Vasco Amaral

Vasco Amaral is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the Faculty of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon. He serves as an integrated researcher at NOVA LINCS and holds the elected position of President (2022-2025) of the Informatics Engineering College at Ordem dos Engenheiros.

Education:

• PhD in Computer Science, University of Mannheim (2005, funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia)
• BSc, IST, Universidade de Lisboa (1998)

Research Interests: Amaral's work centers on rigorous software engineering practices through Model-Driven Development and Domain-Specific Languages, with emphasis on Multi-Paradigm Modelling of Cyber-Physical Systems. He develops formalisms and tools to enable domain experts across disciplines to collaboratively build high-quality software systems while prioritizing usability. His research integrates formal methods with practical engineering approaches to verify, simulate, and optimize complex systems. He is a vocal advocate for professional identity, ethical standards, and regulatory frameworks in informatics, driven by concerns about societal dependence on software in critical domains.

Advising and Funding: He has supervised 4 PhD students, 2 post-doctoral researchers, and over 70 MSc theses. Currently mentoring two doctoral candidates, his research has secured 1.1 Million Euros in managed funding. As a senior member of the Automated Software Engineering (ASE) team at NOVA LINCS, he contributes to the "Software Systems" research line with extensive publication records including 3 book chapters, 73 conference papers, and 34 journal articles.