Biosketch

Growing up in Brazil, I discovered a love for mathematics and engineering early in my academic journey, which led me to pursue a degree in electrical engineering and immerse myself in undergraduate research. That early exposure solidified my dream to come to the United States for a Ph.D.—a path that demanded perseverance, resilience, and a series of reinventions. After earning a Fulbright fellowship, I began doctoral studies in applied mathematics, initially focused on coding theory. Along the way, I transitioned into control theory, a field I found both intellectually rich and aligned with my interests, and where I ultimately completed my Ph.D. at the University of Maryland.

Today, my research centers on autonomous decision-making in networked systems, where multiple agents, whether sensors, robots, or even biological cells, must coordinate their behavior to optimize outcomes for the entire system. At its core, my work investigates how to design decentralized algorithms that allow agents to adapt intelligently to their environments and one another. This has led me into interdisciplinary collaborations with biologists on bacterial networks, economists on consumer-AI interactions, and business faculty on the game theory behind recommender systems. One exciting direction explores how human and AI agents might coordinate in high-stakes settings, such as future battlefield scenarios involving robotic teammates—research I’ve recently presented to DARPA.

What drives me is the search for both elegant mathematical solutions and real-world impact. Whether modeling how sensor networks share limited resources or envisioning frameworks to reduce casualties in human-robot military teams, I’m constantly drawn to problems that blend complexity with relevance. My initial motivation came from a pure love of puzzles, but my current focus is on contributing to applications that matter, from improving human-AI collaboration to advancing antibiotic development.

Mentorship plays a vital role in my work. I see my students not as extensions of myself, but as emerging thinkers with their own goals. I give them the tools and space to grow into independent researchers. One of my proudest recognitions came from teaching—earning a campus-wide Best TA Award at the University of Maryland, not for student grades, but for going the extra mile to help them learn. That commitment to growth, collaboration, and discovery continues to shape my research and how I approach academia today.