Research Interests
Use of formal methods in the design and analysis of complex systems, with a special focus on embedded software systems and system architectures:
- verification of machine learning / AI based software
- data-centric software engineering
- automotive software engineering
- analysis and repair of timed systems (TarTar)
- formal models of collective behavior
- formal methods in functional safety analysis (QuantUM)
- causality analysis and fault localization (Causality Checking)
- legal tech
- case studies in the design and verification of concurrent software systems (GIOP, telecommunication systems, Airbag control units, Automated Driving System (ADS) architectures)
- algorithmics and application of model checking
- heuristic search in system verification (directed model checking)
- abstraction and incomplete verification techniques
- visual specification formalisms for concurrent systems (Message Sequence Charts)
- semantics and verification of object-oriented modeling techniques, including UML, UML-RT and SysML
- protocol engineering and design
- avionics and automotive software and safety enigeering (DO-178C, AutoSAR, ISO 26262, ISO PAS 21448 (SOTIF))
- verification of real-time and probabilistic system properties (DiPro)
For more information see our research pages.
Research and Technology Transfer
- Director of the Steinbeis Transfer Center Complex Systems Engineering at the University of Konstanz (2010 - 2020)
Current and Former Memberships in Research Networks
- DFG Excellence Cluster Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, since 2018.
- DFG Graduate School on Explorative Analysis and Visualization of Large Information Spaces. (DFG Graduiertenkolleg Explorative Analyse und Visualisierung großer Informationsräume), 2004-2012.
- Transregional Collaborative Research Center 14 Automatic Verification And Analysis of Complex Systems (AVACS), 2004-2007.
Academic Degrees
Academic Appointments and Research Positions
Since April | Professor, Chair for Software Engineering, Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Konstanz, Germany. |
July - December 2000 | Associate Professor (tenured), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Waterloo. On leave of absence. |
December 1999 - April 2004 | Associate Professor (tenured) of Computer Networks and Telematics at the Institute for Informatics (Computer Science) of the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany. |
March 1995 - June 2000 | Assistant Professor (tenure track) at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo. Cross-appointment at Department of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, July 1998. Leave of absence starting January 1, 2000. |
November 1991- March 1995 | Research Assistant and Doctoral Candidate at the Institute for Computer Science of the University of Bern, Switzerland. |
Visiting Positions
April - May 2017 | Visiting Scholar, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Department of Computer Science, Analysis of Computer Systems Group, New York University |
September - December 2008 | Visiting Professor, Institute of Information Security, Department of Computer Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland |
July - September 2003 | Visiting Professor, School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Kanada. |
January 2000 - August 2002 | Adjunct Professor, at the International University in Germany, Bruchsal. |
1999/2000 | Visiting Professor, École Nationale Supérieure d'Informatique et de Mathématiques Appliquées de Grenoble (ENSIMAG) and Institut VERIMAG, Grenoble, France. |
May - December 1998 | Member of Technical Staff, Computing Sciences Research Center, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey (during sabbatical leave). |
Industrial Work Experience
October 1990 - November 1991 | Computer Science consulting in industry, consulting on individual information systems for major German life insurance companies. |
1982 - 1990 | Consulting for German life insurance companies, various internships at IBM Germany. |
Organization and Involvement in Conferences / Workshops
FORTE'94 | Seventh International Conference on FORMAL DESCRIPTION TECHNIQUES for Distributed Systems and Communications Protocols, Berne, Switzerland, 4-7 October 1994 (Conference Organization Chairperson). |
SPIN'99 | The 6th International SPIN Workshop on Practical Aspects of Model Checking, Toulouse, France, 21 and 24 September 1999 (Co-Organizer). |
SPIN 2002 | 9th International SPIN Workshop on Model Checking of Software, April 11-13, 2002, Grenoble, France (PC Chair). |
Dagstuhl Seminar 03371 | Scenarios: Models, Transformations and Tools, September 7-12, 2003 (Co-organizer). |
Dagstuhl Seminar 06172 | Directed Model Checking, April 2006 (Co-Organizer). |
FMICS 2007 | 12th International ERCIM Workshop on Formal Methods for Industrial |
ICSE 2008 New Faculty Symposium | New Faculty Symposium, 30th International Conference on Software Engineering, Leipzig, May 10-18, 2008, Leipzig, Germany (Co-Chair). |
CREST 2017 | 2nd international Workshop on Causal Reasoning for Embedded and Safety-critical Systems Technologies (Co-Chair). |
Personal
Date and place of birth | 1962 in Hamburg, Germany. |
Marital status | married, 2 children |
Nationality | German |
Languages | German, English, French |
Interests | Tennis, alpine skiing, hiking, mountain biking, paintings by Paul Klee, mountains! |
Students and Alumni
Current Post-Doc
- Dr. Georgiana Caltais
Current PhD Student
- Martin Kölbl
Alumni (Master and PhD)
- Adrian Beer (now with Carl Storz, Schaffhausen)
- Alina Bey
- Dr. Florian Leitner-Fischer (now with ZF TRW Automotive GmbH, Radolfzell)
- Yang Sen
- Dr. Husain Aljazzar (now with Bosch)
- Dr. Wei Wei (now with SAP)
- Dr. Richard Mayr (Habilitation, now with University of Edinburgh, UK)
- Prof. Dr. Alberto Lluch Lafuente (now with DTU Copenhagen, DK)
- Piotr Tysowski
- Moataz Kamel
Miscellaneous
Memberships
- Steering Committee of the SPIN Workshop Series
- IEEE, Computer Society
- ACM
- Gesellschaft für Informatik / German Informatics Society (their choice of name...)
- GIBU (GI Beirat der Universitätsprofessoren)
- IFIP WG 6.1