In this edition of Inside DEI, we will get to know Professor Mário Silva a little better.

• Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey at Técnico.

I was admitted to Electrical Engineering in 1978. I was always fascinated by high-fidelity sound reproduction and transmission systems (or perhaps by the emotional states they evoke). At the age of 15, I began to feel social pressure from friends to apply to Técnico, even though I did not yet know what it was. But once I understood, both the course and the school were decided.

As I was finishing my 4th year, I did an internship at INESC, where I developed a deep interest in computers and informatics as tools to support the design of systems. I went through computational systems, but eventually completed my Master's degree designing chips, working with a team that at the time developed peripherals for the ZX Spectrum.

I spent two years in industry as an administrator of a computer system supporting the development of a telephone exchange. After those two years, I returned to INESC to work again on software for managing the hardware generation process of systems.

The desire to deepen my understanding of these systems led me to an academic career in teaching at DEEC, followed by a PhD at Berkeley, which I completed over five years that were the most transformative in every sense: personally, familiarly, and professionally.

I spent a year working at a startup in Silicon Valley in the mid-1990s on a then-obscure technology called “Intelligent Agents,” applied to semiconductor manufacturing. I then briefly returned to Técnico, followed by 15 years outside, at FCUL, then part of another university. I rejoined Técnico in 2011, now in Information Systems at DEI.

• What does your teaching work currently consist of?

I am currently on sabbatical leave this semester at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and I plan to later pass through the Shenzhen campus on my way to the University of Macau. I maintain a heavy academic management workload, including serving as Chair of the IST Ethics Committee, a role made more demanding by the fact that I am carrying it out behind the Great Firewall.

In recent years, I have been teaching a course in biomedical information systems to students of the MEIC/MEBiom programs, as well as a course on HACS (Technology and Society), which explores socio-professional and ethical issues in engineering (particularly in ICT-related fields). I was also coordinating the Master's in Data Science and Engineering.

• And in research?

At the moment, I am focused on gaining a deeper understanding of the topic of Ethics in Engineering, both at the level of teaching and its application in development processes. Currently, risk management methods are not a core topic in education or common practice in software engineering companies (as they are in civil or structural engineering).

There is an urgent need to introduce into computer engineering the established engineering methods from other disciplines, based on risk management, in order to properly guide the profound social transformation brought about by digitalization.

• And in industry? 

At present, and for the duration of my sabbatical period, I am exclusively dedicated to my individual research project and to the university management activities that I am required to maintain.

I was, quite literally, born into industry: both of my grandparents ran small businesses, as did my parents. During my PhD, I completed a minor in Management. In addition to having served as principal investigator in several innovation projects in partnership with companies, I have also founded systems and information companies over the years, and I have taken unpaid or non-exclusive leaves of absence to dedicate myself to activities outside the university, including some initiatives with alumni.

• Which projects from your career would you highlight? For example, the most inspiring, innovative, or impactful ones.

A very difficult question when asked to any engineer with more than 40 years of experience. I will highlight the most daring one: the creation of a search engine for the Portuguese web, developed and operated with a group of PhD and Master’s students over almost 10 years. It was called Tumba! (“Temos Um Motor de Busca Alternativo” – “We Have an Alternative Search Engine”).

We lost the war we started against Yahoo!, but they were also eventually dethroned by Google. David had comparatively more weapons when he faced Goliath, but the boldness of having challenged them is a glory that is still remembered at camaraderie dinners, where the achievement is still celebrated today.

When I read in the press today that the Portuguese LLM project is being trained using data from the Portuguese Web Archive (a spin-off of Tumba!), I cannot help but feel a “blast from the past”.

• What do you enjoy most about your day-to-day life at Técnico?

If I were asked what I like least about Técnico, I would say the digital tyranny of deadlines in Fénix and having to grade exams in order to assign marks. Other than that, I like everything. I feel privileged by the freedom to dedicate myself to the research and teaching topics I have chosen.

I value the contact with students, particularly those whose theses I supervise, which has often led to friendships lasting decades. Students tend to value the achievements measured in research projects and published papers, but I am happiest every time I notice a quantum leap in their ability to overcome challenges and how that has made them better human beings.

• Who is Mário outside Técnico?

I am a husband, a father, Mokas the cat’s caretaker, and more recently, a grandfather.

I read avidly about current affairs in the EU, the US, and, for the past two years, China. Fiction used to be an intense activity of mine before the era of social media, but nowadays I only engage with it if I happen to come across a utopia or dystopia that I encounter through professional interest.

I subscribe to two multimedia streaming platforms and watch auteur films whenever Técnico allows it. I forbid myself from watching tv series because I am highly vulnerable to anything that spikes dopamine, after which I find it difficult to stop.

I am currently on pause, but I will return to an electric guitar recently offered to me by my kids. One does not need to be Eddie Merckx to enjoy cycling, and it is the same in music as it is in engineering.

As for musical genres, I enjoy all of them, but my reference point has been anchored since the age of 15 in the jazz of 1959 and what followed it. I particularly enjoy attending opera performances abroad, an activity that often requires booking tickets months in advance and listening repeatedly to recordings for weeks in order to fully appreciate the emotional dimension of the performance.

Nowadays, I also prepare for any musical performance, even if it is the band of my son, whose albums I listen to repeatedly and in depth.

I collect vinyl records, and in order to make the most of the investment made in my degree at Técnico, I keep my analog hi-fi chain perfectly maintained, with properly equalized sound, a task that is now much easier thanks to AI software, which is particularly useful as hearing gradually deteriorates.

A long-term project is the rehabilitation of a recently acquired Art Nouveau mansion, and, of course, staying active until the age of 90 in order to see it completed.

(image: Mário Silva)