Bryan Parno is a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science . He is the recipient of the Kavčić-Moura Chair and leads the Secure Foundations Lab , focusing on end-to-end secure systems through formal verification. Research spans secure systems , applied cryptography , distributed systems , and zero-knowledge proofs Developed Verus (verified Rust systems) and Project Everest (verified HTTPS stack) Key contributions include Ironclad , Flicker , and Pinocchio , with impacts on Intel CPUs and Windows/iOS security models His work emphasizes open-source tools and reproducibility , often published in top venues like POPL, PLDI, and IEEE S&P. Recent projects address WebAssembly security and formal verification of complex distributed systems . Major Awards Jay Lepreau Best Paper Award (OSDI 2025) IEEE Cybersecurity Award for Practice (2024) Sloan Research Fellowship (2018) Test-of-Time Awards (IEEE S&P 2023, IEEE S&P 2020) Best Paper Awards at USENIX Security, OOPSLA, and PLDI
Dr. Gushu Li is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science, affiliated with the Computer and Information Science Department (primary) and Electrical and Systems Engineering Department (secondary). He leads the Penn Quantum System Lab, focusing on quantum computing software-hardware co-design. University: University of Pennsylvania School: School of Engineering and Applied Science Department: Computer and Information Science Academic Rank: Assistant Professor His research spans quantum compilers, programming languages, algorithm optimization, computer architecture, and electronic design automation. He develops techniques for quantum error correction verification, qubit mapping, and hybrid quantum-classical systems, with work integrated into IBM's Qiskit and Quantinuum's TKET frameworks. The 15 most recent publications highlight advancements in quantum simulation , bosonic quantum computing , fermion-to-qubit mapping , and NISQ-era architectures . Key methodologies include symbolic Hamiltonian compilation, adaptive tree structures, and runtime assertions for quantum program testing. 2024: NSF CAREER Award, NVIDIA Academic Grant Program Award, Intel Rising Star Faculty Award 2021-2022: QISE-NET Triplet Fellow, ACM SIGPLAN Distinguished Paper Award, multiple travel grants 2015-2017: Fellowships from UCSB, UChicago, and DAC Dr. Li advises four PhD students and actively recruits candidates with FPGA/digital design skills for 2025. His lab emphasizes interdisciplinary backgrounds to tackle quantum system challenges.
Timothy M. Jones is a Professor of Computer Architecture and Compilation at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, where he leads research in systems-level computing. He is also a Fellow at Gonville and Caius College, contributing to academic leadership and student mentorship within the collegiate system. His primary affiliation with the Computer Laboratory positions him at the forefront of systems research within the university. Dr. Jones's research focuses on extracting various forms of parallelism (thread-level, data-level, memory-level) to enhance computational performance while addressing energy efficiency and reliability challenges. His work spans compiler design, binary translation, and microarchitecture optimization, with specific interest areas including: Compiler technologies for functional and parallel programming Hardware reliability and fault tolerance mechanisms Binary analysis and instrumentation frameworks Memory system optimization and virtual memory management Security enhancements through binary modification Runtime systems for heterogeneous architectures Analysis of his recent publications reveals strong emphasis on systems-level innovation, particularly in fault tolerance techniques, binary analysis tools, memory optimization, and parallel execution frameworks. His work consistently bridges theoretical computer science with practical hardware implementation challenges. Dr. Jones maintains active participation in the academic community through conference leadership roles, including serving as Program Co-Chair for CGO 2026 and committee positions at premier venues including ISMM, CGO, and ECOOP. He contributes to open-source academic resources through GitHub and maintains professional engagement via Twitter.
