Daniel Britten Email & Phone Number

New Zealand

Working on the Clear - An interactive formal verification tool for Yul programs - as an intern with the Nethermind Formal Verification team.For more information about Clear, see: https://github.com/NethermindEth/Clear

Making use of the proof assistant Coq, this role involves mechanising a logic for veracity (which relates to truth, authenticity, demonstrability and trust). See https://github.com/Coda-Coda/Veracity-Logic-Mechanised for the source code related to this work.

Thesis title: "Building trustworthy smart contracts using interactive theorem proving"Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/16566. Requirements of the PhD degree have been completed, graduating in October 2024.Abstract:There are varying approaches to the verification of smart contracts using formal methods. This thesis advocates for the use of high-level specifications coupled with a verified compiler to low-level bytecode, such as for the Ethereum Virtual Machine. Taking this approach allows for specifications to more closely match natural language, while ensuring that the specifications apply to the real bytecode executed on-chain.Interactive theorem proving can provide the foundation for developing provably correct smart contracts. Due to the immutable nature of smart contracts and their potential to manage highly valuable assets and tokens representing power, techniques to ensure their correctness are of paramount importance.This thesis extends the DeepSEA (Deep Simulation of Executable Abstractions) smart contract language targeting the Ethereum Virtual Machine by mitigating the issues associated with reentrancy and introducing a model of relevant aspects of a blockchain. This enables the specification and verification of two case studies which exemplify the approach of developing provably correct smart contracts.The specifications for the case studies are written in the language of the Coq Proof Assistant, making arbitrary mathematical statements expressible. The blockchain model enables stating and proving temporal properties relating to the execution of smart contract over time.While smart contracts are an ideal application area for formal methods in general and interactive theorem proving in particular, the techniques exemplified in this thesis could be applied throughout software engineering. Future work could involve demonstrating the applicability to many interrelated smart contracts and to larger software projects in different domains.

Auckland, New Zealand

Collated information relating to "Blockchain Technology for Music Streaming" in NVivo (qualitative data analysis software).

Auckland, New Zealand

Teaching school-age students coding, robotics, game design, 3D-printing and related technology skills. Working as part of a team to bring joy and share a passion for tech with the students.

Auckland, New Zealand

Creating teaching resources to be used in new Computer Science courses at the University of Auckland.

Liaising with the owner of Live-wire Learning working on new features and incremental improvements primarily for http://my.livewirelearning.co.nz.Key technologies involved: SQL, HTML/Javascript, JQuery and Classic ASP.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Computer Science

Thesis title: "Building trustworthy smart contracts using interactive theorem proving" Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/16566..

Bachelor Of Science (Honours), Computer Science, First Class Honours

Bachelor’S Degree, Computer Science And Logic And Computation