Grant Weddell is an Associate Professor in the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on database technology for real-time applications, including large-scale schema management, information clustering, dependency theory, and query optimization for heterogeneous data sources. He teaches courses such as CS338 (Introductory Databases), CS348 (Advanced Databases), CS446 (Software Engineering), and CS848 (Advanced Database Systems). His research interests emphasize the interplay between description logics and database systems, particularly in optimizing query processing and managing complex schemas. Recent work explores path agreements, functional dependencies, and ontology-mediated querying to enhance data integration and schema management efficiency. Teaching responsibilities include foundational database courses (CS338/348), software engineering (CS446), and advanced topics in information integration (CS848). No scientific awards are explicitly listed, though his contributions to database theory and optimization are extensive.
Luo Mai is an Assistant Professor at the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics , with an upcoming promotion to Associate Professor (UK Reader) in August 2025. He leads the Large-Scale Machine Learning Systems Group and co-leads the UK EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Machine Learning Systems and an ARIA Project on Scaling AI Compute by 1000X . PhD in Computer Science (Imperial College London, 2018) MRes in Advanced Computing (Imperial College London, 2012) His research focuses on the intersection of computer systems , machine learning , and data management . Key contributions include award-winning systems like WaferLLM (wafer-scale LLM inference), Tenplex (elastic ML), and ServerlessLLM (serverless LLM serving), published at top venues (OSDI, SOSP, ICML, NeurIPS, JMLR). Recent publications demonstrate trends in GPU-based distributed systems , LLM optimization , and adaptive machine learning . His team has developed groundbreaking open-source projects including TensorLayer , TorchOpt , and ServerlessLLM . Awarded Microsoft Research StarTrack Scholar (2024) , secured ARIA grant (2024) with Imperial College & Cambridge University, and received Google Fellowship during PhD (2012-2016). As an educator, he designed Edinburgh's popular Machine Learning Systems course (150+ students). His group supervises multiple PhD students including Yao Fu (recognized as 2024 Rising Star in ML & Systems) and Leyang Xue .
Víctor Adrián Braberman is a Full-time Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, University of Buenos Aires (UBA), and a CONICET researcher. He serves as Co-director of the LaFHIS (Tools and Foundations for Software Engineering) Research Lab at UBA, where he leads significant research in formal methods and software engineering. His academic career demonstrates sustained excellence in both teaching and research within Argentina's premier academic institution. Braberman's research focuses on Formal Verification , particularly Model Checking of Timed Systems, Controller Synthesis, Formal Specification of event-based properties, Aspect-oriented modeling, and Software Architectures. His work also extends to Software Analysis , including Memory Consumption Prediction and Static and Dynamic Program Analysis. These interests position him at the intersection of theoretical computer science and practical software engineering applications, addressing critical challenges in system reliability and performance. His recent publications (2022-2025) reveal a clear trajectory toward integrating artificial intelligence with formal methods , particularly through the application of reinforcement learning to controller synthesis problems and the exploration of Large Language Models for software verification and falsification. The research shows increasing attention to scalability challenges in formal methods and the integration of probabilistic approaches to handle uncertainty in system environments. Automated Reasoning Amazon Research Award (ARA) (2024) Braberman has successfully supervised numerous PhD and Licentiate students, establishing a strong academic lineage in formal methods research in Argentina. His research has been supported by substantial grants including European Community projects (MEALS), ANPCyT PICT grants, UBACyT projects, and Microsoft Research funding. His leadership extends to directing major research initiatives in formal software engineering. As Co-director of LaFHIS, Braberman oversees a vibrant research ecosystem that bridges theoretical computer science with practical software engineering challenges. The lab maintains strong international collaborations, particularly with European institutions, and has secured competitive funding from both national and international sources, demonstrating the global relevance of their work in formal methods and software engineering.
