Xinyu Zhang

I am Xinyu Zhang, a Ph.D. student at East China Normal University, advised by Jianwen Li. My research develops automated verification techniques that combine formal methods with AI, with the goal of making software correctness more scalable and trustworthy.

Research Interests

Program Verification via Model Checking. I verify safety properties of C programs by encoding them into transition systems and applying model-checking algorithms such as IC3/PDR, CAR, and BMC. I build C2Btor, a tool that translates C programs into BTOR2 models for hardware model checkers, with the broader goal of reducing manual invariants and annotations.

AI for Formal Methods (AI4FM). I study how large language models can assist formal specification, invariant generation, and proof engineering, while keeping the final verification sound.

SMT and CHC Solving. I work on decision procedures and solving algorithms for satisfiability modulo theories and constrained Horn clauses, focusing on the algorithmic and performance bottlenecks that limit verification tools.

Previously, I received my M.Eng. in Cyberspace Security from Guangzhou University, advised by Prof. Hanpin Wang, and my B.Eng. in Network Engineering from Southwest Jiaotong University, advised by Prof. Keming Wang.

Outside of research, I enjoy working out and hiking.