Teaching
My teaching career started when, being 15 years old, I volunteered to teach reading, writing and arithmetic to illiterate adults. I started teaching at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP) in 1992, where I have taught courses on physics, computer science and differential equations. I also enjoy programming, and have written programs to help solve problems in physics, to publish my lecture notes making them more accessible, and to generate exams and speed up their grading and publication of the results.
Research
I am currently interested in Quantum Computing, Computer Algebra (CAS) and E-learning Systems.
I started doing research in the area of Theoretical Particle Physics, which was the subject of my Ph. D. When I started teaching at the Chemical Engineering Department of FEUP, that research area was no longer germane to my teaching duties. I then decided to start researching in the area of Physical Properties of Food; I supervised several senior projects for the B. S. Program in Chemical Engineering and participated in a European Project and a CYTED project.
In 1994, when a new B. S. program in Computer Science was created at FEUP, I expressed my interest in teaching the two semesters of Physics proposed for that program, with the prospect of starting research in Computational Physics. Around that time I first heard of the new World Wide Web at CERN, and I also started creating Websites and exploring their advantages for teaching. At the root of the success of that new technology was information sharing using open standards. I thus became keen on Free Software and started using it exclusively.
I joined the ATLAS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider of CERN in 2001. That opened the possibility of engaging some of my engineering students in areas that support particle physics experiments: GRID clusters, databases for experiment management and control, and information systems. Being the larger scientific experiment at that time, ATLAS involved thousands of researchers; to have any significant contribution in that project, I would have to attend frequent meetings in Geneva. That task became incompatible with my teaching duties in Porto, so I had to abandon that project.
Education
- Ph. D. in Physics, 1990, University of Rochester, NY, USA. Thesis title: Nuclear properties in a simple quark model. Advisor: Daniel S. Koltun.
- Master of Arts in Physics, 1987, University of Rochester, NY, USA.
- B. S. in Physics, 1983, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá.
- Computer Science (Ingeniería de Sistemas), 1984, Universidad Distrital de Bogotá, Colombia.
Experience
- Professor, Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, Portugal. Since 1992.
- Postdoc, Centro de Física Nuclear da Universidade de Lisboa and Grupo teórico de Altas Energias. Complexo Interdisciplinar II do INIC, Lisbon, Portugal. 1990–1992.
- Postdoc, University of Rochester, NY, USA. 1990.
- Computer Science Teacher, Centro de Técnicos Administrativos, Serviço Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA), Bogotá, Colombia. 1984.
- Analyst programmer, Architecture Library of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. 1984.
- Programmer, Atari Club, Bogotá, Colombia. 1983–1984.
- Teaching assistant, Physics Department of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. 1983.
- Physics Teacher, Modern American School, Bogotá, Colombia. 1982–1983.
Awards and scholarships
- Teaching excellency award. Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. January 2024.
- Research recognition diploma. Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. January 2022.
- Teaching recognition diploma. Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. January 2022.
- Research recognition diploma. Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. January 2021.
- Teaching recognition diploma. Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. January 2020.
- Teaching excellency award. Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. January 2018.
- Teaching recognition diploma. Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. January 2018.
- University of Porto's e-learning excellency award. March 2005.
- Research Assistanship. Department of Energy, United States of America. 1986 – 1990.
- Ph. D. Fulbright Scholarship. United States of America. 1984 – 1989.
- Graduate Scholarship. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. 1984 – 1986.
- Matricula de Honor (Dean's list). Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. 1979 – 1983.
- Orden del Alferez (best graduating student award). Colegio del Virrey Solís, Bogotá, Colombia. December 1976.
- Secondary School Scholarship. Colegio del Virrey Solís, Bogotá, Colombia. 1971 – 1976.