On January 13^th, the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) celebrated its 188th anniversary with a revamped, more informal event under the motto “Day of Everyone, for Everyone”, with various activities throughout the day.

The celebration of “Dia da FEUP” ended with a gala dinner where, in a solemn moment, Luis Filipe Teixeira, Associate Professor in the Department of Informatics Engineering (DEI), received the FEUP Pedagogical Excellence Award from the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Prof. Fernando Alexandre, the Rector of the University of Porto, Prof. António Sousa Pereira, and the Director of FEUP, Prof. Rui Calçada, in recognition of excellence in teaching/learning activities.

Luis Teixeira reflects on this recognition: ‘In 2010, Professor Raul Vidal presented me with a challenge that, at the time, seemed “impossible”.  Since then, many other challenges have arisen, each with its own particularities and lessons. As teachers, we are often faced with demands that seem out of line with our main mission: to teach. This recognition allows us to believe that the effort and ‘stubbornness’ in keeping this mission alive are worth it. Beyond any formal distinction, I have found recognition in the spontaneous testimony of students who share the (huge) impact we have on their pathways. Today, we are in a time of transition, when the reality of teaching requires us to adjust teaching methods and tools to a necessarily different reality. However, regardless of the direction this reality takes, from my perspective, the pillars must remain the same: communication, empathy and trust. Because, in the end, these are the pillars that allow us to adapt to change, without giving up what really matters: our commitment to the development of our students. Their success is our success, even if it sometimes seems ‘impossible’. May this award be just the first of many more for DEI.’

And this commitment to the students is evident not only in the pedagogical surveys, a valuable tool for carrying out continuous improvement actions in teaching, emphasising the importance of the student’s voice, as in heartfelt testimonies such as this one by Isabel Rio-Torto:

‘I first came across Prof. Luís Teixeira in my first semester as a university student, in theoretical programming classes. In addition to his ability to explain complex things in a simple way (I’ll never forget the mythical lesson on recursion in which the professor took a ball of yarn to explain the concept), his undeniable flair and talent for teaching made his lessons interesting and captivating! I also remember the group of students who, at the end of the lectures, would crowd around the professor to ask any questions they had, and the professor would patiently answer them, always showing enormous empathy and dedication to teaching. We met again in my final year of the integrated master’s programme, when I approached him about the possibility of doing my master’s thesis under his supervision. Since then, Prof. Luís Teixeira has not only been my teacher, but also my master’s and now doctoral supervisor. But above all, Prof. Luís Teixeira has become my mentor. No matter how busy he is, he always has a few minutes to discuss some existential doubt and always has a word of encouragement and motivation. He is always ready to help both students and colleagues, and is tireless in his various roles (teacher, supervisor, DEI member, etc). If I had to describe the professor in one word, I would simply say that Prof. Luís Teixeira is a Professor with a big P.’

The Pedagogical Excellence Award is given annually to a lecturer who has demonstrated excellence over the previous four years in the rankings of pedagogical surveys, in the quality and quantity of pedagogical materials, and in the pedagogical CV, which assesses activities that indicate pedagogical innovation, the promotion of active student learning, and the potential for replication and dissemination.

Luís F. Teixeira holds a Bachelor’s Degree (5 years) in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2001), a Master’s Degree in Communication Networks and Services (2004) and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2009) from the University of Porto.

He is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Informatics Engineering (DEI) of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), a member of the Executive Committee of DEI, a Senior Researcher at INESC TEC’s Centre for Telecommunications and Multimedia and Deputy Director and Member of the Scientific Committee of the Master’s Degree in Computer Vision, an international programme offered jointly by the University of Porto, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the University of Vigo and the University of Corunha. He was previously a researcher at INESC Porto (2001-2008), Visiting Researcher at the University of Victoria (2006), Senior Scientist at Fraunhofer AICOS (2008-2013), and President of APRP – Portuguese Association for Pattern Recognition (2019-2021).

His main research topics are Computer Vision, Machine Learning and Human-centered Computing.