Sylvain Lefebvre is a permanent researcher at INRIA (Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique) in France, where he leads the MFX research team since 2018. Previously, he was part of the ALICE group at INRIA Nancy (2009-2018) and the REVES team in Sophia Antipolis (2006-2009). His career includes a postdoctoral position at Microsoft Research Seattle (2005) following his PhD at INRIA Rhones-Alpes under Fabrice Neyret. His educational background includes a PhD in Computer Graphics from Université Joseph Fourier (Grenoble) in 2005, preceded by a Master in Computer Graphics from INP Grenoble in 2001. His habilitation thesis focused on Runtime Texture Synthesis. Lefebvre's research centers on simplifying content creation for highly detailed patterns, structures, and shapes with applications spanning Computer Graphics to additive manufacturing. He develops fast, controllable by-example synthesis approaches that generate content while enforcing user-specified constraints. His work addresses computational challenges through novel data structures and algorithms optimized for GPUs and FPGAs, including his Silice programming language. The ERC-funded ShapeForge project (2012-2017) advanced shape generation for 3D printing, leading to the IceSL software for digital modeling and fabrication. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals a strong focus on additive manufacturing optimization, with recurring themes in structural integrity, material efficiency, and geometric algorithms. His work bridges computer graphics theory with practical fabrication constraints, particularly in microstructure design, slicing techniques, and mechanical metamaterials. The interdisciplinary nature spans computer science, materials engineering, and robotics. EUROGRAPHICS Young Researcher Award (2010) ERC Starting Grant for ShapeForge project (2012) Lefebvre has advised over 25 PhD students and interns including Marco Freire, Thibault Tricard, and Jimmy Etienne. His ShapeForge project received significant ERC funding, supporting research in computational fabrication. He serves on numerous program committees including SIGGRAPH, Eurographics, and SIGGRAPH Asia, reflecting his leadership in the computer graphics community. As leader of the MFX team since 2018, Lefebvre directs research in computational fabrication, focusing on IceSL software development for 3D printing workflows. The team integrates computer graphics techniques with manufacturing constraints, developing tools that simplify complex object design and fabrication while addressing real-world challenges in material usage and structural integrity.
Daniel Fremont is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he conducts research at the intersection of formal methods and autonomous systems. His work focuses on developing mathematical techniques to improve the reliability of software, hardware, and cyber-physical systems through precise specification, formal verification, automatic synthesis, and principled testing approaches. Dr. Fremont's research interests center on applications of logic in computer science, particularly using automated reasoning to enhance system reliability. His work spans formal methods for cyber-physical systems (CPS), especially autonomous systems that incorporate machine learning. Key research areas include algorithmic improvisation for creating systems with controlled randomness, probabilistic programming through the Scenic language for environment modeling, and formal verification techniques applicable to safety-critical autonomous systems. His group has successfully applied these methods to autonomous vehicles, aircraft systems, and robotics, with significant contributions to both theoretical foundations and practical implementations. The publication record reveals a strong trajectory from theoretical foundations of control improvisation toward practical applications in autonomous systems verification. Early work established the theoretical framework of control improvisation, while recent publications focus on applying these techniques to real-world challenges in autonomous driving, aircraft systems, and AI-based autonomy. A consistent theme across his research is the integration of formal methods with machine learning to address the verification challenges posed by complex, learning-based systems operating in uncertain environments. Best Paper Award at IoTDI 2016 for 'Control Improvisation with Probabilistic Temporal Specifications' Dr. Fremont leads a research group focused on formal methods for autonomous systems, with significant contributions to the development of tools like Scenic (a probabilistic programming language for scenario specification) and VerifAI (a toolkit for formal design and analysis of AI-based systems). His work bridges theoretical computer science with practical engineering challenges in safety-critical autonomous systems, receiving funding from various sources supporting research at the intersection of formal methods and artificial intelligence. The group's approach combines theoretical algorithm development with practical implementation and testing, often collaborating with industry partners working on autonomous vehicle technology. The research group maintains active development of several open-source tools, including the Scenic language for scenario specification and VerifAI for formal analysis of AI systems. They have demonstrated applications across multiple domains including autonomous vehicles, aircraft systems, and robotics, with particular emphasis on simulation-based testing and verification approaches that can provide formal guarantees about system behavior.
