PhD in Computer Science

Computer-aided verification of AI systems connects the fields of formal methods, machine learning and software engineering. It combines classical symbolic verification methods such as model checking and Boolean satisfiability solving as well as novel machine learning methods for safe and trustworthy AI. In this PhD project, you will contribute to open problems in the area through both theoretical and empirical research./nPotential research topics include but are not limited to, developing methods to guarantee that cyber-physical systems with deep learning components are safe and ensuring that software and hardware components are correct. This PhD project is at the intersection of verification and machine learning and covers both the analysis of software and cyber-physical systems and the analysis of learning-enabled systems./nThe PhD student will be embedded in the Theory cluster at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, supervised by Dr. Emily Yu and Prof. Marcello Bonsangue at the Veritas lab. The successful candidate will conduct original and novel research developing verification, synthesis, and machine learning methods that ensure that digital, physical, probabilistic systems interacting with deep learning and neural network are formally guaranteed to be safe, publish and present scientific articles in top formal methods, AI/ML venues, contribute to educational activities as a (head) teaching assistant and finally write a PhD thesis detailing the outcome of the research activities./nThe Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) is the Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Institute in the Faculty of Science of Leiden University.