Aren A. Babikian

I am an Assistant Professor of Software Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

My research interests focus on safety assurance for AI-enabled Cyber-Physical Systems. I study how safety can be assessed end-to-end across the system lifecycle through approaches that ensure rigorous coverage of the system’s operational space. My work focuses on deriving trustworthy safety arguments that reduce deployment risks and strengthen societal confidence in AI-driven systems.

Interested in learning more? Visit my Research Group page for research details and future student-project updates.

I’m actively looking for motivated PhD and Masters students to join my team! If you are interested in pursuing research in these areas, please visit the Join the Team page.

About

From 2024 to 2026, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto, Canada, supervised by Professor Marsha Chechik. In 2024, I received my Ph.D. from McGill University, supervised by Professors Gunter Mussbacher and Dániel Varró. Prior to my Ph.D., in 2018, I completed my B.Eng in Computer Engineering at McGill University. During my Ph.D., I completed a research internship in the Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) Group at NVIDIA (2022), and two internships as an Applied Scientist in the Automated Reasoning Group at Amazon Web Services (AWS) (2020, 2021).

Research interests

• Safety engineering via formal assurance cases
• Automated graph model generation from formal specifications
• Scenario-based testing of autonomous vehicles
• Data-driven refinement of CPS specifications
• Neuro-symbolic approaches for explainability in AI
• Formal verification in requirements engineering
• Software product line engineering

Beyond Research

Outside of work, I enjoy staying active, especially by playing futsal. A recent highlight was taking part in the Ontario Futsal Cup Final in 2026.

I also enjoy being involved in Armenian arts and culture, especially through music and dance. Over the years, I have sung in choirs within the Armenian community of Montreal, including in a performance of Komitas’ Divine Liturgy in 2023. I have also performed with the Hamazkayin ANI Dance Ensemble, including in a recent show in 2025.