Timothy Harris is an Affiliated Lecturer at the University of Cambridge's Department of Computer Science and Technology, where he jointly teaches courses on multicore semantics and programming. Currently, he works at OpenAI, focusing on performance optimization for GPU inference of large language models, including the Azure OpenAI Service. Previously, he held roles at Microsoft, AWS, Oracle Labs, and was a faculty member at the University of Cambridge (2000–2004). His research spans distributed systems, runtime systems, operating systems, and high-performance computing, with an emphasis on scalability and performance. He contributed to projects like the Xen hypervisor and the Barrelfish research OS. Key research interests include distributed training of PyTorch models in the ONNX runtime, large-scale storage performance with Amazon S3, and runtime systems for in-memory graph analytics. His work often bridges 'big data' and high-performance computing techniques. Notable contributions include the book Transactional Memory (2010) and the Barrelfish OS, alongside numerous publications in top-tier conferences like SOSP, ASPLOS, and EuroSys. He has served as PC chair for ISMM 2025, VEE 2017, and EuroSys 2015, reflecting his leadership in the systems research community. His awards include a Best Paper Award at PACT 2010. Beyond academia, Harris is an avid hiker, aiming to complete the UK coastline, and maintains a photography portfolio at tlhphotography.uk .
Prof. Dr. Viktor Leis is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), leading the Chair for Decentralized Information Systems and Data Management. His research focuses on cost-efficient data systems, particularly in cloud environments, with expertise in core database topics like query processing, transaction management, and storage optimization. He earned his PhD from TUM in 2016 and previously held professorships at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg before returning to TUM in 2022. His work has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the ACM SIGMOD Dissertation Award, VLDB Early Career Research Contribution Award, and an ERC Starting Grant. Research Interests: Cloud computing, database systems, query optimization, storage engines, transaction processing, and NVMe-optimized systems. Key Projects: Developed the LeanStore storage engine and contributed to the Hyper database system. His recent publications emphasize cloud-native architectures, high-performance storage solutions, and hybrid transactional/analytical processing. He actively teaches courses on distributed systems, cloud databases, and blockchain technologies.
Yonghwi Kwon is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on software systems security, cyber forensics, and software engineering. He received the CAREER Award for developing dynamic defenses against cyber threats. His work emphasizes securing software from cyber attacks, recovering forensic evidence, and improving software testing and reverse engineering techniques. Key research areas include memory safety mechanisms, automated vulnerability detection in web applications and mobile systems, and forensic analysis of phishing campaigns. He has pioneered frameworks like CMASan for memory allocator-aware sanitization and Racedb for detecting race conditions in database-backed systems. His contributions span cloud security automation, kernel exploitation analysis, and embedded system fuzzing. Notable achievements include the 2025 CAREER Award supporting his dynamic defense research, and impactful publications in areas like Android information leakage detection (DryJIN), Bluetooth protocol fuzzing (BTFuzzer), and autonomous driving bug discovery (Drivefuzz). His work bridges theoretical computer science with practical cybersecurity solutions.
Prashanth Krishnamurthy is a Research Scientist in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at New York University Tandon School of Engineering. His research focuses on robotics, control systems, and cybersecurity, particularly in cyber-physical systems such as power grids and embedded devices. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from NYU. Key research areas include hardware security (e.g., detecting Trojans in chips), anomaly detection in critical infrastructure, and resilient control strategies for robotic systems. He has led or contributed to projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Naval Research (ONR), and others, including the Tracking Real-time Anomalies in Power Systems (TRAPS) initiative and hardware Trojan detection using short-term aging phenomena. Education: Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, NYU His work bridges theoretical advancements and practical implementations, such as developing FPGA-based testbeds for hardware security validation and creating AI-driven cybersecurity tools like the CRAKEN LLM agent. Collaborators include institutions like SRI International, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and the NYU Center for Cybersecurity. Grants include a $1.94M DOE grant for TRAPS and a $359K DURIP grant for hardware Trojan detection. His technical contributions span control systems, anomaly detection algorithms, and cybersecurity frameworks for embedded systems. He is actively involved in advancing secure cyber-physical systems through innovations in real-time monitoring, robust control mechanisms, and AI-augmented security solutions.
Nuno Santos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon, and a senior researcher at INESC-ID Lisbon. He leads the SysSec team, focusing on systems security and privacy. His research spans secure enclaves, network security, and censorship-resistant systems. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science (2013) from Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) in affiliation with Saarland University. Visiting research stints at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2018) and Technical University of Munich (2024). Research Interests: Systems security, privacy, trusted execution environments (TEEs), network security, censorship resistance, AI security, and secure cloud computing. He has pioneered work on mitigating vulnerabilities in TrustZone-based TEEs and enhancing confidential computing. Publications: Over 30+ peer-reviewed articles in top-tier venues like S&P, USENIX Security, CCS, and NDSS. Recent trends focus on AI-driven security (e.g., automated exploit generation, prompt-to-SQL injections) and confidential computing (e.g., AMD SEV-SNP analysis). Awards: IST Outstanding Teaching Award (2019/2020), 2024 Prémio Científico Universidade de Lisboa/Caixa Geral de Depósitos. Advising & Grants: Supervised MSc theses in areas like AI-powered vishing attacks and confidential VMs. Active in conference organization (e.g., USENIX Security’25 Vice Chair, IEEE EuroSP’26 Co-Chair). Labs/Teams: Leads the SysSec team at INESC-ID Lisbon, collaborating on projects like AnyTEE (TEE framework) and FlowLens (network security tool).
Dr. John Wickerson is an Associate Professor in the Circuits and Systems group at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London. His research focuses on improving the reliability of high-performance computing through formal methods, with contributions to high-level synthesis, memory models, and concurrency verification. He holds leadership roles including Course Director for the Electrical and Information Engineering degree and Deputy Tutor for PhD students. Research Interests: Formal Verification of Hardware/Software Systems High-Level Synthesis (HLS) and FPGA Compilation Weak Memory Models and Concurrency Semantics Fuzz Testing for Hardware Tools Compiler Optimization and Correctness Digit Elision and Arbitrary-Precision Arithmetic Notable Achievements: Best Paper Award at EuroSys 2024 (database isolation validation) Pioneered formal methods for HLS tools (e.g., QuteFuzz, C4) Co-developed the C4 C compiler concurrency checker Published over 60 peer-reviewed papers across top venues (ASPLOS, PLDI, FPGA) Lab/Team: Part of the Circuits and Systems group at Imperial College, collaborating with industry partners like Kaihong Yann and ARM.
Herman Bruyninckx is a Part-Time Full Professor at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Mechanical Engineering department, specifically within the Control Systems Technology group and EAISI High Tech Systems initiative. He also serves as a professor (Hoogleraar) at KU Leuven in Belgium. Academic focus on robotics, control systems, and multi-agent coordination Active research in model predictive control , semantic mapping , and dynamic constraint algorithms Recent publications address industrial automation , agro-food robotics , and haptic technology Research Highlights : Developed hybrid decision-making frameworks for multi-agent navigation Innovated swing-free control methods for robotic pick-and-place operations Formulated constrained dynamics algorithms with LQR-Gauss principle integration Created ExoTen-Glove for haptic feedback in virtual environments Collaborative Projects : Coordinated with researchers like René van de Molengraft , Elena Torta , and Koen de Vos Contributed to NWO/TTW FlexCRAFT project for cognitive robotics in agro-food technology
Dr. Yu Huang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Vanderbilt University's School of Engineering, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the Peabody School of Education. She is affiliated with the Institute for Software Integrated Systems, the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, the Vanderbilt Lab for Immersive AI Translation (VALIANT), and the Vanderbilt LIVE Learning Innovation Incubator. Her academic journey began with a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology in China (2011), followed by an MS in Computer Engineering from the University of Virginia (2015), and culminated with a PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2021 under Professor Westley Weimer. Dr. Huang's research bridges human cognition and machine intelligence to enhance software development. Her work spans software, hardware, AI, medical imaging (fMRI/fNIRS), eye