International institute honors UNL researcher for advancing technology

            A University of Nebraska-Lincoln software engineer's extraordinary record of accomplishment in advancing technology has earned him the title of fellow in a prestigious international organization.

            Matthew Dwyer, professor of computer science and engineering, has been named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Known as the IEEE, it is the world's largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. The institute has more than 400,000 members in 160 countries and works to advance technology through highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities.

            Dwyer's primary research area is in software dependability with an emphasis on methods for assuring the correct operation of software used in cars, airplanes and spacecraft, among other things. Other researchers commonly reference his work -- a sign of his influence within his field. In recent years, he was honored by two international software engineering organizations for co-authoring the decade's most influential paper. That paper proposed an analytical method of detecting software bugs.

            The institute cited Dwyer's contributions to "specification, testing, analysis and verification of concurrent software." Unlike a text editor or spreadsheet program, concurrent software involves the coordinated execution of multiple sub-programs. For example, a car may have dozens of networked computers each running independent sub-programs to control braking, traction control and engine functions. Those programs must coordinate their work for the car to run properly, but correctly orchestrating a set of programs is difficult. Dwyer has developed techniques to assist software engineers in pinpointing hard-to-find errors in such systems, which makes the software more dependable.

            Dwyer is one of 297 fellows selected for 2013.

Writer: Jean Ortiz Jones