Darko Marinov is a Professor at the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science and a member of the Information Trust Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on software testing methodologies, particularly regression testing, flaky tests, and software reliability engineering. He has contributed to frameworks like Ekstazi for regression test selection and DeFlaker for identifying flaky tests. Marinov holds an NSF CAREER Award (2008) for his work in this domain. His research interests span testing techniques for modern software systems, including configuration testing, test prioritization, and fault localization. He has pioneered studies on the characteristics of flaky tests in large-scale projects and developed tools to improve software quality assurance processes. Marinov collaborates across academic and industrial settings, addressing challenges in continuous integration, reproducibility of computational experiments, and hardware-software co-design for resilience. His work bridges theory and practice, with applications in cloud computing, AI workloads, and cybersecurity. Awards: NSF CAREER Award (2008) Key Contributions: Ekstazi, DeFlaker, FastFlip, and Ctest4J frameworks Labs/Teams: Active member of the Information Trust Institute and leads software testing research groups at UIUC
Ori Lahav is a faculty member in the School of Computer Science at Tel Aviv University. His research is generously supported by an ERC Starting Grant and an ISF Grant. He actively supervises PhD and MSc students, and seeks highly motivated candidates for postdoc, PhD, and MSc positions in programming language theory, concurrency, and formal methods. Dr. Lahav completed his PhD at Tel Aviv University under the supervision of Arnon Avron. In 2014, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Tel Aviv University hosted by Mooly Sagiv. From 2014 to September 2017, he was a postdoctoral researcher at MPI-SWS in Germany hosted by Viktor Vafeiadis and Derek Dreyer. His primary research areas focus on programming languages and verification, with specialization in concurrency and relaxed memory models. He also has significant interests in proof-theory, semantics of non-classical logics, and automated reasoning. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in programming language design and implementation. Dr. Lahav's publication record shows a consistent trajectory of high-impact research in top-tier conferences including PLDI, POPL, OOPSLA, and ESOP. His recent work (2023-2025) demonstrates continued leadership in memory models, concurrency semantics, and verification techniques. His research spans both theoretical contributions in denotational semantics and practical tools for verification. Best Paper Award DISC 2024 Best Student Paper Award DISC 2024 Distinguished Artifact Award ESOP 2022 Distinguished Paper Award OOPSLA 2021 Kleene Award for Best Student Paper LICS 2013 Dr. Lahav actively advises students including Yoav Ben Shimon, Yotam Dvir, Amir Karniel, and Roy Margalit (PhD students), Yuval Katsman Ezra (MSc student), and has alumni including Ori Saporta (MSc) and Abhishek Kr Singh (postdoc, now Assistant Professor at IIIT Hyderabad). He has organized significant events including VMCAI 2024 and Dagstuhl Seminars on persistent programming. His teaching portfolio includes courses on Shared Memory Concurrency Semantics, Programming Language Foundations, and Software Foundations in Coq.
