Special Interest Group-SIG on Formal Methods:

Convener:
Bhanumathi K S
“Ganadhakshya” # 406, 8 C Main, H R B R Layout
Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore 560043
Mobile: +91 95350 92589
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.



Formal Methods (FM) has been in existence since 1940’s, when AlanTuring proved the logical analysis of sequential programs using the properties of program states; and Floyd, Hoare and Naur used axiomatic techniques to prove program correctness against the specifications in 1960’s.

These initial successes helped inculcate an interest in applying FM to the field of computer science.

Academia has been instrumental in bringing this field to the forefront, through continued research and development. The use of Formal Methods requires an expert skill-set expertise and therefore, its use is limited to those trained in the field.
Mission Statement:

Computer Society of India wants the field of Formal Methods to have a wider audience and more people to benefit from the application of these methods to all spheres of life. There is a need to use effective, correct and reliable approaches to design, develop and qualify complex, high assurance system software with the rigid schedules and budget. For this we need advanced tools, techniques and methods. Industry standards like RTCA DO-178C (Civil Aerospace), ISO 26262 (Automotive), IEC 61513(Nuclear), EN50126 (Railways) have recommended the usage of formal –method based approach to be used in the various phases of engineering process to achieve the required levels of safety and security.

Today there are proven techniques and tools that can be used in specification, design and verification & validation phases to assure correct requirement-capture, implementation, software functionality and security. This helps in developing high assurance software for applications such as cyber-physical systems, net-centric warfare systems, autonomous robots and Next Generation Air Transportation.

Objectives of the Special Interest Group (SIG) are:

  • To bring together scientists, academicians active in the field of formal methods and willing to exchange their experience in the industrial usage of formal methods.
  • To coordinate efforts in the transfer of formal methods technology and knowledge to industry.
  • To promote research and development for the improvement of formal methods and tools with respect to their usage in industry.
  • To bring out practical engineering methods where formal methods will be integrated with current engineering methods.

Some of the known applications of formal methods are:

  • Formal verification, including theorem proving, model checking, and static analysis
  • Techniques and algorithms for scaling formal methods
  • Use of formal methods in automated software engineering and testing
  • Model-based formal development
  • Formal program synthesis
  • Formal approaches to fault tolerance
  • Use of formal methods in safety cases
  • Use of formal methods in human-machine interaction analysis
  • Use of formal methods in compiler validation and object code verification

Committee Members

1. Bhanumathi K S ,Convener
2. Mr. Chander Mannar
3. Prof. Anirban Basu
4. Mr. Suman Kumar
5. Prof. Shyam Sundar
6. Ms. Manju Nanda
7. Ms. J. Jayanthi
8. Ms. Saroja Devi
9. Prof. Meenakshi D’Souza
10. Mr.Yoganand Jeppu
11. Dr. Swarnalatha Rao
12. Dr. A. Indra , ISTRAC/ISRO
13.Dr. Aditya Kanade,IISc
14. Mr. Dhinakaran Pillai
15. Asha Garg, Scientist 'G', DRDO-ADE

Reports

NSF Workshop Report 2015
NSF Workshop Report Summary