There might not be any local profs doing software verification/correctness proofs so maybe I could find someone out of the area who would be open to a phone call and working by email.I would also look into open source projects. Not to be too much of a dream killer, but professors are unlikely to want to work with a non grad student at their university, simply because of a lack of free time and accessibility to you personally. (At the very least, this seems like something that most faculty I know would be hesitant to do because it's not at all in their best interests...)