In addition to various subjects in the area of Programming, he has also taught subjects in the areas of Computer Vision and Computational Learning. He has participated in several EU-funded, national and contract projects, including recently the FCT-funded CAGING project as Principal Investigator and the THEIA project with Bosch Car Multimedia as a WP leader. He was part of the Organising Committee of RecPad 2011, IbPRIA 2013, ICIAR 2020, co-Chair of IbPRIA 2022, and several editions of the VISUM Summer School (VISion Understanding and Machine intelligence).

On the 13th of January the Auditorium José Marques dos Santos hosted FEUP’s Day 2025, this year with a new format that included activities open to the entire community and a varied programme throughout the day.

Under the motto “A day by everyone, for everyone“, the event included scientific and social activities that strengthened the unity of the academic community and celebrated the achievements that consolidate the role of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto as a national and international reference.

In the afternoon, the most outstanding members of the community over the past year were honoured, with DEI standing out for the excellence of its teaching and the impact of its teachers, technicians and researchers.

The DEI honourees and award winners:

Teaching Excellence Award 2024

Luís Filipe Pinto de Almeida Teixeira

Pedagogical Recognition Award 2024

Ademar Manuel Teixeira de Aguiar

Alexandra Sofia Ferreira Mendes

Ana Cristina Ramada Paiva

André Monteiro de Oliveira Restivo

António Fernando Vasconcelos Cunha Castro Coelho

Bruno Miguel Carvalhido Lima

Filipa Marília Monteiro Ramos

Filipe Alexandre Pais de Figueiredo Correia

Gonçalo da Mota Laranjeira Torres Leão

João António Correia Lopes

João Carlos Viegas Martins Bispo

João Pedro Matos Teixeira Dias

Luís Filipe Pinto de Almeida Teixeira

Nuno Filipe Gomes Cardoso

Nuno Honório Rodrigues Flores

Rui Pedro Amaral Rodrigues

Sara Filipa Couto Fernandes

Teresa Carla de Canha e Matos

Tiago Boldt Pereira de Sousa

Mentions of Excellent Performance 

Catarina da Silva Teixeira e Castro

Retired Professors 

Maria Cristina de Carvalho Alves Ribeiro

Honouring 25 Years at the Service of FEUP 

João Pedro Carvalho Leal Mendes Moreira

Jorge Manuel Gomes Barbosa

On November 15, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Beira Interior hosted the IEEE Engineering Day, an annual event organised by the Portuguese Section of the IEEE, which celebrates the achievements of engineering in Portugal. This year the focus under the theme “Shaping the Next Generation of Data Centers and Connectivity” brought to Covilhã a reflection on the vital role of engineering in defining the future of digital infrastructures and connectivity.

The event ended with the long-awaited announcement of the winners of the IEEE Portugal MSc Outstanding Awards, a prize that aims to recognise the most innovative and original master’s theses, which explore topics within the technical and scientific areas represented by IEEE, and which is now on its fifth edition.

Nuno Costa, a recent graduate of the Master in Informatics and Computing Engineering (M.EIC), was one of the winners of the award for his thesis entitled “Leveraging Physics-Informed Neural Architectures as Surrogate Models for Space Weather Forecasting”, which proposes models that represent a significant advance for real-time operational space weather forecasting, providing faster and more reliable forecasts, essential for mitigating the impact of space weather on modern technology.

In the realm of space weather forecasting, accurate modeling of solar wind profiles is crucial due to their significant influence on Earth’s magnetosphere and, consequently, on satellite operations, astronaut safety, and communication systems. This thesis addresses the limitations of current magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation tools, which, while effective, face challenges in computational efficiency and predictive accuracy. To overcome these limitations, this research explores the use of advanced machine learning techniques, specifically Physics-Informed Neural Architectures such as Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PiNNs) and Physics-Informed Neural Operators (PiNOs), for creating surrogate models that balance computational speed and physical accuracy.

This research project, which received a 20/20 classification, was supervised by Professor André Restivo (DEI) and co-supervised by doctoral student Filipa Barros (FCUP), about whom he says: “I’m very grateful to them for supporting me throughout this journey, we have demonstrated the prowess of this approach, with our substitute models already being used in operational environments!”.

