Category Archives: Events

DEI Talks | “The impact of link recommendation algorithms on human social dynamics” by Prof. Fernando Santos (University of Amsterdam)

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The talk entitled “The impact of link recommendation algorithms on human social dynamics” will be presented by Prof. Fernando Pascoal dos Santos (University of Amsterdam) on March the 20th, at 11:00, in room I-105. The session will be moderated by Prof. Sérgio Nunes (DEI).

About the Talk:

“Online social networks increasingly shape human beliefs and behavior. In these environments, algorithms to personalize contents and provide recommendations are pervasive. Link recommendation algorithms are implemented to recommend new connections to online platforms users, based on supposed familiarity, similar interests, or the potential to serve as a source of useful information. These algorithms influence the evolution of social networks, yet their long-term impacts on human social dynamics remain unclear. In this talk, I will discuss models to study such effects. I will discuss how algorithmic link recommendations interplay with opinion dynamics, and the potential long-term impacts of such algorithms on polarization. I will also discuss methods based on agentic multi-systems, powered by LLMs, to test social media interventions aiming at mitigating polarized dynamics. We will observe that preferentially establishing links with structurally similar nodes (i.e., sharing many neighbors) results in network topologies that are amenable to opinion polarization.”

About the Speaker:

Fernando P. Santos is an Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam. He is a member of the Socially Intelligent Artificial Systems group, where he leads the Prosocial Dynamics Lab. Fernando’s research lies at the interface of AI and Complex Systems: he is interested in understanding behavioral dynamics in systems of adaptive learning agents and designing (pro)Social AI. Previously, Fernando was a James S. McDonnell Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University. He completed his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico with Francisco C. Santos, Jorge M. Pacheco, and Ana Paiva. Fernando is an ELLIS Scholar and member of the board of directors of the International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems. He was awarded an ERC Starting Grant to study the impact of link-recommendation algorithms on human behavioural dynamics.

DEI Talks | “High Performance Computing for Bioinformatics Applications: the Quest for Performance” by Prof. Alba Melo

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The talk entitled “High Performance Computing for Bioinformatics Applications: the Quest for Performance” will be presented by Prof. Alba Alves de Melo (University of Brasilia) and will take place on the 20th February, at 14:30, in room B018. Prof. João Bispo (DEI) will moderate the session.

About the Talk:

“Bioinformatics applications are often computationally intensive, making High-Performance Computing (HPC) highly desirable. In this lecture, I will present parallel bioinformatics applications developed for High-Performance Computing (HPC) environments over the years by my research group at the LAICO Laboratory at the University of Brasília. The following will be addressed: (a) parallel applications for exact pairwise comparison of long biological sequences in clusters of GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) and CPUs; (b) exact multiple sequence alignment applications for multithreaded architectures; (c) exact RNA secondary structure prediction (folding and alignment) in GPU; and (d) heuristic protein folding in a supercomputer. Finally, a framework for executing scientific workflows in the HPC cloud will be presented.”

About the Speaker:

Alba Cristina Magalhaes Alves de Melo obtained her PhD in Computer Science from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG), France, in 1996. Since 1997, she is with the Department of Computer Science at the University of Brasilia, Brazil, where she is now Full Professor. Prof. Melo is IEEE Senior Member, Vice-Coordinator of the IEEE Technical Community of Parallel Processing (TCPP) since 2024 and Member of the Counselling Committee in Computer Science for CNPq/Brazil since 2025. Prof. Melo received the following awards: 2023 IEEE Technical Committee on Parallel Processing (TCPP) Outstanding Service and Contributions Award; 2019 Wilkes Award for the Best Paper Published in The Computer Journal in 2018, Oxford University Press (joint work with the UPC/BSC team); 2016 Award for Advisor of the Best PhD Thesis in Computer Science in Brazil (Premio Capes de Tese).
She is Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Applications section of the Journal of Parallel and Distributed Systems (JPDC). She is also Associate Editor of many prestigious journals such as IEEE Transactions on Computers, IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, ACM Computing Surveys and Future Generation Computer Systems. She was Co-General Chair of IEEE International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium (IPDPS) 2024. She has served as Program Chair or Track Chair of many prestigious conferences in high performance computing such as IPDPS, Supercomputing (SC), Euro-Par, HiPEAC, Cluster, ICPP, SBAC-PAD and HiPC. Prof. Melo’s research group has established long lasting collaborations with research teams from the University of Ottawa, Canada (since 2005); INRIA/Saclay and Mines Paris Tech, France (since 2011); Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya/ Barcelona Supercomputing Center (UPC/BSC), Spain (since 2012); and University of Copenhagen, Denmark (since 2017). Her research interests are high performance computing, bioinformatics and cloud computing.

