KU EECS doctoral candidate receives Best Presentation Award at annual FM Doctoral Symposium
KU Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) doctoral candidate and Institute for Information Sciences (I2S) graduate research assistant Will Thomas received the Best Presentation Award for his research presentation at the annual FM (Formal Methods) Doctoral Symposium in Tokyo, Japan.
Thomas’ presentation, titled “Static Analysis and Synthesis of Layered Attestation Protocols,” focused on attestation, a technique used to establish trust between computer systems. In computer security, trust relationships between systems are often implicit and can be incorrect. Attestation addresses this challenge by enabling a system to provide evidence of its runtime behavior to a verifier, which can then make an informed decision about the system’s trustworthiness.
According to Thomas’ abstract, attestation is implemented through protocols, but the increasing complexity of modern computing systems makes it difficult to determine whether a protocol adequately measures a system, can be successfully executed, or satisfies other critical requirements.
“We address these challenges by creating a type system for the Copland attestation protocol specification language and a framework for the static analysis and synthesis of Copland protocols,” Thomas said. “This enables more robust and adaptable attestation mechanisms for dynamic systems.”
FM 2026, held May 18–22, marked the 27th International Symposium on Formal Methods. Organized by Formal Methods Europe (FME), an independent organization dedicated to advancing the use and research of formal methods in software and systems development, the symposium brings together researchers and industry practitioners to share advances in theory, tools, applications, and ongoing research. The FM Doctoral Symposium specifically highlights emerging research from doctoral students in the field.
Thomas is a graduate research assistant advised by Perry Alexander, director of I2S and AT&T Foundation Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.