Research topics

The theoretical computer science discusses the mathematical foundations and formal methods of computer science. Like the name of the professorship suggests, the formal languages are playing a major role.

Central terms of the theoretical computer science:

• Formal languages are an essential instrument of the theoretical computer science to formalise problem statements. They enable a structured and linearized representation of data. Applications in practice can be found, for example, in compiler construction. Known examples of formal languages that occur in practice are programming languages or HTML and XML.

• From a mathematical point of view the computability theory deals with the idea of the calculation, or the algorithm. Different models for composing the idea of the calculation are considered and their possibilities are explored.

• Complexity Theory: In addition to the question of how a problem can be solved algorithmically, the question of the efficiency of such an algorithmic solution is a fundamental component of computer science. The theory of complexity deals with the question of the required resources to solve a problem.

We deal with the following topics:

• In the Circuit Complexity, circuits, instead of sequential machines, are considered as a calculation model. Here, too, various dimensions can be found for the complexity of a problem. Circuits have a close connection to parallel calculation models.

• The omnipresence of computers in daily life, even in safety-critical areas such as in cars, requires the possibility to check the correctness of hardware and software systems. An important approach is the so-called Model Checking. Here, systems are represented by finite automata and are verified against a specification described by logical formulas.

• Cryptology

• Parameterized algorithms

You can find more about the individual areas under Research.