Fraol Batole

New Orleans, Louisiana

I am a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at Tulane University, where I recently transitioned with my advisor Prof. Hridesh Rajan. Prior to joining Tulane, I completed my Master’s degree at Iowa State University (ISU) and undertook graduate-level coursework at the University of North Dakota (UND). My academic journey began at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, where I earned my undergraduate degree in Software Engineering, graduating Magna cum laude.

Research

My research lies at the intersection of software engineering and artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on enhancing deep learning models and large language models (LLMs) through novel software engineering methodologies. My current research objectives include:

Program Analysis for LLMs: I am exploring LLM‑based agentic systems that bridge program analysis and natural‑language reasoning to automate complex software engineering tasks.
AI System Reliability: Investigating and improving the reliability of AI systems through empirical studies and automated analysis techniques. I also work on verifying and validating agents’ actions to ensure reliability and correctness in real‑world development workflows.

I am privileged to actively collaborate with distinguished researchers in the field, including Prof. Tien N. Nguyen and Prof. Danny Dig, whose expertise has significantly enriched my research perspective. My earlier work contributed to Boag, a shared data science infrastructure for bioinformatics.

news

Jun 05, 2025	Our paper “Together We Are Better: LLM, IDE and Semantic Embedding to Assist Move Method Refactoring” has been accepted at ICSME 2025! 🎉
May 01, 2025	Excited to share that I’ll be visiting Polytechnique Montréal to work with Prof. Foutse Khomh. This short-term research will focus on using formal methods for AI safety. I’ll be in Montréal until Aug 28, 2025. If you’re in the area and want to chat about research, AI safety, or anything else, feel free to reach out!
May 01, 2025	I presented my paper “An LLM-Based Agent-Oriented Approach for Automated Code Design Issue Localization” at ICSE 25 in Ottawa, Canada.
Aug 01, 2024	I moved to Tulane University with my advisor, Prof. Hridesh Rajan.
May 15, 2024	I completed my MSc degree in Computer Science at Iowa State University.

selected publications

ICSE’25

An LLM-Based Agent-Oriented Approach for Automated Code Design Issue Localization

Fraol Batole, David OBrien, Tien Nguyen N., and 2 more authors

In 2025 IEEE/ACM 45th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), 2025

Bib PDF

@inproceedings{batole2025localizeAgent,
  title = {An LLM-Based Agent-Oriented Approach for Automated Code Design Issue Localization},
  author = {Batole, Fraol and OBrien, David and Nguyen N., Tien and Dyer, Robert and Rajan, Hridesh},
  year = {2025},
  booktitle = {2025 IEEE/ACM 45th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)},
  publisher = {ICSE},
  organization = {IEEE},
}

IDE’25

IDE Native, Foundation Model Based Agents for Software Refactoring

Abhiram Bellur, and Fraol Batole

In 2nd IDE workshop co-located with 2025 IEEE/ACM 45th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), 2025

Bib PDF

@inproceedings{refactoringAgentPosition,
  title = {IDE Native, Foundation Model Based Agents for Software Refactoring},
  author = {Bellur, Abhiram and Batole, Fraol},
  year = {2025},
  booktitle = {2nd IDE workshop co-located with 2025 IEEE/ACM 45th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)},
  publisher = {IDE},
  organization = {IEEE},
}

FSE’25

IRepair: An Intent-Aware Approach to Repair Data-Driven Errors in Large Language Models

Sayem Mohammad Imtiaz, Astha Singh, Fraol Batole, and 1 more author

In ESEC/FSE’2025: The 33st ACM Foundations of Software Engineering, Trondheim, Norway, Jun 2025

Bib PDF

@inproceedings{imtiaz2025irepair,
  author = {Imtiaz, Sayem Mohammad and Singh, Astha and Batole, Fraol and Rajan, Hridesh},
  title = {IRepair: An Intent-Aware Approach to Repair Data-Driven Errors in Large Language Models},
  booktitle = {ESEC/FSE'2025: The 33st ACM Foundations of Software Engineering},
  location = {Trondheim, Norway},
  month = jun,
  year = {2025},
}

ICSME’25

Leveraging LLMs, IDEs, and Semantic Embeddings for Automated Move Method Refactoring

Fraol Batole, Abhiram Bellur, Malinda Dilhara, and 11 more authors

In ICSME’2025: The 41st IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, Auchland, New Zealand, Sep 2025

Bib PDF

@inproceedings{icsme2025mmpro,
  author = {Batole, Fraol and Bellur, Abhiram and Dilhara, Malinda and Zharov, Yaroslav and Bryksin, Timofey and Ishikawa, Kai and Chen, Haifeng and Morimoto, Masaharu and Shota, Motoura and Hosomi, Takeo and Nguyen, Tien N. and Rajan, Hridesh and Tsantalis, Nikolaos and Dig, Danny},
  title = {Leveraging LLMs, IDEs, and Semantic Embeddings for Automated Move Method Refactoring},
  booktitle = {ICSME'2025: The 41st IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution},
  location = {Auchland, New Zealand},
  month = sep,
  year = {2025},
}