Clark Barrett

Clark Barrett is a Professor (Research) of Computer Science at Stanford University. Before coming to Stanford in 2016, he was an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. His expertise is in automated reasoning and its applications. His PhD dissertation (Stanford, 2003) introduced a novel automated reasoning technique now known as Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMT). He was an early pioneer in formal hardware verification as part of 0-in Design Automation (now part of Siemens/Mentor Graphics), where he helped build one of the first industrially successful assertion-based verification tool-sets for hardware. More recently, he has also pioneered techniques for applying formal methods to neural networks. His current work focuses on the development and application of automated reasoning techniques to improve reliability and security of software, hardware, and machine learning systems. He is the director of the Stanford Center for Automated Reasoning (Centaur) and co-director of the Stanford Center for AI Safety. He is an ACM Distinguished Scientist and a winner of the Computer Aided Verification (CAV) award in 2021 and 2024.