increasing emphasis on biodiversity measurement, carbon credit systems, and planetary-scale environmental monitoring. JM Keynes Fellowship (2022-present) As an educator, Madhavapeddy teaches undergraduate courses including Foundations of Computer Science, Software & Security Engineering, and Cloud Computing. He mentors MPhil and PhD students and co-founded the award-winning book 'Real World OCaml' (2nd Edition, 2022). He has co-founded several companies including Unikernel Systems, High Energy Magic, Segfault, and Tarides to translate research into real-world impact. Madhavapeddy leads the OCaml Labs group at Cambridge and works closely with the Energy & Environment Group, collaborating with colleagues from Plant Sciences, Zoology, Economics, and NGOs including UNEP-WCMC and the IUCN. His current efforts are primarily focused on conservation technology through partnerships with organizations like Canopy PACT.
Sidi Mohamed Beillahi is a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Arts and Science. He teaches courses including Principles of Programming Languages (CSC324H1S) and Algorithms and Data Structures (ECE345H1F). Previously, he served as a Teaching Assistant at both University of Paris and Concordia University for courses ranging from Automata Theory to Hardware Functional Verification. Dr. Beillahi's research focuses on developing formal verification and programming languages techniques to ensure the correctness of software systems, particularly distributed systems, concurrent programs, blockchain, and smart contracts. His work bridges theoretical computer science with practical security applications in decentralized finance. His publication record shows a clear progression from quantum circuit verification during his Master's to blockchain and smart contract security in his doctoral and postdoctoral work. Recent publications demonstrate expertise in authenticated data structures for blockchain storage, flash loan attack analysis, and formal verification of decentralized applications. Scientific Awards: ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award (ICSE '24) ICBC Distinguished Paper Award (ICBC '22) Dr. Beillahi has advised multiple research projects in blockchain security and verification, often collaborating with Professor Fan Long and Professor Andreas Veneris at the University of Toronto. His research has been supported by prestigious fellowships including an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship and a Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship.
Magnus O. Myreen is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. He has been with Chalmers since 2014, becoming a tenured Associate Professor in 2015 and being promoted to full Professor in June 2023. Myreen has an extensive record of service to the programming languages and formal methods communities, including serving on program committees for major conferences like PLDI, POPL, ICFP, and CPP, and chairing the steering committee for the ITP conference series since November 2023. Myreen received his academic training at prestigious institutions: B.A. in Computer Science at the University of Oxford, tutored by Dr. Jeff Sanders Ph.D. on program verification in 2009 at the University of Cambridge, supervised by Prof. Mike Gordon Myreen's research focuses on program verification, interactive theorem proving, and compiler verification. He is best known for his work on the CakeML project, which is an ML-style language with a formal semantics and a growing ecosystem of proofs and tools that support construction of verified applications. As he states on his website, "My most recent work has focused on CakeML, which is an ML-style language with a formal semantics and a growing ecosystem of proofs and tools that support construction of verified applications. As far as I know, the CakeML compiler is the first verified compiler to have been bootstrapped." His research spans several key areas: Decompilation into logic — verification of machine code Proof-producing synthesis from logic Verified Lisp and ML runtimes Connecting things up: verified stacks Myreen's publication record shows a strong focus on verified compilation and theorem proving, particularly through the CakeML ecosystem. His work consistently bridges the gap between theoretical foundations and practical implementation, with numerous papers on verified compilers, program verification, and theorem proving. A significant trend in his recent work (2021-2024) has been extending CakeML's capabilities to handle more complex language features, improve performance, and verify increasingly sophisticated compilation techniques including bootstrapping and dynamic computation. Myreen has received several prestigious awards and recognitions: Winner of the BCS Distinguished Dissertation Competition 2010 for his PhD work Royal Society Research Fellow (UK) since 2012 ACM SIGPLAN Most Influential POPL Paper Award for the 2014 CakeML paper Amazon Research Award for his proposal "Compiling Dafny to CakeML" Myreen has advised several PhD students to completion, including Alejandro Gomez (Sep 2017 – Jun 2023), Oskar Abrahamsson (Aug 2017 – Dec 2022), and Andreas Loow (Sept 2016 – Sep 2021). He also collaborated with postdocs including Hira Syeda, Thomas Sewell, and Johannes Aman Pohjola. His research has been supported by various funding sources, though specific grants aren't detailed in the provided text. Notably, he received an Amazon Research Award for his work on compiling Dafny to CakeML, and his CakeML project has clearly attracted significant attention in the programming languages and formal methods communities. Myreen leads research on the CakeML project, which has grown into a substantial ecosystem for verified compilation. The project involves a team of researchers working on various aspects including compiler verification, program synthesis, and theorem proving. Myreen also collaborates with researchers at other institutions, as evidenced by his visits to EPFL (meeting Viktor Kuncak, Martin Odersky, and James Larus) and NUS (visiting Ilya Sergey's group). In October 2023, he began a ten-month sabbatical at Cambridge UK, where he worked part-time for Arm Ltd., indicating ongoing industrial collaboration.
