The Process Engineering, Security and Testing Research Lab was formed in 2012 and complements the Department of Computer Science's focus on the area of Dependable Systems. As the name implies, the group approaches the problem of building dependable systems from three directions. The first thrust is the application of computer science concepts and techniques in software testing and static analysis. However, experience shows that a key component of the success of such techniques depends on how they are applied and integrated within the development process. Hence the group has a another focus on development process engineering. Finally, without a security framework permeating software development efforts, software cannot really be considered dependable. Our third offshoot is dedicated to security techniques where protection mechanisms for various platforms are developed based on static and dynamic analysis of binaries.

Although the group is still in its infancy, it already offers relevant academic courses and dissertations at both undergraduate and graduate levels. A number of research funding proposals have also been submitted.