tracking, and mobile sensing through collaborations with Security, Education, Psychology, and Neuroscience researchers. She leads the MIND Lab (Mixed INtelligence Development for programming lab), investigating programming expertise formation, code comprehension processes, cognitive error patterns, and diversity in programming communities. Her innovative approach combines empirical human studies with AI model development to create more effective programming tools. Her recent publications reveal a growing emphasis on leveraging human attention data to improve code language models, analyzing cognitive biases in security contexts, and examining social factors in technical communication. The research shows strong interdisciplinary connections between neuroscience, psychology, and software engineering, with increasing applications of LLMs in developer tooling. Dr. Huang's work consistently demonstrates how understanding human cognition can inform better AI systems for programming tasks. Dr. Huang has received numerous prestigious recognitions including the 2025 ICPC Vaclav Rajlich Early Career Achievement Award and three ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Awards (ICSE 2019, FSE 2023, ICSE 2024). Her lab has earned the Best Presentation Award at GI2024, while her students have received the Richard Bennett/Dorothy Danforth Compton Prize scholarship and the C. F. Chen Best Paper award. She actively mentors a diverse team of graduate students (Yifan Zhang, Zach Karas, Zihan Fang, Yueke Zhang, Jiahao Zhang) and undergraduate researchers, with many former students advancing to top institutions (Stanford, Harvard, Duke, UC Berkeley) and organizations (NASA JPL). Her research is supported by a 4-year NSF grant, GitHub Tech for Social Good funding, and the Provost's Faculty Immersion Vanderbilt Grant, enabling comprehensive studies of human-AI collaboration in software engineering. The MIND Lab maintains a strong collaborative culture, frequently working with Professor Kevin Leach's research group and organizing retreats to locations like Radnor State Park and the Great Smoky Mountains. This environment fosters innovation at the intersection of human cognition and software engineering while supporting the professional development of emerging researchers in the field.
Chang Xu is a Professor and Ph.D. supervisor at Nanjing University, affiliated with the State Key Laboratory for Novel Software Technology, School of Computer Science, and Institute of Computer Software (ICS). He has been a full-time faculty member since 2010, when he joined as an associate professor and was later promoted to full professor in 2015. Education: Ph.D. from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 2008 (advisor: Prof. S.C. Cheung) M.Eng. from Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISCAS) in 2003 B.Eng. from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2000 Research Interests: Professor Xu's research focuses on big data software engineering, intelligent software testing and analysis, and adaptive and autonomous software systems. His recent work centers on constructing and providing runtime support for intelligent software in open environments, with emphasis on inconsistency detection and resolution for environments, and quality assurance for adaptive, concurrent, learning-based, smartphone-based, and spreadsheet-based applications. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in software engineering, particularly in program analysis, software testing, and self-adaptive systems. Scientific Awards: ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award from ICSE 2025 Best Student Paper Award from EUROSYS 2025 ACM Distinguished Member in 2024 Best Paper Award from SOSP 2023 Best Paper Candidate from ISSRE 2022 Yangtze River Scholar by the Ministry of Education in 2021 Multiple ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Awards from conferences including ASE, ICSE National Science and Technology Progress Award (Second Class) in 2011 Academic Service and Advising: Professor Xu has served on numerous program committees for top software engineering conferences including ICSE, ASE, ESEC/FSE, and ISSTA. He is an editorial board member for several journals including Journal of Computer Science and Technology and Frontiers of Computer Science. He has supervised numerous Ph.D. and MSc students, with research topics spanning program analysis, software testing, self-adaptive systems, and more. His students have gone on to successful careers in both academia and industry. Research Groups: Professor Xu is associated with the SPAR research group at Nanjing University and the CASTLE research group at HKUST, focusing on software analysis, reliability, and testing.
