Robin Messer

I joined Altran Praxis on graduating from the University of York (BEng Computer Science). At Praxis I gained experience working as a programmer, firstly on a safety-related medical project using C, then moving on to work on an Air Traffic Control system. During this time I realised the value of producing formal specifications in Z and VDM before diving in and hacking the code. Later, I spent some time working with SPARK and static code analysis on aerospace projects, then saw all the elements of the Praxis “Correctness by Construction” approach come together on a highly secure (and very low defect) banking system specified in Z and implemented in SPARK.

I project-managed some interesting automotive safety work for Praxis, then moved to Westinghouse Rail Systems where I worked on the safety assurance of a new radio-based metro signalling and train control system. The most critical parts of the system were implemented in SPARK.

I returned to Altran Praxis in 2006, working in the SPARK team on the UML-to-SPARK toolkit, general SPARK toolset development, frontline support and training.

Outside of work I enjoy photography, cycling and running – I completed my second London Marathon in 2009.