Nuno was also awarded the Vestas Award 2024, presented at the New Masters Celebration on November 23.

On November 23^rd, as part of the New Masters 2024 Celebration, Nuno Ricardo Teixeira da Costa, a recent graduate of the Master in Informatics and Computing Engineering (M.EIC), took the stage to receive the *Vestas Award, a cash prize of 2,500 euros, which rewards the best dissertations according to criteria of innovation, applicability and positive cost-benefit ratio for Vestas, a world leader in the renewable energy sector for sustainable energy solutions.

Nuno developed the thesis entitled “Leveraging Physics-Informed Neural Architectures as Surrogate Models for Space Weather Forecasting”, which addresses the limitations of current magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation tools, which, while effective, face challenges in computational efficiency and predictive accuracy. To overcome these limitations, this research explores the use of advanced machine learning techniques, specifically Physics-Informed Neural Architectures such as Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PiNNs) and Physics-Informed Neural Operators (PiNOs), for creating surrogate models of the most advanced and expensive wind simulators, that balance computational speed and physical accuracy.

This research, which received a grade of 20/20, was supervised by Professor André Restivo (DEI) and co-supervised by the doctoral student Filipa Barros (FCUP), about whom he says: “I’m very grateful to them for supporting me throughout this journey; we’ve demonstrated the power of this approach, with our surrogate models already being used in operational environments!

Nuno ends his academic career at FEUP as he began it, with distinction, when at the end of his first year he was awarded the “Incentive Prize of the University of Porto”, given to students who finish their first year with the best marks.

But his career wasn’t all about studying. Nuno was an active member of the NIAEFEUP and JuniFEUP student groups, where he had the opportunity to develop extra-curricular activities that contributed to his development, and was a monitor in four curricular units over two years.

*The prize is awarded annually to a graduate of FEUP’s Masters in Electrical and Computing Engineering (M.EEC), Masters in Informatics and Computing Engineering (M.EIC) and Masters in Mechanical Engineering (M.EM), whose final course average and Master’s thesis classification are not lower than 16 and 18 points respectively for the M.EEC and M.EIC, and 15 and 18 points for the M.EM. + info

As part of the New Masters 2024 Celebration, which took place November 23^rd at the José Marques dos Santos Auditorium of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), the Prof. Doutor Raul Vidal/Deloitte Prize was awarded for the third time.

The jury awarded the prize to Gonçalo José Cerqueira Pascoal, a recent graduate of the Master in Informatics and Computing Engineering, who received a cash prize of 3 000 euros.

Gonçalo developed a Master’s thesis that proposes an innovative method, based on deep reinforcement learning, to compose quantum algorithms more efficiently for specific architectures, helping to mitigate the detrimental effects of noise on the reliability of the computations performed. “Noise-Adaptive Reinforcement Learning Strategies for Qubit Routing”, supervised by Professors João Paulo Fernandes and Rui Maranhão, was considered highly innovative, with an academic contribution and practical interest, leading to a subsequent scientific article.

During his four years at FEUP, he was a member of the Associação Tuna de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (TEUP), an academic group with over 35 years of history that aims to facilitate the integration of students into the university, preserve student traditions and promote the love for music. During this time, he has actively participated in the organisation of various events of a charitable and cultural nature.

On the day of the award ceremony, Gonçalo on this recognition: “(…) after completing my academic career at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, today I had the honour of being present at the New Masters 2024 Celebration and being honoured with the Prof. Dr. Raul Vidal Award, created by Deloitte. I would like to thank Prof Dr Raul Moreira Vidal, Deloitte, the members of the jury and all the teachers and colleagues who marked my time at FEUP. In future activities, I will strive to continue to apply the same level of dedication, perseverance and rigor that this award seeks to recognise’.

*This award is intended to recognise each year a recent graduate from one of the following FEUP courses, Master in Informatics and Computing Engineering (M.EIC) and Master in Software Engineering (MESW), who has excelled in curricular activities, for the quality and innovation of the work carried out in the field of Software Engineering, and for student support and social and solidarity activities.