Rate My Professor Eric Bodden

Prof. Dr. Eric Bodden holds the position of Professor for Secure Software Engineering at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute of Paderborn University since January 2016. He simultaneously serves as Director for Software Engineering and IT-Security at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechatronic Systems Design IEM since the same date. Bodden is also Head of the Secure Software Engineering group and involved with the Software Innovation Campus Paderborn. His prior academic career includes a W3 cooperative professorship for Secure Software Engineering at TU Darmstadt and Fraunhofer SIT from 2013 to 2015, independent research group leadership at TU Darmstadt's EC SPRIDE with an Emmy Noether Fellowship from 2011 to 2013, and a postdoctoral position in Prof. Mira Mezini's group at TU Darmstadt from 2009 to 2011. Educationally, he conducted PhD studies from 2006 to 2009 at McGill University in Montréal, Canada, advised by Laurie Hendren; studied Computer Science at RWTH Aachen University from 1999 to 2005; and participated in an ERASMUS exchange at the University of Kent, UK, from 2002 to 2003.

Bodden's research centers on secure software engineering, specializing in highly precise tools for automated program analysis to create attack-resistant software and secure AI applications. He collaborates with leading software companies and addresses key questions on supporting software engineers against attacks. Notable publications encompass FlowDroid: Precise Context-, Flow-, Field-, Object-sensitive and Lifecycle-aware Taint Analysis for Android Apps (PLDI 2014, recipient of PLDI Most Influential Paper Award and Artifact Evaluation Award); Context-, Flow-, and Field-sensitive Data-flow Analysis Using Synchronized Pushdown Systems (POPL 2019, ACM Distinguished Paper Award and Artifact Evaluation Award); IccTA: Detecting Inter-Component Privacy Leaks in Android Apps (ICSE 2015, ICSE Most Influential Paper Award); Just-in-Time Static Analysis (ISSTA 2017, Distinguished Paper Award and Artifact Evaluation Award); and SPLLIFT: Statically Analyzing Software Product Lines in Minutes Instead of Years (PLDI 2013). His work has garnered six ACM Distinguished Paper Awards and two Most Influential Paper Awards. Bodden received the ERC Advanced Grant in 2024 for Self-Optimizing Static Program Analysis, Acatech membership in 2024, ACM Distinguished Member status in 2019, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis in 2014, Emmy Noether Fellowship in 2012, German IT-Sicherheitspreis first place in 2016 (second place 2014 by his group), and ACM Student Research Competition win in 2005. He serves on the DFG review board for Software Engineering and Programming Languages and is recognized as a leading expert in the field.