My interest in research started before undergraduate studies, leading me to seek entrance in the best university for research in Brazil: the University of Sao Paulo. Ranked 121st in the world’s best universities, 8th in the BRICS’ and 1st in Brazil's, University of Sao Paulo attracts the main researchers in the country. This motivated me to repeatedly take its extremely competitive entrance examination until I succeeded. In my second undergraduate year, I started research in robotic laboratories over the duration of four years, developing projects on mobile robot control, design of low-impedance robotic actuators and gait generation of biped robots.
During undergraduation I also applied and was selected for internship at the Network Information Center of .br (manager of Brazilian Internet). I joined the research department CEPTRO.br, studying Internet transition techniques from IPv4 to IPv6, security in IPv6 networks, and developing projects of education/training of autonomous system personnel on IPv6 and a cache server for the NIC.br’s Internet Exchange Point.
After my bachelor degree, I decided to pursue graduate studies overseas. A foremost reason was the importance of international experience for professional growth, but Japan's strong background in robotics and my personal long-term interest in Japanese culture were big factors in the decision. I applied for the MEXT Scholarship, a highly competitive scholarship provided by the Japanese government to foreign students, being selected in 2015 to come to Yokohama National University. The main topic of my graduate studies was the optimization of robotic bipedal walking. Just before the end of Master’s course, I received the grant for a summer exchange program in Tsinghua University, China. Returning to Japan and finishing the Master’s course, I applied for extension of MEXT scholarship to the Ph.D course, presenting a technically challenging research plan on solvability, accuracy and computational cost of optimization of robotic bipedal walking. My extension was approved and I started the Ph.D course in 2017.
During Master’s and Ph.D courses, my research on humanoid robots, modeling, optimization, machine learning and robotics in general led me to multidisciplinary studies and methodologically synergistic approaches. During and after Ph.D, this diversity of tools and robotic applications frutified into external collaborations with researchers from my alma mater (University of Sao Paulo), University of Göttingen, Hiroshima University and University of Tokyo.
After graduating from Ph.D, I achieved a postdoctoral research position at Yokohama National University, Japan. The project involved theoretical study, modeling and formulation of security in Internet-of-Things (IoT) networks, through mathematical models of malware propagation. The position also included the continuation of previous studies on modeling, optimization, machine learning, robotics in general and humanoid robots in particular.
In 2023 I started a new postdoctoral position at the National Institute of Informatics, Japan. The project is "Zero Trust IoT by Formal Verification and System Software", promoted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) under the program Core Research for Evolutionary Science and Technology (CREST). It is a hands-on research project aiming to develop real-world solutions to the growing cyber threats of our age of Internet of Things.
During Ph.D studies, I tutored junior students on modern control, optimization and mechatronic systems. However, believing in the importance of collaboration and exchange of ideas between laboratories, I idealized and organized workshops targeted for members of Fujimoto Lab, Shimono Lab and Maeda Lab. In 2021, I presented two of these workshops with the following topics:
- “How to publish”: A complete overview of the topic of academic publication, from transforming different stages of research into publications to avoiding traps in the publication industry.
- “Deep Learning”: Basic theory and computer exercises for practical learning of Neural Network applications.
Moreover, during my Ph.D I participated in the course Teaching Practice in Electrical and Computer Engineering, tutoring of Master’s students on modern control and optimization.
Formed as a Mechatronics Engineer, multidisciplinarity is part of my developed strengths. After achieving more maturity as a researcher, I engaged in multiple collaborations in different fields of research in the last 2 years, which are listed below:
- Investigation and design of multi-DOF wind load emulator for combined wind/wave tests of FOWT models. Project with Professor Rodolfo T. Gonçalves from the University of Tokyo. 2022-2023.
- Machine learning of normative control patterns for the ankle of leg prosthesis. Collaboration with Ph.D candidate Sharmita Dey from Goettingen University. 2020-2022.
- Gaussian Process machine learning of simultaneous fMRI+EEG brain signals for extraction of latent information. BMK Digital Neuroscience Cognitive Lab, Hiroshima University. 2022.
- Pedagogical methodology for evaluation of efficacy of the Brazilian governmental test ENADE, aimed at evaluating the quality of superior courses (methodology applied to Engineering course so far). Collaboration with Dr. Arthur H. A. Melani from the University of Sao Paulo. 2020-2021.