Éric Tanter is a Full Professor in the Computer Science Department (DCC) at the University of Chile, where he also leads the PLEIAD Lab. He holds an Inria International Chair (2025–2029) and is an Associate Researcher at the Millenium Institute for Foundational Research on Data (IMFD). His academic leadership includes prior roles as Director and Deputy Director of the DCC, and Coordinator of the PhD Program in Computer Science. His research centers on programming languages and software engineering, with a strong focus on gradual typing, type systems, program verification, and secure programming. He explores both theoretical foundations and empirical practices, aiming to bridge the gap between static and dynamic language paradigms. His recent work emphasizes gradual verification, refinement types, and applications in proof assistants and security. The trends in his recent publications show a deep engagement with foundational aspects of gradual and dependent typing, often aiming to enhance the reliability and security of software systems. These works frequently involve formalization in proof assistants like Coq and explore applications in differential privacy, secure interoperability, and symbolic execution. Inria International Chair (2025–2030) Best Paper Awards at POPL 2019, OOPSLA 2018, ICFP 2018, MSR 2011, AOSD 2010, SBLP 2008, DAIS 2006 Most Influential/Most Notable Paper Awards at DLS, Programming, DLS Facebook Research Testing and Verification Award (2018) Google Faculty Research Awards (2015, 2016) Best Professor Award, University of Chile (2011) Éric Tanter has advised numerous PhD and Master’s students, many of whom have gone on to publish influential work in top venues. He has led multiple research projects funded by FONDECYT, ANID, INRIA, and other national and international agencies. His service includes editorial roles in journals such as the Journal of Functional Programming and Science of Computer Programming, and extensive participation in program committees of major conferences like POPL, ICFP, and OOPSLA. He leads the PLEIAD Lab at the University of Chile, a research group focused on programming languages, software engineering, and formal methods. The lab fosters collaboration with international institutions and emphasizes both theoretical rigor and practical impact.
Tej Chajed is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he conducts research in formal verification of systems software. His work focuses on building and proving the correctness of critical systems, particularly file systems and concurrent software. Dr. Chajed earned his PhD from MIT in the PDOS group, followed by a one-year postdoc at VMware Research before joining UW-Madison. His academic journey reflects a strong commitment to bridging theoretical formal methods with practical systems implementation. Chajed's research centers on formal verification techniques for systems software, with particular emphasis on concurrent and crash-safe systems . His work aims to eliminate bugs in critical software through mathematical proofs of correctness. Key contributions include DaisyNFS (a verified concurrent file system), the Perennial framework for reasoning about crash safety, and Goose for connecting proofs to Go code. His research spans the intersection of programming languages, operating systems, and formal methods, developing practical tools that bring verification to real-world systems. His recent publications demonstrate a consistent trajectory toward more practical and scalable verification techniques for increasingly complex systems. The research shows progression from foundational verification frameworks to applied work on specific systems like file systems, journaling, and distributed protocols. A notable trend is the focus on making verification more accessible and practical for systems developers, bridging the gap between theoretical formal methods and real-world software engineering. Dr. Chajed serves on numerous program committees including OSDI 2025 PC, PLDI 2024 PC, SySDW 2023 PC, ECOOP 2023 ERC, CPP 2023 PC, POPL 2023 PC, PLDI 2022 PC, POPL 2022 AEC, EuroDW 2021 PC, POPL 2021 AEC, PLDI 2020 AEC, POPL 2020 AEC, and SOSP 2019 AEC, reflecting his standing in the systems and programming languages research community. In teaching, Chajed has developed and instructed courses on systems verification, operating systems, and protocol verification. He previously helped create MIT's 6.826 (Principles of Computer Systems) during his PhD. His passion for technical communication was cultivated during his time as a Communication Fellow in the EECS Communication Lab at MIT, where he continues to offer guidance to students on writing and presentation skills. His research group at UW-Madison focuses on advancing the state of the art in systems verification, with current projects centered around practical verification frameworks for concurrent and crash-safe systems.
Eric TOTEL is a Professor at Telecom SudParis, specializing in cybersecurity and network security. His research focuses on intrusion detection systems, graph-based anomaly detection, machine learning applications in security, and data confidentiality in distributed systems. He has contributed to projects such as DAMS (DDoS mitigation using deep reinforcement learning), Sec2Graph (novelty detection on graph-structured data), and DAEMON (dynamic autoencoder-based anomaly detection). His work emphasizes scalable solutions for multi-step attack detection and privacy-preserving infrastructure for encrypted DNS logs. Key contributions include developing correlation engines for distributed systems, formalizing invariant-based attack detection in web applications, and exploring static analysis for information flow control. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and served on program committees for conferences like RAID, CRiSIS, and EuroS&P. His HDR (2012) formalized error-detection techniques applied to intrusion detection. Advising and grants: He collaborates on projects funded by French national research agencies and has mentored students in cybersecurity, AI for defense (CAID conferences), and cloud infrastructure security. His research often bridges theoretical models and practical implementations, with tools like STARLORD for 3D graph visualization of security data.
