Student Spotlight: Noam Zilberstein
February 2, 2026
Noam Zilberstein is a doctoral candidate in computer science from Amherst, Massachusetts. He earned his B.S. at the University of Pennsylvania and now studies programming language theory under the guidance of Alexandra Silva at Cornell.
What is your area of research and why is it important?
My research focuses on programming language theory, which uses mathematics to precisely define the behaviors of programs. Modern software increasingly relies on features like concurrency (many computations running at the same time) and randomness (which is essential for security and cryptography), making programs hard to understand and test and increasing the risk of errors and vulnerabilities. My research provides logical tools to ensure the correctness of those programs. A key contribution of my work is Outcome Logic, a unified framework that brings together previously separate techniques and enables reasoning about multiple complex features at the same time.
What are the larger implications of this research?
Software powers most aspects of the modern world, and when it is insecure or error-prone, the consequences can be severe. Those risks are amplified by the rise of AI: Safety-critical systems increasingly rely on components generated by opaque models, and AI systems now make autonomous decisions and control vehicles such as cars, trains, and airplanes. Looking ahead, software engineering will require not only expertise in writing code, but also the ability to evaluate large AI-generated components. Formal methods provide a rigorous foundation for such analysis, and the unified design of Outcome Logic allows it to be applied broadly across many kinds of software.
What inspired you to choose this field of study?
I first became interested in programming languages (PL) research during my undergraduate studies at Penn, though I was unsure how I could make a real impact. After graduating, I worked for six years as a software engineer on the Facebook programming languages and runtimes (PL&R) team, where I saw how PL technologies enable thousands of engineers to efficiently write high-quality code. However, the ideas that I really wanted to pursue were too speculative for an industry setting. With my newfound perspective about the pain points of modern programming, I returned to academia to get my Ph.D.
What does it mean to you to have been awarded the ACM SIGPLAN John Vlissides Award and a Distinguished Paper Award at the Principles of Programming Languages Conference?
Throughout my Ph.D. studies, I experienced many frustrating paper rejections. Although I remained excited about my research, it was often difficult to break through and receive broader recognition. Receiving the 2024 ACM SIGPLAN John Vlissides Award and a Distinguished Paper Award at the 2026 Principles of Programming Languages (POPL) conference was therefore an incredible honor. These recognitions affirmed that my ideas resonated with the community and that years of hard work and perseverance had paid off. More importantly, they strengthened my confidence in pursuing ambitious, foundational research and reinforced my commitment to advancing programming languages theory with long-term impact.
What are your hobbies or interests outside of your research or scholarship?
Despite the fact that I am getting a Ph.D. in computer science, I prefer to use computers as little as possible in my free time. I always enjoy taking on ambitious cooking projects such as baking bread or making fresh pasta and ravioli with creative fillings. I am also interested in both analogue and digital photography; it fascinates me how the exposure settings and lens selections on a dedicated camera give so much more creative control than a phone. When I need to relax, I enjoy walking in the park with my wife, Sarah, and our dog, Penny.
Why did you choose Cornell to pursue your degree?
I chose to pursue my degree at Cornell because of the exceptional breadth and depth of its programming languages research, past and present. From Robert Constable’s foundational research on proof assistants to Dexter Kozen’s seminal work on probabilistic programming and Kleene Algebra, Cornell has long been a pioneer in the field. This strong intellectual legacy continues through an active and diverse research community. Equally important, the computer science department’s friendly, open, and highly collaborative culture made Cornell stand out as a welcoming and supportive environment for doing research, learning from peers, and developing ambitious ideas over the course of my doctoral studies.