Research
I lead the Distributed Systems and Applied Big Data lab within the Institute for Advanced Environmental Research (ICAM) at UVT. My team comprises of interdisciplinary researchers, Ph.D. students, grad/undergrad students and software engineers/testers. The research I undertake has two main directions: one focused on applied Big Data and another on archaeoastronomy. It is funded by national/international R&D, tech transfer grants, and cultural/outreach funds.
If you are interested in working with me drop me an email. I offer funded Ph.D. positions (yearly in September but get in touch with me at least 3 months in advance by sending me your CV and 1-page research idea) and bachelor/master thesis topics. In addition, students can work part-time within my team. Open positions in my R&D projects are advertised when available. Non-EU applicants may require a visa.
Research projects
Current projects
ROTLA - 19th Century Romanian Transitional Alphabet Transliteration - PED funded by UEFISCDI Romania (2022-2024), 121,000 EUR
Former R&D projects
Principal investigator
CERES - Software module to classify asteroids from astronomical images using machine learning - PED funded by UEFSICDI (2020-2022), 30,500 EUR for UVT (121,700 EUR total)
Cloud2Energy - Cloud Dynamics on Distributed Systems for Predicting Photovoltaic Energy - TE funded by UEFISCDI (2020-2022), 72,800 EUR total
BISMART - Business Intelligence KPI Application Suite for SmartMetering MDM - PTE funded by UEFISCDI (2016-2017), 33,000 EUR for UVT (81,500 EUR total)
Matlib4Space: Pre-Qualification of a Mathematical Library for FSW - funded by ESA (2016-2018), 85,000 EUR for UVT, 300,000 EUR total
Co Principal Investigator
Immersive Experiences to Communicate Sky Heritage & Dark Skies - funded by NTU IKEP (2021-2022), 20,000 GBP
Exploring Skyscapes at Heritage Sites through AR - funded by NTU Strategic Research Theme Seed Corn (2021-2022), 5,000 GBP
Distinguished Speaker Series on Innovation in Informatics to address Smart Energy Challenges - funded by USC Ming Hsieh Institute grant for seminar series (2014-2016)
Former cultural & outreach projects
Manager
ArchaeoAstroExploratorium - funded by Stiintescu Timisoara (2020), 10,000 RON (about 2,000 EUR)
Do Astronomy Yourself - Astronomy Workshops - funded by Stiintescu Timisoara (2019), 11,465 RON (about 2,200 EUR)
Cultural astronomy summer camp - funded by AFCN (2018), 10,400 RON (about 2,000 EUR)
Research team
Current members
Dr. Simina Frîncu - digital humanities, new museology, history of translations
Dr. Marius Penteliuc - computer science, AI/ML, software development
Dr. Manuela Zănescu - library sciences, history
Eng. Gheorghe Bran - systems testing
Former members
Dr. Oana Brandiburu (teaching assistant, West University of Timisoara)
Dr. Adrian Spătaru (lecturer, West University of Timisoara)
Teodora Selea (research assistant, West University of Timisoara Romania)
Anca Vulpe (software developer, Amazon UK)
Current Ph.D. students
Codruț Chiș - computer science, computer graphics (2021 - present)
Elena Flondor - computer science, applied AI, text classification, cybersecurity (2021 - present)
Raul Urechiatu - computer science, applied AI, computational astronomy (2021 - present)
Alexandru Vlasiu - computer science, applied AI, well-being, psychology (2021 - present)
Former Ph.D. students
Marius Penteliuc (2018-2021) - thesis title Cloud Movement Forecasting based on Wind Modeled from Satellite Imagery and a Modified Flocking Algorithm
Former grad/undergrad students with peer reviewed publications
Andrei Ancuța (GIS programmer)
Darian Crăciun (software developer)
Mara Sferdian (software developer IBM Romania)
Larisa Tranca (software developer)
Maria Vonica (software developer)