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The UCSD Meaning and Computation Lab is concerned with both human aspects
of information technology, and technical aspects of meaning, including the
semantics of software and hardware systems. Much of our current research
involves the Tatami project, which is
building tools to support distributed cooperative work over the World Wide
Web, particularly the design, construction, evaluation and verification of
concurrent distributed systems. The main tools being developed for this
project are the Kumo proof
assistant and proof website generator, and the BOBJ system for behavioral specification
and verification.
Much of our recent formal research has been concerned with hidden algebra, which gives an
effective proof theory and semantics for concurrent distributed systems.
Hidden algebra is not only intended to ease mechanical proofs, but also to
subsume semantic aspects of abstract data types, process algebra, transisition
systems, and related formalisms. The most important new proof techniques are
forms of coinduction, which have been implemented in the BOBJ and Kumo
systems. This project was initially supported by the large international CafeOBJ Project (see
also the CafeOBJ Project Press
Release), and is now supported by the National Science Foundation. We are exploring
applications to practical software engineering, including web-based
distributed cooperative design and refinement of object systems, algebraic
approaches to architecture
description, and database integration. An
additional topic is the theory of
institutions, an abstraction of the notion of logical system; this
area is a sort of "logic of logics," and the most recent research concerns
morphisms of institutions, which are translations among logical systems.
User interface design
is another research focus in the lab, with the user interfaces of Kumo being a
major case study. An important technique in this effort is algebraic semiotics, which
combines algebraic semantics with social semiotics, and allows us to design
novel data structures that support logical, cognitive and social aspects of
cooperative work. A basic new concept here is that of semiotic morphism, which
captures the notion of representation, so that it can be studied rigorously.
See the "world famous" UC San Diego Semiotic Zoo for an astonishing
collection of semiotic morphisms, each an exotic example of bad design arising
through failure to preserve some relevant structure. Two related topics are
narrative structure and blending. For a systematic exposition of some basics,
see the website of the course CSE
271 on user interface design.
We are also concerned with ethical aspects of
artificial systems, including information technology and music; with requirements capture and
analysis, particularly its social side; with social, cognitive, and
mathematical models of computation, including the problem of consciousness;
and with social aspects of science
and technology. For a systematic exposition of some basics, see the
website of the courses CSE
275 and CSE 175
(previously named CSE
190B).
See also my research projects
homepage for further related information.
Personnel
- Joseph Goguen, Professor of Computer Science
and Engineering, UCSD
- Gill Williamson, Professor of Computer Science
and Engineering, UCSD
- Kai Lin, Doctoral Student, Dept of
Computer Science and Engineering, UCSD
- "Jenny" Guilian Wang, Doctoral Student, Dept
of Computer Science and Engineering, UCSD
- Fox Harrell, Doctoral Student, Dept of Computer Science and Engineering,
UCSD
- Prof Young-Kwang Nam, Department of Computer Science, Yonsei University,
Seoul, Korea
- Dr Charlotte Linde, Senior Research Scientist, NASA Ames, Mountain View
CA
- Lisa Tolentino, a UCSD
undergraduate who is working on algorithms for blending
- We are also actively working with Dr Gregore Rosu, Assistant
Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (formerly at NASA Ames,
Automated Software Engineering Group), Dr. Grant Malcolm of the University of
Liverpool, members of the Oxford University Declarative
Group, Dr. Razvan Diaconescu of
the Institute of Mathematics of the Romanian Academy, Prof. Rod Burstall of
the University of Edinburgh, Prof. Amilcar Sernadas of the
Technical University of Lisbon, Dr. Andrius Kulikauskas of the Minciu Sodas Lab in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Joe Kiniry
of Cal Tech and DaliLab.
Visitors, Friends and Alumni
- Prof. Rod Burstall,
University of Edinburgh, UK, 10 - 30 November 2000.
- Prof. Virgil Emil
Cazanescu, University of Bucharest, Romania, June-July 1999, August 2000.
- Joe Kiniry, Cal Tech, May
2000.
- Dr. Neil Ghani,
University of Leicester, United Kingdom, April 2000.
- Prof. Kokichi Futatsugi,
of JAIST (Japan), the Japan Advanced
Institute of Science and Technology, October 1998, March 1999, November 2000.
- Prof. Almira Karabeg, Visiting Scholar, from Dept. Computer Science,
University of Oslo; 1998, and summers 1999, 2000.
- Bogdan Warinschi, Doctoral Student, Dept of
Computer Science and Engineering, UCSD, September 1998 to May 2000.
- Prof Cristian Calude,
University of Auckland, January 1999.
- Dr Akira Mori, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, March
1996 to July 1998, November 1999, November 2000.
- Prof.
Peter Padawitz, Universitaet Dortmund, October 1998.
- Akiyoshi Sato, Industrial Visitor from NEC, from March 1997 to March 1998.
- Prof Eric Livingston, Visiting Scholar, from Dept. of Sociology, Armadale
University, Armadale, Australia, from February to June 1997.
Some Research Topic Links
Also see my publications and research projects homepages.
Other Links
See my What's Cool page for
many other links.
Some Educational Links
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