Zachary Tatlock / About

My research interests include compilers, term rewriting, numerics, formal verification, and computational fabrication. Outside of the lab, I help organize our running club, attempt small knitting projects, and practice cooking vegan food. I can juggle and solve Rubik’s cubes, but not at the same time. Also, my name has a wicked cool anagram.

I spent six sunny years at UC San Diego working on my PhD with my incredible advisor Sorin Lerner. Throughout grad school, Sorin set a stellar example of how remarkable doing research can be when you put students first, an example I strive to emulate. I also learned many invaluable lessons from the great Ranjit Jhala, especially when it comes to writing and presentation: less is more!

I graduated from Purdue University back in Spring 2007 with degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics. As an undergraduate, I was fortunate to work with Suresh Jagannathan on the SML compiler MLton. For our Honors Project, advised by Antony Hosking, my good friend Bill Harris and I designed and implemented a domain specific language to control a giant neon sculpture over the web. I also ran the lab component of Purdue’s introductory Java programming course for three years.

Miscellaneous Photos

We have a great running group, Race Condition Running, that trots all over Seattle and gets brunch each week.

I am a big fan of Baja hoodies. Luckily the UW PLSE faculty also have incredible fashion sense.

I help out with a bunch of stuff around the Allen School, including TGIF. Sometimes famous guests swing by :)

David Walker, UW Dubs, and Zachary Tatlock at CSE TGIF

I also work with Hank Levy and Adriana Schulz to write the annual faculty skit where we dress up and try to take things a little less seriously.

Zachary Tatlock as Charlie Brown in UW CSE Faculty Skit

There is always something happening in the Allen School; it can be tricky to juggle everything going on 🤹

Zachary Tatlock juggling

Once while interning at MSR India, I got to drive an auto rickshaw.

Zachary Tatlock driving an auto rickshaw

Academic Ancestry

My academic genealogy has some interesting characters:

Erdős Number

The best bound I know for my Erdős number, is 4 via James:

Zachary Tatlock Erdős number via James Wilcox

or via Pavel:

Zachary Tatlock Erdős number via Pavel Panchekha

or via Tom:

Zachary Tatlock Erdős number via Tom Anderson

Collaborator Alphabet Soup: Gotta Catch ’Em All

I have been very fortunate to work on projects with many amazing collaborators. If your first name starts with:

F, Q, U

or your last name starts with:

I, U, V, X, Y

let’s write a paper together!

Conspiracy Theories

Did you know the clock on your wall is probably lying to you? If you thought daylight savings was bad, wait till you hear about timezones!

Conference Trailers

I played a small part in the ICFP 2021 trailer, working with John Leo and Chandrakana Nandi:

I helped my friends Alexandra Silva, Ron Garcia, Loris D’Antoni, Deian Stefan, and Nadia Polikarpova put together the conference trailers for POPL 2022: