Internships and Job Opportunities

Job Announcement
Full-Time and/or Part-Time Research Assistant
Computer Science
Summer 2006
Supervisor: Dr. Joy Reed

Dr. Reed has been awarded a $296,000 research grant for 2006-2008 from the Office of Naval Research. The project deals with specification and automatic verification of distributed computer systems such as internet distributed services. The work is based on the specification language CSP, which was initially developed in the 1980's by C.A.R. Hoare, a distinguished ACM Turing Award Winner.

CSP is a software engineering technology which belongs to the category known as formal methods. These are mathematically-based tools and techniques for specifying and verifying computer software and hardware. High-level formulations for desirable properties of a system or component are written in CSP. Implementations, also expressed in CSP, can be automatically checked for correctness. Properties such as deadlock freedom can be statically verified.

Writing CSP specifications is analogous to writing high-level programs. The programming style is similar to that for functional languages such as Miranda.

Job Description: An assistant is needed to help develop example case studies, and to develop an internet interface to the verifier. Time on the job will include training and self-study with CSP. Independent study or internship credit is available though not required.

Qualifications: Junior or senior level undergraduate, or graduate. Must have demonstrated skill in mathematics and programming.

Pay: Flexible. Requires specialized expertise, with pay commensurate with qualifications. Possibilities include institutional work study during the year and/or summer full-time, up to $10,000 per year.