Two Assistant Professors Win CAREER Awards from National Science Foundation

Işil Dillig, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, will use her $227,705 award to study better ways to verify that computer software is free from defects, using abductive reasoning to automate the process as much as possible while allowing verification of many types of software. One of the project’s goals is the ability to find software bugs that are so subtle or hidden that they cannot be identified by current testing technology.

Ilya Finkelstein, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences, will use his $327,057 to study at a molecular level how conflicts between DNA replication and translation occur and how they are resolved by using high-throughput single-molecule fluorescence imaging. This project will also use the concept of “molecular machines” to teach and inspire undergraduate students in the Freshman Research Initiative.