About
Michael Butler is Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and a Professor of Computer Science. His research is in the area of mathematical methods for design and verification of safe and secure software-based systems.
Education:
B.A.(Hons) Computer Science, Trinity College Dublin (1988);
M.Sc. Computation, University of Oxford (1989);
D.Phil. Computation, University of Oxford (1992).
Research
Research groups
Current research
My main research area is formal methods for software engineering. These are mathematical modeling and analysis methods used to increase the trustworthiness of software based systems. They are typically used for high integrity systems where software-induced failures would lead to loss of life or significant loss of business or reputation. I specialise in model-based formal methods, in particular a formal method called Event-B. My research work encompasses applications, tools and methodology for formal methods. I have made key theoretical and methodological contributions to the Event-B formal method that enable it to scale to large complex systems. These contributions enable modular analysis in terms of how systems models are structured and analysed as well as methods for development of domain-specific mathematical theories that are reusable across multiple projects.
Research Projects
HD-Sec: Holistic Design of Secure Systems on Capability Hardware
HICLASS: Enabling Development of Complex and Secure Aerospace Systems
UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub
Professional Activities:
Member IFIP WG 2.3 Programming Methodology
Editorial Board of Formal Aspects of Computing
Editorial Board of Intl. J. of Critical Computer-Based Systems
Editorial Board of Software Tools for Technology Transfer
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
Publications
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
I studied for a bachelor's degree in Computer Science at Trinity College Dublin. I then did an MSc in Computation and DPhil (PhD) in Computation at the University of Oxford. After Oxford I worked for a telecoms research company (Broadcom Eireann) in Dublin and then spent two years in Abo Akademi in Finland as a researcher. I started as a Lecturer in Southampton in 1995 and subsequently became a Reader and Professor.