Rate My Professor Ali Babar

Professor Ali Babar is a Professor of Software Engineering in the School of Computer Science at the University of Adelaide. He obtained his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of New South Wales between 2003 and 2007, and his MSc in Computing from the University of Technology Sydney between 1998 and 1999. His career trajectory includes serving as Reader in Software Engineering at Lancaster University in 2013, Associate Professor at the IT University of Copenhagen from 2009 onwards, Senior Researcher and Project Leader at Lero, the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre, University of Limerick from 2007 to 2009, and Researcher at National ICT Australia from 2003 to 2007. Prior to academia, he worked as a Senior Research Officer at JRCASE, a joint research centre of CSIRO and Macquarie University from 2001 to 2003, and as a software engineer and IT consultant.

Babar's research interests center on software engineering, particularly secure software systems and services for emerging technologies including cloud computing, edge computing, Internet of Things, and big data. He investigates the intersection of software engineering, artificial intelligence such as machine learning and natural language processing, and cyber security, utilizing empirical research methods. He established and leads the CREST – Centre for Research on Engineering Software Technologies at the University of Adelaide. With over 17,763 citations and an h-index of 66, his influence is substantial. Key publications include the edited books 'Agile Software Architecture: Aligning Agile Processes and Software Architectures' (2013, Morgan Kaufmann) and 'Software Architecture Knowledge Management: Theory and Practice' (2009, Springer), as well as recent ACM Computing Surveys articles: 'A Survey on Data-driven Software Vulnerability Assessment and Prioritization' (2023), 'Security for Machine Learning-based Software Systems: A Survey of Threats, Practices, and Challenges' (2024), and 'A Multivocal Review of MLOps Practices, Challenges and Open Issues' (2026). Awards include designation of his paper as the most influential at the Australasian Software Engineering Conference in 2014 and multiple best paper awards at international conferences. He has led major grants, including the University of Adelaide's participation in the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre with an estimated A$140 million budget over seven years.