We’re hiring a PhD Candidate for Software Correctness. The work will target the correctness of high-level programming languages that are “only” strings in your host language, such as SQL and regular expressions.
Software has shaped almost every aspect of our modern lives. Ensuring that software is correct, is both a major scientific challenge and an enterprise with enormous social relevance. Would you like to examine possibilities to introduce a theory for correctness levels for software? Then you have a part to play as a PhD Candidate.
The correctness of software is of major importance in computer science. Unfortunately, the significance of software correctness is not always clear. Furthermore, the automatic checking of software correctness is difficult. This leads to problems during system development projects and during the grading of software exercises.
This PhD candidate position is intended for four years. You understand the importance of correct software and know how to work with several meanings of software correctness. Your goal is to introduce a generic and formal theory of software correctness levels, in which partially correct/incorrect software can be handled in a flexible way.
You will put the generic theory into practice, by experimenting with automatic grading of software exercises in the context of our courses. One application will be dealing with automatic grading of SQL statements. You will be supervised by Patrick van Bommel and Djoerd Hiemstra. Profile:
- You are an enthusiastic and motivated researcher.
- You should have a Master’s degree in computer science, or a Master’s degree in mathematics and a demonstrable interest in computer science.
(Deadline: 6 March 2022)