DEI Talks | “NextGen Accelerators: Flexible, Scalable, Efficient – Together” by Prof. Pedro Trancoso

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The talk “NextGen Accelerators: Flexible, Scalable, Efficient – Together” will be presented by Prof. Pedro Trancoso (Chalmers University of Technology) on the 19th February, at 11:00, in room B008. Prof. Diniz (DEI) will be responsible for moderating the event.

About the Talk:

“For a long time, computer systems have been built around an increasingly powerful general-purpose processor. Nevertheless, at some point these monolithic super chips were not able to deliver the expected additional performance due to limitations such as design complexity and power density.
The decline of the monolithic processor gave way to new architectures. With efficiency as a main goal, domain-specific architectures, also known as accelerators, started playing an important role. The realization that one-size does not fit all resulted in an explosion of diverse accelerators for different applications and purposes, from both research and industry.
Designers of these accelerators are usually faced with the tradeoff between a generic architecture that will stand the test of time and an application-dedicated architecture that is very efficient. We want both! As such, we focus on the design of building blocks for the next generation of accelerators. These blocks are efficient but at the same time can be combined in different ways to achieve the required flexibility and scalability. In this talk I will present some of our recent research results towards this goal.”

About the Speaker:

Pedro Trancoso is a Full Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) of the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. He has an engineering degree from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) (1993), Portugal and a MSc and PhD (1998) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U.S.A. His research interests are in computer architecture (memory hierarchy, multicore processors, reconfigurable computing, and energy efficiency) with main focus on the hardware acceleration for emerging applications such as machine learning. He is currently actively collaborating in several EU research projects (VEDLIoT, eProcessor and EPI SGA2) and SSF Swedish research projects (PRIDE, QuantumStack, AutoPIM), as well as the EUMaster4HPC EU Masters project on HPC. He is also the director of the Masters programme on High-Performance Computer systems (MPHPC) at Chalmers since its start in 2019.

DEI Talks | “Safer Software with Liquid Types” by Prof. Alcides Fonseca

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The talk entitled “Safer Software with Liquid Types” will be presented by Prof. Alcides Fonseca on February 4th at 15:00, in room B006, moderated by Prof. José Campos (DEI).

About the Talk:

“In a world where LLM-generated code is being produced at a faster pace than human written code, verification is more important than ever. Liquid Types (refining types with logical predicates, e.g. {x:Int | x > 10}) have been around for 17 years now but, despite their many applications, they haven’t taken off. In this talk we will answer why (PLDI’25), based on user interviews we conducted, relating them to other verification tools such as Interactive Theorem Provers and Design-by-Contract approaches like Dafny. Finally, we will see how our research group is addressing those challenges in both LiquidJava and Aeon.”

About the Speaker:

Alcides Fonseca is an Associate Professor at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, where he leads the Reliable Software Systems research line. In parallel to his day job as an Associate Professor at U. Lisbon, Alcides has been working for and with several startups over the years, including founding a junior company. In any of those jobs, Alcides uses a mix of programming languages (Python, Haskell, Lean, Scala) and some that his research group have developed, like the Aeon programming language that automatically generates code for you, based on Genetic Programming and Liquid Types.

