Algorithms for geometric Turán-type problems and network visualization. Recent technological advances have large data sets, in a data deluge. Some of the most critical data sets are networks; examples abound in Systems Biology, Social Network Analysis, and Software Engineering. This project aims for algorithms to construct readable pictures of these networks, and thus make the data easier for humans to understand.
Scalable Visual Analytics for Uncertain Dynamic Networks. Technological advances have provided a data deluge over the past few years, and have led to many large uncertain and dynamic network models. This includes terrorist networks, marketing networks, facebook networks, various biological networks, and software engineering structures. Human understanding of such networks is difficult. This project aims to provide new methods for visual analysis of large uncertain dynamic networks such as these. ....Scalable Visual Analytics for Uncertain Dynamic Networks. Technological advances have provided a data deluge over the past few years, and have led to many large uncertain and dynamic network models. This includes terrorist networks, marketing networks, facebook networks, various biological networks, and software engineering structures. Human understanding of such networks is difficult. This project aims to provide new methods for visual analysis of large uncertain dynamic networks such as these. The algorithms developed in the project will help security analysts to monitor illegal behaviour such as money laundering and terrorist activities, help biologists understand key biological systems, and help engineers to understand large software systems.Read moreRead less
Mechanised foundations of proof calculi. Commercial program verification tools based upon special-purpose logic-based proof calculi can now guarantee that large programs are free of specific bugs. But who verifies the proof-calculi? Our research will lead to tools to automatically verify proof-calculi and will eventually help to avoid costly post-construction debugging.
Evidence-based frameworks for security protocol verification. Security protocols are an essential part of secure communication networks. This project aims to develop verification techniques for security protocols that produce independently verifiable formal certificates of correctness. The project's outcome will contribute to the certification processes for secure network systems at the highest level of assurance.
Visual interaction methods for clustered graphs. This project aims to improve human understanding of huge network data sets, such as those arising in social networks, biological networks, and very large software structures. The project will enable analysts to explore and interact with such data sets, leading to better understanding.
Mathematical, logical and computational foundations of hybrid control systems, and their application to design and synthesis problems in control engineering. Hybrid control systems are mathematical models of heterogeneous systems consisting of digital computer components interacting in real-time with continuous physical processes. Their many engineering applications include air traffic control, medical technology and automated transport. Motivated by such safety-critical and high-confidence appl ....Mathematical, logical and computational foundations of hybrid control systems, and their application to design and synthesis problems in control engineering. Hybrid control systems are mathematical models of heterogeneous systems consisting of digital computer components interacting in real-time with continuous physical processes. Their many engineering applications include air traffic control, medical technology and automated transport. Motivated by such safety-critical and high-confidence applications, the project aims to develop a unified framework of mathematical logics adequate to formally represent and reason about the structure, behaviour, and properties of hybrid control systems, and use this to develop methodologies for automatically synthesising hybrid control programs that are provably correct with respect to their specifications. Other outcomes include prototype software implementations of hybrid controller design tools.Read moreRead less
A formal foundation for security architecture. Security of computer systems is essential for the maintenance of privacy, confidentiality and integrity of personal, commercial and government data, and the trustworthiness of the computational devices that are embedded in critical societal infrastructure. However, current theoretical understanding of secure systems development is poor. The project will develop our understanding of an emerging approach to the design of secure systems and develop ver ....A formal foundation for security architecture. Security of computer systems is essential for the maintenance of privacy, confidentiality and integrity of personal, commercial and government data, and the trustworthiness of the computational devices that are embedded in critical societal infrastructure. However, current theoretical understanding of secure systems development is poor. The project will develop our understanding of an emerging approach to the design of secure systems and develop verification methods that may be applied to guarantee systems security. Its outcomes will contribute to processes for certifying systems at very high levels of security, a requirement in defence and government settings that will become increasingly significant in the commercial sector.Read moreRead less
Early detection of component incompatibility in time-dependent computer architectures. Complex real-time systems are increasingly being built by integrating off-the-shelf components. There are obvious benefits to this approach, but the hidden costs associated with integration are still a major problem. Our proposed approach will enable early detection of integration problems, and thus provide potential for large cost savings. This brings with it clear benefits to industry. One industry that woul ....Early detection of component incompatibility in time-dependent computer architectures. Complex real-time systems are increasingly being built by integrating off-the-shelf components. There are obvious benefits to this approach, but the hidden costs associated with integration are still a major problem. Our proposed approach will enable early detection of integration problems, and thus provide potential for large cost savings. This brings with it clear benefits to industry. One industry that would benefit by such technology is the Australian Navy, which is increasingly being confronted with the challenge of integrating off-the-shelf components in large Naval Combat Systems. Read moreRead less
Advanced Sweep-Line State Space Reduction Methods for Verification of Concurrent and Distributed Systems. The rigorous design and analysis of distributed systems, such as the Internet and its applications, is known to be a difficult problem. This project will develop new techniques for reducing the memory and time required for computer-aided verification of concurrent and distributed systems. The technique will be combined with other reduction techniques to increase their range of applicability. ....Advanced Sweep-Line State Space Reduction Methods for Verification of Concurrent and Distributed Systems. The rigorous design and analysis of distributed systems, such as the Internet and its applications, is known to be a difficult problem. This project will develop new techniques for reducing the memory and time required for computer-aided verification of concurrent and distributed systems. The technique will be combined with other reduction techniques to increase their range of applicability. The reduction techniques will be implemented and evaluated using important transaction protocols for electronic commerce and internet enabled wireless communications. The technique will also be applied to so called 'object-oriented' modelling languages.Read moreRead less
Exploring the Frontiers of Feasible Computation. The project aims to delineate the boundary between feasible and infeasible computational problems. A problem is considered feasible if there is an algorithm to solve it in worst-case time bounded by a polynomial in the input size. This is probably impossible for the important class of NP-complete problems. However, typical examples of NP-complete problems can often be solved in polynomial time, because worst-case problems are rare. The project is ....Exploring the Frontiers of Feasible Computation. The project aims to delineate the boundary between feasible and infeasible computational problems. A problem is considered feasible if there is an algorithm to solve it in worst-case time bounded by a polynomial in the input size. This is probably impossible for the important class of NP-complete problems. However, typical examples of NP-complete problems can often be solved in polynomial time, because worst-case problems are rare. The project is relevant to public-key cryptography, where breaking an encryption scheme should be infeasible, and to many real-life situations where NP-complete problems need to be solved, either exactly or approximately.Read moreRead less