Shaun Azzopardi


I am currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Gothenburg, working on the ERC Consolidator Project dSynMA (Distributed Synthesis from Single to Multiple Agents), led by Nir Piterman.

News

  • I'm currently a visiting postdoc at the Simons Institute's Theoretical Foundations of Computer Systems program.
  • Runtime Monitoring Processes Across Blockchains was accepted at FSEN 2021.
  • Model-based Static and Runtime Verification for Ethereum Smart Contracts will be published in Springer's CCIS 1361, as part of a collection of selected revised papers from MODELSWARD 2020.

Research Interests

I am interested in the application of formal methods for the modelling, analysis, and verification of programs, smart contracts, and legal contracts. I am also interested in the application of blockchain to real-world problems.

Committee Membership and Peer Reviewing

  • VMCAI 21 - Artifact Committee Member
  • CONCUR 20 - Sub-Reviewer
  • RV 17, 20 - Sub-Reviewer

Teaching

  • University of Gothenburg / Chalmers University:
    • TDA567/DIT082 (2020) - Testing, Debugging, and Verification
  • University of Malta (Teaching Assistant):
    • CPS1002/5200 (2016-2020) - Mathematics of Discrete Structures
    • CPS1005 (2016-2020) - Mathematics of Discrete Structures
    • ICT3009 (2019-2020) - Blockchain and Smart Contracts

Tools

  • CLarva: Performs partial static analysis of symbolic Java monitors (used mainly as a pre-processing step for the Larva monitoring tool).
  • solidCLarva: A counterpart to CLarva for the Solidity smart contract language (used mainly as a pre-processing step for the contractLarva monitoring tool).
  • Solidity CFG Builder: Builds control-flow graphs (as data structures and visualisations) of Solidity smart contracts.
  • bpmn_to_solidity: Compiles BPMN process models into Solidity smart contracts.
  • Partial DL Conflict Finder: Performs best-attempt conflict checking of partial deontic logic formulas.
  • contractLarva (contributor): Interleaves Solidity smart contracts with symbolic monitoring or enforcing logic.

Industry/Freelance Experience

I have experience working on several software projects, including the following technologies:

  • Front-end development: ReactJS, React Native, Expo, Ionic, HTML5, CSS
  • Back-end development: Spring-boot, Node.JS, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Express, Ethereum
  • Languages: Java, Haskell, Javascript, Typescript, Python, Solidity, C#
  • Areas: FinTech, RegTech, Blockchain

Education

University of Malta

  • 2016-2020: Ph.D. in Computer Science
  • 2014-2016: M.Sc. (Hons.) in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
  • 2010-2014: B.Sc. (Hons.) in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics

Publications