PhD Defense in Digital Media (PDMD): ”Cultivando a empatia digital: o potencial da produção de narrativas áudio”

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Candidate:
Ivone Manuela Neiva Santos

Date, Time and Location:
29 January 2026, 14:30, Sala de Atos da Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

President of the Jury:
António Fernando Vasconcelos Cunha Castro Coelho (PhD), Associate Professor with Habilitation from Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto

Members:
Marisa Rodrigues Pinto Torres da Silva (PhD), Full Professor, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa;
Maria Madalena da Costa Oliveira (PhD), Associate Professor, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade do Minho;
Maria José Lisboa Brites de Azeredo (PhD), Associate Professor with Habilitation, Faculdade de Comunicação, Arquitetura, Artes e Tecnologias da Informação, Universidade Lusófona;
Ana Isabel Crispim Mendes Reis (PhD), Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Information Sciences, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade do Porto (Supervisor);
Ricardo José Pinheiro Fernandes Morais (PhD), Assistant Professor, Department of Communication and Information Sciences, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade do Porto.

The thesis was co-supervised by José Manuel Pereira Azevedo (PhD), Full Professor, Department of Communication and Information Sciences, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade do Porto.

Abstract:

Empathy, which is defined as the ability to understand and share the emotional state of others, is considered to be fundamental to both personal well-being and social cohesion. Its presence has been linked to pro-social behaviour, while its absence has been associated with a greater predisposition to aggressive behaviour. Empathy is a multidimensional construct integrating affective and cognitive components, and educational interventions appear to positively influence its development. While cognitive empathy is generally considered to be more sensitive to education, the affective component appears to benefit from emotional activities. Empathy is now considered a vital skill for the ‘digital citizen’, but research suggests that empathy displayed online is lower than empathy displayed offline. Tendencies such as inattention, desensitisation and disinhibition, which are stimulated by the internet, seem to make empathy more difficult to achieve. The fact that empathic capacity primarily develops towards the end of adolescence highlights the importance of exploring strategies to foster it throughout education, particularly in an era where digital technology is becoming increasingly prevalent in all areas of social life. This scenario highlights the need to deepen our understanding of digital empathy and consider strategies for promoting it in education. This is reflected in the objectives that guided this thesis. The research underlying this thesis includes a review of the literature on empathy and the methodologies employed to study and encourage it. It features a critical analysis of the role of screens in young people’s daily lives, as well as of the different approaches to the relationship between empathy and digital technology. Given that sound is a privileged vehicle for emotional connection with characteristics that make it resilient to digital environments, the review also explores the literature on the potential of auditory stimuli and audio narratives to promote empathy. Supported by this review, the empirical research comprises two studies: a descriptive study and a quasi-experimental study. These studies involved three educational institutions at different levels and students in the adolescent age group (10–24 years). A total of 279 students participated in the descriptive study and 228 in the quasi-experimental study, of whom 76 were in the experimental group. The descriptive study measured and compared participants’ empathy and digital empathy using a questionnaire based on self-report scales previously used in empathy research with this age group. The quasi-experimental study assessed the impact of an educational programme designed to explore the potential of sound and narrative. Based on the experience-based learning model, the programme combined technical and socio-emotional learning through Media Education. It is organised into two modules. The first module consists of a set of group dynamics exploring the theme of empathy and its relationship with digital environments and auditory stimuli. The second module considers the process of producing audio narratives with emotional content. The intervention’s impact was assessed both quantitatively, via pre- and post-test surveys, and qualitatively, through analysis of the narratives and other texts produced by participants throughout the programme. Overall, the results of the descriptive study indicate that digital empathy is lower than general empathy, with the affective component being lower than the cognitive component on both scales. The results also show that girls have higher levels of both empathy and digital empathy. Age appears to be a differentiating factor in empathy levels, but not in digital empathy. Results suggest that digital empathy does not increase significantly during adolescence, unlike general empathy. These results therefore support the need for educational interventions to stimulate empathy from early adolescence onwards addressing its multidimensionality and various contexts. The quantitative impact of participation in the educational programme evaluated in the quasi-experimental study was not significant. Nevertheless, a qualitative analysis of the data suggests that participation in the programme provided an opportunity to experiment with different empathic practices. The programme can therefore be considered a tool that facilitates the reconciliation of technical learning with the development of empathy. This tool can be applied to different stages of adolescence, levels of education, and school contexts. The findings of this research reiterate the concerns expressed in existing literature about the impact of digital environments on empathy development among young people. The 0findings suggest that programmes based on producing audio narratives with emotional content could promote empathy in educational contexts, addressing the constraints imposed by digital environments. Based on these findings, this research has produced a manual to disseminate the tested educational model and a validated instrument to measure empathy and digital empathy in Portuguese. To our knowledge, this is the first questionnaire of its kind to enhance sound stimuli.

