Carl Gunter

Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1985

Research Statement

Carl Gunter has made research contributions in the semantics of programming languages, formal analysis of networks and security, and privacy.

His contributions to the semantics of programming languages include the interpretation of subtypes using implicit coercions, type inference for continuations and prompts, the use of Grothendieck fibrations as a model of parametric polymorphism, the mixed powerdomain, and the use of Petri nets as a model of linear logic. His 1992 textbook and his chapter in the Handbook of Theoretical Computer Science are standard references on the semantics of programming languages. He has also served extensively as research consultant and expert witness on programming languages. Gunter’s contributions to the formal analysis of networks and security include the Packet Language for Active Networks (PLAN), the WRSPM reference model for requirements and specifications, the first formal analyses of Internet and ad hoc routing protocols, the Verisim system for analyzing network simulations, and the use of bandwidth as a DoS countermeasure. His work on privacy includes the first research on certificate retrieval for trust management and the formal analysis of regulatory privacy rules. He founded Probaris Technologies, a company in the Philadelphia area that provides credentials for employees of government agencies such as the Social Security Administration and the Patent and Trade Office.

His most recent research directions include the security of control systems, including Building Automation Systems (BASs), power substations, and Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI). He is also developing the use of attribute-based systems for messaging and security.