Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
The Data Science and Artificial Intelligence research area represents a cornerstone of the Program’s teaching and research activities, with a strong emphasis on Data Science. As a fundamental axis of this field, it addresses both theoretical and applied challenges related to the gathering, processing, analysis, and interpretation of large-scale data. Its focus lies in developing methodologies to extract meaningful knowledge from vast amounts of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data, leveraging approaches from Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing.
Research in this area investigates both the foundations of Data Science and its applications in strategic domains such as Public Health, e-Government, Smart Cities, Meteorology, Finance, and Affective Computing. It explores advanced techniques for modeling, distributed storage, indexing, and parallel processing to optimize scientific workflows and enable complex analyses in high-performance computing environments. Moreover, the area examines data-centric AI approaches aimed at improving the quality of datasets used in predictive and analytical models.
The impact of this research area can be seen in the development of innovative solutions to real-world problems, from forecasting climate and health phenomena to analyzing spatiotemporal data and optimizing urban and financial processes. It also includes the design of systems capable of interpreting emotions and behaviors, expanding the potential of AI in human–machine interaction. In doing so, this research area strengthens the Program’s role at the frontier of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, fostering theoretical, methodological, and transformative advances.
Systems and Applications
The Systems and Applications research area is a central pillar of the Graduate Program in Computer Science, serving as a key foundation for investigating and developing computational technologies to address complex challenges across multiple domains. Its scope ranges from software and network design to advanced applications in the Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Multimedia, and Robotics. The main focus is on creating innovative, efficient, and secure systems aligned with the evolving demands of society and industry.
Research in this area encompasses Software Engineering applied to emerging computational paradigms, exploring methodologies that ensure quality, security, and high performance in distributed applications, embedded systems, and educational games. It also includes the modeling and optimization of computer and complex networks, with studies on communication protocols and efficient architectures for connected environments.
With an interdisciplinary perspective, this area examines how intelligent applications can enhance autonomy and interaction between computational systems and their users. This includes the personalization of multimedia experiences, automation of processes in smart cities, and improvement of assistive and educational technologies.