Alberto Monge Roffarello is an Assistant Professor (RTDb) at the Department of Control and Computer Engineering (DAUIN), Politecnico di Torino, where he is a member of the e-Lite Research Group. He teaches courses including Human-AI Interaction, Digital Wellbeing, and Web Applications across multiple degree programs such as Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Film and Media Engineering. His research centers on Human-Computer Interaction, with a strong focus on Digital Wellbeing and End-User Development in the Internet of Things . He investigates how users can personalize smart environments through trigger-action programming and how design patterns in digital interfaces—such as Infinite Scroll and Never-Ending Autoplay—exploit psychological vulnerabilities to capture attention. His work aims to empower users with tools for self-control, meaningful interaction, and habit mitigation. The recent publications highlight a consistent trajectory in digital self-control tools , attention-aware design , and semantic recommendation systems for IoT. His research bridges theoretical analysis with practical tools, including conversational agents (HeyTAP), debugging platforms (EUDebug, My IoT Puzzle), and ontologies (EUPont) to lower the barrier for non-technical users. Scientific contributions include: Systematic review of digital self-control tools (TOCHI 2022) Typology of Attention-Capture Damaging Patterns (CHI 2023) Design frameworks for meaningful interactions (AVI 2022) Behavioral interventions for smartphone habits (TiiS 2021) He actively supervises PhD students—Francesca Russo, Robert Everett Schwartz, and Luca Scibetta—on topics ranging from AI for education to digital wellbeing in high-schools. His work is supported by competitive research projects such as EMPATHY - Empathetic Mobility Platform . He has contributed to multiple national and international collaborations, notably with Santa Clara University (USA). Alberto leads and participates in research initiatives within the e-Lite - Intelligent and Interactive Systems group, focusing on intelligent interfaces, user empowerment, and ethical design. His lab develops tools that translate high-level user intentions into executable IoT rules, promote digital literacy, and support conscious technology use.
Gary Grewal is an Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science , University of Guelph. His research focuses on developing intelligent Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools for Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) , integrating classical optimization techniques with machine learning and deep learning to address challenges in placement and routing for heterogeneous devices. He has received the Michal Servit Award (2017, 2018) for outstanding FPGA research and the University of Guelph Faculty Association Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching (2017) . Grewal has held NSERC Discovery Grants annually from 1999 to 2023. Co-founder of the Guelph FPGA CAD Group Key collaborator with institutions like Ryerson University , University of Toronto , and University of British Columbia His work extends to health technology through the IronTracker mobile app , developed with Andrew Hamilton-Wright and students (A. D'Angelo, J. Carter, F. Liu, R. Pattison) to manage Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HHC) . The app, available in four languages and adopted in 100+ countries, was recognized at Parliament Hill and the Ontario Legislature. Scientific Awards : Michal Servit Award (2018) Michal Servit Award (2017) Distinguished Professor Award for Teaching (2017) NSERC Discovery Grants (1999-2023) His recent publications highlight trends in machine learning for FPGA CAD , including reinforcement learning for partitioning, deep learning for congestion estimation, and adaptive algorithms for placement. Grewal remains active in teaching courses like Discrete Optimization (CIS*6070) and Digital Systems I (CIS*3120).
Zhe Hou is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Information and Communication Technology , Griffith University, Australia. His academic journey includes a PhD in automated reasoning for separation logic from the Australian National University (2015) and prior research roles at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2015-2017). He joined Griffith University in 2017 and became permanent faculty in late 2019. Research Interests : Formal methods for software verification Automated reasoning with logical frameworks Blockchain technology and security Quantum computing verification Integration of LLMs with rigorous reasoning Sports analytics via model checking Recent Publications demonstrate expertise in neural-symbolic reasoning, blockchain security, quantum SAT solvers, and runtime verification frameworks. His work combines formal logic with machine learning for applications in cybersecurity and AI trustworthiness. Scientific Awards : ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award (2025) Supervision Roles : Principal/Associate Supervisor for 6+ doctoral projects in blockchain security, AI verification, and network security. Professional Activities : Editor for Springer-Nature and Formal Aspects of Computing special issues, conference chair for ICFEM, ICECCS, and ISACE symposia.
