Mrigank Pawagi

      I am a senior pursuing mathematics and computing at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. I am interested in research involving software engineering, specifically software testing and software quality, and the application of large language models (LLMs) for automating such work with high precision.

GlueTest

A significant portion of my prior research efforts have been directed towards developing GlueTest with Salman Abid, Darko Marinov, Saikat Dutta, and other collaborators. GlueTest is a framework for testing code translated from one programming language to another, using language-interoperability.
(ICSME NIER '24. Blog post.)

During my research visit to UIUC, I worked with Ali Reza Ibrahimzada from the Intelligent CAT Lab on developing a repository-level automated code translation tool, AlphaTrans, where GlueTest became a key component in automatically validating LLM-generated translations and providing focused feedback to the LLM for bug repair.
(FSE '25. Blog post.)

LLMs for Triaging and Fixing Static Analysis Alerts

I am currently working as a Research Intern at Microsoft Research in Bengaluru on using LLMs and symbolic tools for automatically triaging static analysis alerts on large codebases and generating patches for security vulnerabilities or other bugs.
(Blog post.)

More on Software Quality

In my recent work with Wenxi Wang and other collaborators, I studied ambiguities occuring in Internet Protocol specifications and developed an LLM-based tool for automatically detecting such ambiguities. Our work discovered several previously unreported ambiguities in recent DNS-related specifications, many of which have been confirmed by the authors of those documents.
(Appearing in ASE '25. Draft, Poster, Slides, Video, Blog post.)

I have also briefly worked with Utah PLT through UCSC OSPO on benchmarking the performance of Static Python with different levels of gradual typing.
(Blog posts 1, 2, 3.)

Specifications in Programming Pedagogy

I started my undergraduate research journey with Viraj Kumar with whom I have had the pleasure to discuss and explore several interesting topics related to software engineering pedagogy. One line of my work with him involved creating GuardRails, a tool to help students write better specifications by automatically discovering ambiguities in their function specifications. We also developed Probeable Problems which challenge students to ask clarifying questions about the problem statement presented to them.
(ICER '24. COMPUTE '23. Blog post.)

Fun Facts

Name trivia

• The a in my first name is pronounced like the a in "pass". The last name is pronounced like "paa-vuh-gee".
• The Marathi pronunciation of my first name is like Mrugank, where the u is like the u in "put" (and with a as above). I like the sound of this pronunciation (maybe because I am partly Marathi).
• I couldn't correctly pronounce my name until the age of 7.

The most widely known meaning of my name in many Indian languages is "moon".

The explanation for this is that Mrigank means "deer-marked," coming from the combination, i.e., the samaas, of the Sanskrit words mriga (meaning "deer") and anka (meaning "mark" or "spot"). Though it has been used poetically to describe the moon in many Indian texts, it is not clear to me why the moon would be thought of as deer-marked. I have come across the following two theories.

• This could be a reference to a deer-shaped pareidolic image seen on the moon's surface.
• This could be a reference to the bright white-colored dots on the moon's surface which may resemble the spots on a deer. These dots are formed from fresh meteoritic impacts which expose the bright subsurface material on the moon.

While this may not in itself be very convincing, there is evidence from Indian literature that points toward this meaning. Some examples are listed below.

• The ancient Indian astronomer-astrologer Varahamihira used this term in his Brihat Jataka to refer to the moon.
• The Nidhanpur copperplate inscription mentions that the 11th king of the Varman dynasty, Susthitavarman, was named Sri Mriganka at birth. The inscription describes Sri Mriganka as having no blemishes or spots just like the moon.

Favorites

• My favorite music is all the music from TØP. |-/
• My favorite musical instrument is the ukulele. I have recently started learning to play it!
• My favorite sports are badminton and running.

Digital rebellion

• I do not use WhatsApp.
• I use an almost entirely de-Googled Android phone.
• I have turned off my accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. An archive of my LinkedIn posts is available here, and an archive of the last version of my LinkedIn profile is available here. My Twitter archive is available here.
• I pay to keep news free.

Vault from the multiverse

• My sister has a cool website that you should definitely check out.
• When I was in high-school, I thought I could solve any problem in the world by making a website for it. Here is my maker-portfolio from high-school.
• My closest call with art was probably when my entry to the Desmos Global Math Art Contest 2021 was selected as a finalist. This was over a decade after I previously peaked at art in first grade when I won a consolation prize at Chinmaya Mission's Rang Bharo contest in Noida.

30-minute Guidance Sessions

I am committing 1 hour every week to help high school and undergraduate students with guidance related to academics, career, research, or anything else they would like to discuss. You can book a 30-minute slot with me using this Calendly link. I will give priority to junior students and those from underrepresented backgrounds or disadvantaged situations.