Keywords: digital empathy; audio production; narrative; education.

PhD Defense in Digital Media (PDMD): ”Hibridismo Urbano-Digital e Bem-Estar Social: Estratégias para Fortalecer a Conexão Social nas Cidades”

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Candidate:
Acilon Himercírio Baptista Cavalcante

Date, Time and Location:
26 January 2026, 14:30, Room Professor Joaquim Sarmento (G129), Department of Civil and Georesources Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

President of the Jury:
António Fernando Vasconcelos Cunha Castro Coelho (PhD), Associate Professor with Habilitation, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

Members:
Isabel Alexandra Reis Gonçalves Ferreira (PhD), Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, Universidade de Coimbra;
Ivone Marília Carinhas Ferreira (PhD), Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Sciences, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa;
Ana Isabel Barreto Furtado Franco de Albuquerque Veloso (PhD), Full Professor, Department of Communication and Art, Universidade de Aveiro;
José Manuel Pereira Azevedo (PhD), Full Professor, Department of Communication and Information Sciences, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade do Porto (Supervisor);
Maria Van Zeller de Macedo de Oliveira e Sousa (PhD), Invited Assitant Professor, Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto and Researcher at the Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Tecnologia e Ciência (INESC TEC).

Abstract:

This thesis investigates the promotion of social well-being in cities through the concept of urban-digital hybridity, which considers social and spatial interactions—whether physical and/or digital—as inseparable in the urban context. Based on an integrative literature review, a set of indicators was identified and categorised to more comprehensively assess the effectiveness of public policies aimed at improving quality of life in technology-mediated urban environments.
The review of indicators combined traditional methodologies—such as those used in the World Happiness Report, published by the United Nations—with metrics related to physical and mental health, community participation, perception of safety, and cultural vitality, while also incorporating emerging variables derived from the use of digital media. The research methodology adapted the mapping and critical analysis of these indicators to Marichela Sepe’s Cartography of Happiness, applying it to contexts of urban-digital hybridity and combining it with empirical digital placemaking experiments.
Case studies and digital placemaking experiences were conducted in the cities of Porto and Póvoa de Varzim, involving local communities, religious institutions, and schools, exploring technological mediation as a catalyst for social bonds and the activation of public spaces. Heatmaps of interactions, together with qualitative field data, allowed the identification of correlations between patterns of urban activation, city morphology, and landscape.
As its main outcome, the research proposes three core metrics for assessing social well-being in hybrid cities: Sense of Belonging, Sense of Place, and Sense of Community, analysed in their urban, digital, and hybrid dimensions.
The thesis’ main contribution is an integrated model for assessing urban social well-being, combining physical and digital metrics to provide an operational framework for urban planning and public policy design, aiming to foster more inclusive, participatory, and well-being-oriented cities.