David Andrews is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering at the University of Arkansas College of Engineering. He holds the Mullins Endowed Chair of Computer Engineering and directs research through the Computer Systems Design Laboratory (CSDL). His work bridges hardware and software systems with a focus on practical implementation. His educational background includes: Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University Computer Engineer Degree from Syracuse University M.S.E.E. from University of Missouri-Columbia B.S.E.E. from University of Missouri-Columbia Andrews' research centers on embedded systems architectures from a holistic systems perspective, examining interactions between programming languages, runtime systems, and hardware components. His work spans reconfigurable computing, FPGA-based acceleration, and hybrid CPU/FPGA systems. A key contribution is the HybridThreads (hthreads) platform, which abstracts hardware/software boundaries to enable thread-based programming for heterogeneous systems. Recent publications demonstrate his focus on accelerating machine learning workloads on FPGAs, particularly transformer models and attention mechanisms, while addressing resource scheduling and real-time constraints. His publication trends reveal a consistent evolution from foundational work in parallel and distributed embedded systems toward specialized hardware acceleration for modern AI workloads. The research increasingly focuses on memory-centric architectures, computational overlays, and practical implementations for real-time applications across diverse domains including cultural heritage documentation and cybersecurity. As director of the Computer Systems Design Laboratory, Andrews leads interdisciplinary research in real-time embedded systems, reconfigurable computing, multiprocessor systems on chip, and hardware/software co-design. The lab integrates knowledge into undergraduate and graduate curricula covering digital design, computer organization, embedded systems, and systems modeling. CSDL supports a collaborative environment with undergraduate, master's, and PhD students working alongside visiting researchers from global institutions.
Dr. Jia Rao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, College of Engineering. He previously served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs from 2012 to 2016. His research spans operating systems, distributed and parallel computing, cloud computing, virtualization, and machine learning. Education: Ph.D., Computer Engineering, Wayne State University, 2011 M.S., Computer Science, Wuhan University, 2006 B.S., Computer Science, Wuhan University, 2004 Dr. Rao's research focuses on building adaptive, scalable, and efficient computer systems for cloud and data center environments. His interests include resource management, performance modeling, adaptive scheduling, and quality-of-service (QoS) guarantees in virtualized and containerized systems. He combines machine learning and feedback control techniques with low-level system design to improve efficiency, fairness, and predictability in heterogeneous and multi-tenant environments. An analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong trend toward memory and resource management innovations in cloud-native systems. His work explores tiered memory architectures, secure container deployment, preemptive multitasking for deep learning, and efficient packet processing in container networks. These efforts reflect a consistent focus on optimizing system-level performance, security, and scalability in modern data centers. Scientific Awards: NSF CAREER Award (2019) Best Paper Award, APSys (2016) Best Paper Award, ICAC (2013) Best Paper Nomination, HPCA (2013) Best Paper Nomination, HPDC (2013) Best Paper Award, Middleware (2021) Researcher of the Year, UCCS (2014) Dr. Rao actively advises students and serves on dissertation and thesis committees for numerous Ph.D. and Master’s candidates. He leads federally funded research projects supported by the National Science Foundation, including a major CAREER grant on virtualized architectures and collaborative big data initiatives. His research has been sponsored by NSF, IEEE, and Intel Corporation, reflecting strong industry and academic collaboration. He leads and contributes to major research labs and teams focused on cloud systems, operating systems, and performance optimization. His team has produced high-impact work in top-tier venues such as OSDI, SOSP, ATC, EuroSys, and ICDCS. Current and future work includes next-generation memory architectures using CXL, intelligent resource provisioning, and resilient container networking.
