My Research Interests

Since 1999 I have been working on model checking: first at Politecnico di Torino in Italy during my undergraduate, then at the NASA Ames Research Center where I have been a visitor for about two years, and now at Carnegie Mellon University where I am working on my Ph.D. with Professor Clarke.

My first interest in model checking was almost an accident, when I worked with Professor Sisto on a project for an undergraduate course. The project evolved during the summer into a master thesis about distributed model checking.

While working on this subject I got in contact with the Automated Software Engineering group at NASA Ames and I visited them before and after my graduation over a period of about two years. During this time I had the pleasure to be involved in the development of Java PathFinder, a model checking tool for Java programs.

While still involved in this project, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a research and became a Ph.D. student at Carnegie Mellon.

The School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon is just a wonderful place for doing research and since I started I have been collaborating with Professor Clarke and his group.

My main interest and research topic at the moment is software model checking. I am looking for new ways to apply model checking to software systems, with a specific interest in safety critical system.

Over the last year, I have collaborated with Sebastian Scherer from the Robotic Instuitute and together we developed a technique for the verification of control software. This research has lead to a publication. At the moment, I am working on extending that work and plan on using it as the core of my thesis proposal this fall.

My research interests however are widespread. Among the topics that most catch my interest are programming languages and user interfaces.

My interest in programming languages has been active since I first started learning how to program computers. Over the years I have not only learned many different programming languages, but I have also studied with great interest how compilers are built and experimented designing new languages, compilers, interpreters, and virtual machines.

User interfaces have fascinated me for the longest time. I remember long nights spent studying the internals of a library for text mode windowing systems. Even if they are obsolete now, they were the beginning of a passion for designing libraries and tools for handling user interfaces.

There are many other subjects I am interested in, too many to be listed here. Almost any problem in theoretical or applied computer science did (or will) sooner or later attract my attention, and I am always looking for new topics to apply my brain to.

My Thesis Proposal