Inspiring the motivation to learn: Rui Rodrigues honoured with the Teaching Excellence Award on FEUP’s Day 2026

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We live in times when the motivation to discover and create seems to be threatened by the ease with which machines offer us information, already organised and interpreted. If machines seem to know everything for us, a central question arises for current teaching: why learn?

It is in this context that the role of the teacher is increasingly being put to the test. And it is precisely to this question that Rui Rodrigues, lecturer in the Department of Informatics Engineering (DEI), affirms that “the intrinsic satisfaction of discovering things, of creating things, of making things happen, of understanding what makes them work, and of sharing this with your fellow human beings” is the most obvious answer.

This educational vision resulted in Rui Rodrigues being distinguished with the Teaching Excellence Award, presented on FEUP’s Day, celebrated on January 13th. For the second consecutive year, a DEI lecturer has been honoured with this recognition, underscoring the sustained quality of the department’s pedagogical practices.

In a context where those who want to learn can often do so independently, Rui Rodrigues argues that the real challenge of teaching is: teaching people to enjoy learning.
“Indifference is all too common among students today, so I interpret this award more as recognition of the various efforts to combat this indifference than as a success in this challenge, which is never won. In this sense, it is an award that is certainly due to many of us (some even more deserving), who continually strive to find new ways to not only get the message across to the recipient, but to have it internalised.”

This approach has had a decisive impact on the careers of many students. Teresa Matos, a PhD student and colleague, recalls that it was in the practical classes in Computer Graphics that she found her area of interest: “It was in Rui’s practical classes in Computer Graphics that I found my area of interest, and it was later in the Student Computer Graphics Centre, with his constant support, that I found my way at FEUP.” She also highlights the professor’s tireless dedication to both students and colleagues, as well as his constant search for pedagogical innovation. “Seeing his tireless dedication day after day encourages me to strive to be a better educator and researcher. I consider him a true example of how to be an excellent professor.”

Pedro Silva, a former student and master’s student, also emphasises not only the professor’s scientific rigour, but also his human dimension. Throughout his academic career, he found in Rui Rodrigues a professor who was always available to answer questions and share knowledge, but it was during his dissertation that he recognised a particularly remarkable level of support. “He was a tremendous help during the writing of the document, both for his accurate suggestions regarding its structure and content, as well as for the advice he emphasised throughout the process.” Calmness, humour and empathy are traits that Pedro highlights as fundamental to overcoming the most demanding moments of the academic journey. “There are not many teachers, researchers and human beings like Professor Rui, and I hope he will continue at FEUP for many years to come.”

For Rui Rodrigues, teaching remains, above all, a deeply human exercise. In an increasingly automated world, the role of the teacher is to show that learning is not just about accumulating answers, but about developing curiosity, critical thinking and a desire to create — so that students are not only connected to the machine, but also to each other.

This award, granted ex aequo to Prof. Beatriz Oliveira, from the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management (DEGI), recognises not only the individual career of the teacher, but also a way of teaching that values pedagogy as a space for discovery, relationship and construction of meaning.

FEUP’S Day 2026 – 189 years of history, people and knowledge

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On January 13th, the José Marques dos Santos Auditorium will host the celebrations of FEUP’s Day 2026, with a presentation by the journalist Carla Ascenção and a lecture entitled “Dar ao Pedal” by Jorge Sequeira.

With the motto “A day for everyone, by everyone” the programme includes a wide range of activities open to the internal and external community, with the aim of strengthening the unity of the academic community and celebrating the achievements that consolidate the role of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto as a national and international reference.

The afternoon will once again be dedicated to honouring the members of the community who have stood out the most over the last year. For the second consecutive year, a DEI lecturer has been awarded the Teaching Excellence Award, something that deserves to be highlighted.

