Dr. Joseph Sifakis

Dr. Joseph Sifakis is a pioneering computer scientist known for his work in formal verification of systems. He received the 2007 Turing Award, sharing it with Edmund M. Clarke and E. Allen Emerson, for their role in developing model-checking techniques.

Early Life and Education

Joseph Sifakis was born on December 26, 1946, in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. He pursued his initial education in Greece, studying Electrical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens. Sifakis then moved to France on a scholarship to further his studies in Computer Science at the University of Grenoble. He received his engineering doctorate in 1974 and a state doctorate in 1979 from the University of Grenoble source.

Academic and Professional Career

Joseph Sifakis has had a distinguished career in the field of computer science, specifically in system verification and formal methods. He is a Research Director Emeritus at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and the founder of the VERIMAG laboratory near Grenoble source. At VERIMAG, Sifakis has spearheaded research and development in model checking and embedded systems.

Research Contributions

Sifakis's work has been instrumental in advancing the field of model checking, a technique used to automatically verify the correctness of software and hardware systems. His contributions have significantly improved the reliability and safety of complex systems, particularly in critical domains such as aerospace, automotive, and healthcare.

Sifakis is particularly renowned for his work on model checking, a technique for verifying the correctness of systems. This work earned him the 2007 Turing Award, shared with Edmund M. Clarke and E. Allen Emerson source.

He also founded the Computer Aided Verification (CAV) conference in 1989 in Grenoble with Edmund M. Clarke and Amir Pnueli source.

Sifakis has collaborated on various verification tools and methodologies, including the CESAR verification tool, IF toolset, Kronos, CADP, and TGV source. His research has also delved into the verification of timed and hybrid systems and the synthesis of timed systems with notable collaborators like Thomas Henzinger and Amir Pnueli source.

Leadership and Teaching

From 2004 to 2012, Sifakis coordinated the ARTIST European Network of Excellence for research on Embedded Systems source. He also held the INRIA-Schneider endowed industrial chair from 2008 to 2011 and served as a full professor and the Director of the Rigorous System Design Laboratory at the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at EPFL from 2011 to 2016 source.

Sifakis has been a visiting professor at Tsinghua University (2011–2012) and SUSTech (2019) source.

Research Impact

His work has significantly impacted the development of safety-critical systems, particularly through collaborations with industry giants like Airbus and Schneider Electric. At VERIMAG, he contributed to the development of the SCADE synchronous programming environment, which is instrumental in safety-critical software development source.

Over the past two decades, Sifakis has focused on rigorous component-based design using the BIP component framework and more recently on the design of trustworthy autonomous systems, including self-driving cars source.

Career Timeline

• 1974: Obtained Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Grenoble source
• 1979: Received state doctorate from the University of Grenoble source
• 1983: Founded the Verimag laboratory source
• 1989: Co-founded the Computer Aided Verification (CAV) conference source
• 2004-2012: Coordinated the ARTIST European Network of Excellence source
• 2007: Awarded the ACM Turing Award source
• 2008: Appointed CNRS Research Director
• 2008-2011: Held the INRIA-Schneider endowed industrial chair source
• 2011-2016: Founded and directed the RiSD (Rigorous System Design) laboratory at EPFL source
• 2011-2012: Visiting professor at Tsinghua University source
• 2019: Visiting professor at SUSTech source

Awards and Honors

• Turing Award (2007): For his contributions to model checking source
• Leonardo da Vinci Medal (2012): Awarded by SEFI source
• Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit, France (2008): source
• Commander of the Legion of Honor, France (2011): source
• Member of the French Academy of Sciences (2010): source
• Member of Academia Europaea (2008): source
• Member of the French Academy of Engineering (2008): source
• Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2015): source
• Member of the National Academy of Engineering (2017): source
• Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2019): source