Marcos Kalinowski

Marcos Kalinowski is an Associate Professor at the Department of Informatics, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), where he has served as a faculty member since 2017. He is the co-founder and coordinator of the ExACTa PUC-Rio laboratory, General Chair of the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) 2026, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Systems and Software. His academic affiliations also include membership on the steering committees of ICSE and the Ibero-American Conference on Software Engineering (CIbSE), as well as being a Senior Advisor and Lead Appraiser for the Brazilian Software Quality Program (MPS.BR).

Dr. Kalinowski earned his Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Software Engineering from COPPE/UFRJ under advisor Guilherme Travassos, and his B.Sc. in Computer Science from UFRJ. His academic career includes previous faculty positions at Fluminense Federal University (UFF) from 2014-2017 and the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) from 2012-2014.

His research focuses on bridging software engineering and data science, with particular emphasis on developing reliable and maintainable AI/ML systems through rigorous engineering practices. His work addresses critical challenges in requirements engineering for ML-enabled systems, investigating how to effectively specify quality attributes and functional requirements for complex AI applications. His research on software process and product quality emphasizes agile methods adapted to modern data-intensive development contexts. Through experimental software engineering approaches, he validates these methods through empirical studies in both academic and industrial settings. His work has significantly contributed to establishing Software Engineering for Data Science as a distinct discipline, including creating Brazil's first extension course on the subject in 2021.

His publication record demonstrates a strong focus on the intersection of software engineering and artificial intelligence, with recent work addressing technical debt in ML systems, requirements engineering for AI, and lean methodologies for industry-academia collaboration. His research shows a clear trajectory toward making AI development more systematic, reliable, and aligned with software engineering best practices, evidenced by his over 160 scientific publications and multiple books including the Jabuti Acadêmico award-finalist 'Engenharia de Software para Ciência de Dados' (2023).

Dr. Kalinowski has received numerous prestigious awards including:

• CNPq Research Productivity Grant (Level 1D, 2024-2028)
• FAPERJ Scientist of Rio de Janeiro State Distinction (2024)
• Multiple best paper awards at international conferences including SWQD 2025 and CAIN 2024
• Recognition as advisor of multiple award-winning Ph.D. and M.Sc. theses
• SBES 2024 Advisor of the Best Brazilian Software Engineering Ph.D. Thesis

As an academic leader, Dr. Kalinowski has supervised numerous doctoral and master's students, many of whom have received national awards for their research. He has secured significant research funding from Brazilian Research Council (CNPq) and Rio State Agency (FAPERJ), as well as industry collaborations with major organizations including CEPEL, Eletrobras, Galp, Petrobras, and Stone. His laboratory, ExACTa PUC-Rio, has established successful industry partnerships through its Lean R&D approach, creating a robust pipeline between research and practical application.

Dr. Kalinowski leads the ExACTa PUC-Rio laboratory which focuses on applying lean R&D methodologies to industry-academia collaboration projects. He also created and coordinates PUC-Rio's specialization courses in Software Engineering and Full Stack Development through CCEC PUC-Rio, demonstrating his commitment to bridging academic research with industry needs. His leadership in bringing ICSE 2026 to Brazil represents a significant milestone for the software engineering community in Latin America.