Photo of Mara Downing

About

I obtained my PhD in Computer Science from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2025, with my thesis focusing on quantitative verification and testing of neural networks in the Verification Lab. Prior to my graduate studies at UCSB I received my Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Harvey Mudd College in 2020.

My broad research interests are in all types of software verification, and my current focus is utilizing software verification and testing techniques including symbolic execution, model counting, and coverage-guided fuzzing to evaluate artificial intelligence systems.