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["Black, Paul E. (Fed)" <paul.black AT nist.gov>]

                         CALL FOR POSITION STATEMENTS
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                   Formal Methods for Statistical Software

                                  1 May 2019
                         Historic Inns, Annapolis, MD
              https://samate.nist.gov/FMSwVRodeo/FMfSS2019.html
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Statistical software and related data analysis pose different challenges
than typical software.  A simplistic pseudorandom number generator may offer
sufficient randomness for a video game, but be inadequate for valid Monte
Carlo simulation or other stochastic algorithms.  Likewise, erroneous
implementations of mathematical functions may generate results that look
correct, but which fail in unpredictable ways—examples of which include both
errors in floating point division implementations and bugs in differential
privacy implementations that leak confidential data into supposedly
“privatized” outputs.  Such errors are typically missed by traditional
testing.

Formal methods can complement testing to gain greater assurance that
critical portions of programs are correct and that results are valid.
Although there is a vast expanse of formal methods, tools, and techniques,
they are rarely applied to such software.  This workshop asks, what formal
methods can mitigate, detect, correct, or preclude flaws in statistical
software or errors of incorrect use?

SUBMISSION

We call for position statements from one to three paragraph long.  Position
statements may be on topics like the following:
  - types of errors, bugs, and failures in statistical software or its use
  - formal methods that can assure statistical software or its results
  - correct-by-construction approaches
  - lists or definitions of important properties, such as convergence and
    differential privacy
  - gaps in current capabilities and specific research needed
  - higher-level, non-procedural languages or tools so a statistician
    can specify the desired analysis instead of how to achieve it
  - approaches to gain assurance in statistical software and its use

Submit position statements through EasyChair by 2 March 2019:
https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=fmfss2019
Based in part on position statements, we will invite presentations no later
than 1 April 2019.  Attendance space is limited.

IMPORTANT DATES:

2 March: Position statement submission deadline
1 April: Presenter invitation
1 May: Workshop

PUBLICATION:

We will publish a workshop report, including selected position statements,
in autumn.

The output of this workshop will inform a white paper on formal methods for
statistical software and also the Rodeo for Production Software Verification
Tools based on Formal Methods: https://samate.nist.gov/FMSwVRodeo/

PEOPLE:

Co-Chairs
Paul E. Black                   
paul.black AT nist.gov
Simson L. Garfinkel             
simson.l.garfinkel AT census.gov

Program Committee
Jim Alves-Foss  (U Idaho)
Rance Cleaveland        (NSF)
Alan Heckert    (NIST)
Martin Klein            (U.S. Census Bureau)
Rick Kuhn               (NIST)
Stephen Magill  (Galois)
Edward "Ned" Porter     (U.S. Census Bureau)
John Henry Scott        (NIST)
Ray Richards            (DARPA)
Eric Smith              (Kestrel Institute)
Matt Wilding    (Rockwell Collins)
Huan Xu                 (U Maryland)

-paul-
Paul E. Black             100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8970
paul.black AT nist.gov
       Gaithersburg, Maryland  20899-8970
voice: +1 301 975-4794    fax: +1 301 975-6097
http://hissa.nist.gov/~black/