Chandrakana Nandi is the Director of US R&D at Certora and an affiliate assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington's College of Engineering. She completed her PhD at the University of Washington working with Zachary Tatlock and Dan Grossman in the PLSE research group. Her research focuses on building tools for scaling automated formal verification to real-world programs, particularly for DeFi applications. She works extensively with equality saturation techniques (egg project) and has made significant contributions to computational fabrication through projects like Carpentry Compiler, Szalinski, and LambdaCAD. Her work bridges programming languages, compilers, and digital fabrication, creating novel tools that transform how we design and manufacture physical objects. Nandi's publication record shows a strong trajectory in programming language techniques applied to verification and fabrication. Her work on equality saturation has become foundational in the field, with the egg library enabling state-of-the-art results in compiler optimization and program synthesis. Recent work has expanded into formal verification of smart contracts, demonstrating the versatility of her research approach across different domains. Distinguished Paper Award at OOPSLA 2021 Sigplan Research Highlight for POPL 2021 As Director of US R&D at Certora, she leads research efforts on verification tools for languages like WASM and techniques to help users write formal specifications more easily using mutation testing. She has served in numerous organizational roles for major programming languages conferences including as Workshops Co-Chair for ICFP 2025 and Committee Member for PLDI Review Committee. Nandi has established herself as a leader in the intersection of programming languages and computational fabrication, with her work on equality saturation becoming particularly influential across multiple subfields of programming languages research.
Fernando Magno Quintão Pereira is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil, specializing in compiler design and program analysis. His academic journey began with a Ph.D. from UCLA in 2008 under Jens Palsberg's supervision, establishing his foundation in compiler research. His research focuses on compilers , with core expertise in code generation , compiler optimizations , and static program analyses . Recent work explores quantum compilation, binary analysis, and security-aware compilation techniques. His publications reveal consistent contributions to major conferences including PLDI, CGO, and SPLASH, with emphasis on practical optimization frameworks and theoretical compiler advancements. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2020-2026) shows dominant themes in binary optimization (e.g., AnghaBench), security-aware compilation (e.g., Memory-Safe Elimination of Side Channels), and emerging architecture support (e.g., Quantum Computing Compilation). His work bridges theoretical compiler principles with real-world systems challenges. He actively contributes to the academic community through: Program committees for PLDI (2020-2025), CGO (2021-2026), and SPLASH conferences Leadership roles including CGO Finance Chair (2026) and PLDI Diversity & Inclusion Co-Chair (2023-2024) Organizing JENSFEST 2024 and serving on multiple conference steering committees Pereira maintains an active research group evidenced by continuous publication output and conference leadership, with his personal website ( homepages.dcc.ufmg.br/~fernando/ ) serving as a hub for his academic activities.
Erez Petrank is a Professor of Computer Science at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, where he holds the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Chair. His academic career spans decades with significant contributions to systems research, particularly in memory management and concurrent programming. He has maintained continuous academic service through leadership roles in major conferences including SPAA'24, ISMM 2023, and PPOPP 2021. His research focuses on concurrent computing, programming languages, and systems with special emphasis on memory management. Additional interests include parallelism, cryptography, data structures, approximation algorithms, and distributed computing. Petrank's work bridges theoretical foundations with practical systems implementation, particularly evident in his persistent memory research and garbage collection innovations. Petrank's publication record shows consistent contributions to ACM SIGPLAN conferences over two decades, with recent work focusing on non-volatile memory systems, lock-free data structures, and memory reclamation techniques. His research demonstrates a clear trajectory from foundational memory management concepts toward modern persistent memory architectures, reflecting adaptability to evolving hardware paradigms while maintaining theoretical rigor. H-index: 41 (Google Scholar) Erdos number: 2 62 co-authors across diverse research collaborations Petrank has mentored numerous researchers through his academic position and conference leadership roles, serving on program committees for major venues including PLDI, PPoPP, and ISMM. His professional service includes executive committee membership in ACM SIGPLAN (2009-2012) and steering committee roles for multiple conferences. He maintains active research collaborations with institutions worldwide, as evidenced by his extensive co-author list spanning theoretical computer science to practical systems implementation. His academic lineage traces back through Oded Goldreich, Shimon Even, and Hao Wang to intellectual giants including Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei, reflecting deep roots in theoretical computer science and mathematics.
