Dr. Christian Kästner

Biography

Christian Kästner is an Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. His research focuses on the complexities imposed by variability in software systems, developing mechanisms, languages, and tools to implement variability in a disciplined manner. His work addresses challenges such as feature interactions and interoperability issues while improving program comprehension in software systems characterized by high variability. Kästner has contributed significantly to projects like the TypeChef project, which provides approaches to type-check compile-time configurations in systems such as the Linux kernel. He explores quality assurance in highly-configurable software systems and investigates strategies for quality assurance across vast configuration spaces to detect variability bugs and feature interactions. His research includes variational analysis, variational type checking, and the examination of implementation mechanisms that support developers facing the limitations of traditional modularity. Kästner is also involved in discussions on maintenance and refactoring related to variability, focusing on reverse engineering and developer support in managing configurable software systems.

Research Interests

Experience