The DEI honourees and award winners:

Teaching Excellence Award

Rui Pedro Amaral Rodrigues

Scientific Recognition Award

João Pedro Carvalho Leal Mendes Moreira

Luís Paulo Gonçalves dos Reis

Teaching Recognition Award

Alexandra Sofia Ferreira Mendes

André Monteiro de Oliveira Restivo

António Augusto de Sousa

Gonçalo da Mota Laranjeira Torres Leão

Nuno Filipe Gomes Cardoso

Nuno Honório Rodrigues Flores

Renato Borges Araujo Moura Soeiro

Excellent Performance 

Marisa Isabel Magalhães Brandão Silva

Retired and Emeritus

António Augusto de Sousa

António Miguel Pontes Pimenta Monteiro

DEI Talks | “Great Opportunities for Brazil: Brazilian Microcontroller with RISC-V Architecture and Microelectronics Residency – IC Brazil Innovation Project” by Prof. João Baptista Martins

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The talk entitled “Great Opportunities for Brazil: Brazilian Microcontroller with RISC-V Architecture and Microelectronics Residency – IC Brazil Innovation Project” will be presented by Prof. João Baptista Martins on January the 20th, at 14:30, in room B006, moderated by Prof. Rosaldo Rossetti (DEI).

About the Talk:

The objective of this talk is to present the main projects being developed in Brazil in the field of microelectronics. The first deals with the training and development of human resources, called Residency in Microelectronics – IC Brazil Innovation, and the second deals with the design, development, and implementation of hardware and software for a 32-bit microcontroller with RISC-V architecture and BLE (BlueMacaw) communication.

About the Speaker:

João Baptista dos Santos Martins holds a bachelor’s degree (1984) and a master’s degree (1993) in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Maria/Brazil. He has a PhD in Computer Science from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil, specializing in microelectronics (2001). He completed a Post-Doctorate at the Institute of Engineering and Computer Systems, Research in Lisbon (INESCID)/ Portugal (2015). He is the leader of the Microelectronics Group at UFSM and a Full Professor in the Electronics and Computing Department at UFSM. He is Technological Development Researcher (DT) at CNPq. He is General Coordinator of SMDH (Santa Maria Design House) and Coordinator of the Specialization Course in Microelectronics at UFSM. He has experience and publications in the areas of Electrical Engineering and Computing, with an emphasis on
hardware, mainly working on the following topics: microelectronics, FPGA, VHDL, Low Power, Microcontrollers, and Radiation-Tolerant Integrated Circuit Design.

DEI Talks | “A Journey Through Cybersecurity: Research on IDPS for NC enabled systems and Real-World Automotive Security Challenges” by Reza ParsaMehr

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The talk entitled “A Journey Through Cybersecurity: Research on IDPS for NC enabled systems and Real-World Automotive Security Challenges” will be presented by Dr. Reza ParsaMehr, december the 17th, at 17:00, in room B021.

Abstract:

My journey in cybersecurity began in the classroom. For more than five years, I served as a university lecturer and faculty member in Iran, teaching and supervising students in computer networks, network security, and secure system design. My path then moved into advanced research, where I contributed to the EU Horizon 2020 SECRET project funded under Horizon Europe’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme. I developed some intrusion detection and prevention mechanisms for network coding–enabled 5G mobile small cells.
Transitioning to industry introduced a new reality, where cybersecurity directly affects safety, regulation, and large-scale engineering. Today, as Security and Privacy Team Leader at Aumovio Engineering Solution, I work as a security and privacy specialist and oversee blue-team, penetration testing, and cybersecurity maintenance across automotive platforms while ensuring compliance with ISO/SAE 21434, UNECE R155/R156.
In this keynote, I’ll introduce my research on intrusion detection and prevention mechanisms for network-coding–enabled systems, followed by an overview of real automotive cybersecurity challenges and potential solutions.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Reza ParsaMehr is a cybersecurity specialist with a background as a university faculty member, researcher, and industry security leader. He holds a Ph.D. in Security in Telecommunications and currently leads the Security and Privacy Department at Aumovio Engineering Solutions, focusing on automotive cybersecurity, secure architecture design, and regulatory compliance.