The transition from geophysics to software reliability defines the professional trajectory of Les Hatton, a British computer scientist and mathematician born in 1948. His career encompasses foundational research into the mechanics of software failures, moving from complex physical simulations to the formal study of vulnerabilities inherent in commercial embedded control systems and language-specific programming risks.
Early Academic Training
Hatton began his formal education at King's College, Cambridge, where he studied from 1967 until 1970. He subsequently attended the University of Manchester. His postgraduate research focused on two distinct physical phenomena: he earned a Master of Science degree for his investigation into electrostatic waves within relativistic plasma, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in 1973. His doctoral dissertation specialized in computational fluid dynamics, specifically addressing the physics of tornadoes.
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Early in his professional life, Hatton focused on geophysics. This field remained his primary area of practice for nearly two decades, leading to significant recognition for his computational contributions. In 1987, he received the Conrad Schlumberger Award, an honor reflecting his impact on computational geophysics. For much of his career, he operated within the private sector, notably working with Oakwood Computing Associates.
Evolution into Software Forensic Engineering
During the early 1990s, Hatton shifted his focus toward the analysis of systems and software failure. His body of work includes four books and more than 100 peer-reviewed journal publications. Notably, he authored Safer C, a text that advocated for the adoption of safer language subsets for commercial embedded control systems. His research has appeared in outlets including Nature, IEEE Computer, IEEE Software, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, and IEEE Computational Science and Engineering. Between 1997 and 2001, the Journal of Systems and Software recognized him as a leading scholar in his field.
Current Academic and Research Interests
Hatton serves as a professor of Forensic Software Engineering at Kingston University in London. His recent scholarly output demonstrates a broad range of interests beyond software safety, including the aerodynamics of javelins and the study of artificial complexity observed in mobile phone charging systems. Additionally, he has developed novel bibliographic search algorithms designed to identify patterns within unstructured text from defect databases.
Fast facts
- Born: 1948
- Citizenship: United Kingdom
- Education: King's College, University of Manchester
- PhD year: 1973
- Major award: 1987 Conrad Schlumberger Award
- Current position: Professor of Forensic Software Engineering, Kingston University
Questions readers ask
What is the primary focus of Hatton's forensic software work?
He concentrates on analyzing failures and vulnerabilities in software-controlled systems.
What was the subject of his doctoral research?
His 1973 PhD work focused on computational fluid dynamics as applied to tornadoes.
Achievements
- Held posts at Kingston University
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