Remembering Rance Cleaveland (1961-2024)

University of Maryland Computer Science Professor Rance Cleaveland passed away on March 27, 2024. He was also associate dean for research in the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) and held joint appointments in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and the Institute for Systems Research.  

Cleaveland joined UMD in 2005 and served as executive and scientific director of the Fraunhofer Center for Experimental Software Engineering from 2005 to 2014. From 2018 to 2022, he worked as director of the Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF) at the National Science Foundation (NSF). He was named the college's associate dean for research in November 2022.

Cleaveland’s personal research focused on developing theoretical and applied methods for validating and verifying computer code, software packages and computing devices. He was a leading scholar in software systems, having published more than 150 papers in this area. He also served on several journal editorial boards and was co-founder and steering committee member of the International Conference on Tools and Algorithms for the Construction and Analysis of Systems, a leading conference in his research area.

Cleaveland received his M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from Cornell University in 1985 and 1987, respectively, and his B.S. in mathematics and computer science from Duke University in 1982. Before arriving at UMD, Cleaveland held faculty positions at Stony Brook University and North Carolina State University.