About
Professor Michael Butler is the Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering, a position he has held since January 2021. Before this role, he served in several key leadership positions at the University, including Associate Dean for Academic Infrastructure (2018-2020) and Associate Dean for Enterprise (2014-2018).
A distinguished computer scientist, Michael is renowned internationally for his pioneering work in developing and industrially deploying formal methods to ensure safety and security. Formal methods are mathematical modeling and analysis techniques used to increase the trustworthiness of software based systems. They are typically used for high integrity systems where software-induced failures could lead to loss of life or significant loss of business or reputation. He specialises in model-based methods, in particular a formal method called Event-B. His research work encompasses applications, tools and methodology for formal methods. He has played a leading role in development of analysis tools that are now used in industry and has made key theoretical and methodological contributions that enable scaling of analysis to large complex systems.
Michael's extensive collaborations with industry partners, such as Thales (rail systems, autonomous systems), Hitachi (autonomous systems), and Airbus, underscore his commitment to applying academic research to real-world challenges.
Michael is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and served as Chair of the International Federation for Information Processing Working Group WG 2.3 on Programming Methodology from 2013 to 2019. Additionally, he has chaired several international conferences on formal methods and is an active member of the editorial boards for several prestigious academic journals, including Formal Aspects of Computing, International Journal of Critical Computer-Based Systems, and Software Tools for Technology Transfer.