Kimia Zamiri Azar serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Central Florida, focusing on hardware security and verification methodologies. Her research bridges theoretical formal methods with practical security implementations in semiconductor design and testing. Her educational background includes: Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Mason University (2021) Postdoctoral Research, University of Florida Dr. Azar's research spans hardware security with emphasis on system-level verification, VLSI design-for-trust, and advanced IC testing. She pioneers techniques in logic locking, secure heterogeneous integration, and IC supply chain security, developing frameworks for authenticated encryption in Systems-in-Package and runtime security monitoring. Her work integrates formal verification with innovative testing methodologies to address hardware trust challenges across the semiconductor lifecycle. Analysis of her recent publications reveals two dominant trends: (1) Application of large language models (LLMs) to hardware design tasks including high-level synthesis code generation and RTL optimization, and (2) Advancement of secure heterogeneous integration techniques for System-in-Package architectures with focus on counterfeit prevention and split-test security protocols. These directions address critical gaps in hardware trustworthiness amid increasingly complex semiconductor supply chains. Her scientific contributions have earned significant recognition: Best Paper Award at ICCAD 2019 Best Paper Award at ISVLSI 2020 Best Paper Award at ICCAD 2020 Best Paper Award at IEEE DCAS 2020 Best Paper Award at HOST 2022 Best Paper Award at DATE 2023 Dr. Azar secures substantial research funding from premier agencies including NSF, SRC, DARPA, AFRL, DoD (NG), and Microsemi. Her grants support projects spanning hardware security validation frameworks, secure heterogeneous integration, and AI-augmented verification methodologies. She actively mentors students in her research group, guiding publications in top venues like IEEE D&T, IEEE TC, and DAC while fostering industry-academic collaborations. Her work directly impacts semiconductor security standards through patented innovations and open-source verification tools. As an active IEEE and ACM member, she contributes to community advancement through conference organization (HOST, DATE), journal editorial roles, and workshop leadership on hardware security standards. Her research group collaborates with semiconductor industry leaders to translate theoretical security frameworks into practical design-for-trust methodologies for next-generation integrated circuits.
Mike Papadakis is an Associate Professor at the University of Luxembourg's Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), where he leads the SerVal research group. His research focuses on software engineering, software security, and artificial intelligence. He holds a PhD in Software Testing and Verification from Athens University of Economics and Business, with an MSc and BSc from the same institution. His research explores mutation testing, machine learning applications in software development, and test optimization. Recent publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on AI robustness, flaky test analysis, and automated debugging techniques. Notable achievements include the IEEE TCSE Rising Star Award (2020) and 12 additional research awards. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and delivered more than 30 invited talks globally.
Kevin Leyton-Brown is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC), holding a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii). He is also an Associate Member of the Vancouver School of Economics and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, ACM, and AAAI. His research focuses on AI, machine learning, computational economics, and game theory, with notable contributions to algorithmic market design, heuristic algorithms, and large language models. He co-authored influential textbooks on multiagent systems and game theory, and his work has been recognized with prestigious awards including the INFORMS Franz Edelman Award and the Killam Teaching Prize. Education: PhD (Computer Science), Stanford University; MSc (Computer Science), Stanford University; BSc (Computer Science), McMaster University. Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Game Theory, Computational Economics, Algorithmic Game Theory, Market Design, and Large Language Models. He has developed impactful tools like SATzilla, AutoWEKA, and Mechanical TA, and contributed to high-stakes projects such as spectrum auction design and Ugandan agricultural market platforms. Awards & Recognition: Royal Society of Canada Fellow (2023), ACM SIG-KDD Research Track Test of Time Award (2023), INFORMS Franz Edelman Award (2018), ACM Fellow (2020), AAAI Fellow (2018), Killam Teaching Prize (UBC), and numerous paper awards from top conferences like AAAI, ICML, and ACM-EC. Leadership & Affiliations: Director of UBC’s CAIDA and AIM-SI research clusters, former Chair of ACM SIG-Ecom, and advisor to companies like AI21 Labs and Auctionomics. He has held visiting roles at institutions including MIT, Harvard, and the Simons Institute.
