Major Areas and Research Themes

Areas of Concentration

Computing Engineering - The evolution and importance of computer systems have become evident. Because of its strategic importance, this domain requires implementing a vigorous research and development program capable of advancing scientific and technological knowhow, even as it fosters the training o highly skilled human resources. Such professionals are essential to maintaining the area’s research system and also increasingly relevant to the development of the existing industrial base, as well as to the emergence of new high-tech business firms.

 

Engineering Telecommunication - The telecommunications area is marked by the provision of a basic, essential piece of infrastructure for the modern world. It is the consensus opinion of researchers and experts that modest and incremental modernization of existing communication systems will not be sufficient to meet the projected growth of the demand for bandwidth. Immediate investment is therefore needed in investigating new methods and technologies to prevent, or at least delay, the system’s imminent stagnation. On the domestic level, high-tech industry must be developed that can compete in this area of today’s globalized market.

 

Radio Antenna and Geospatial Application - Study of the upper and lower Earth's atmosphere (including ionosphere, plasmasphere and Earth's magnetosphere) and geospace (near and deep interplanetary medium and solar activity and its planetary influences), space geodesy (with georeferencing systems and their applications in satellites orbitography, time dissemination and precision navigation), impact of cosmic phenomena in the Solar System and our planet, applied radio science to the diagnosis of geospatial phenomena, their interpretation with reference to related physical and astrophysical processes. Development of materials operating in space radiation regime, spatial devices, materials and infrared radiation sensing systems and their applications; terahertz technology; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); radio science, radio astronomy, radio propagation and telecommunications; as well as relevant areas of astronomy, astrophysics and physics.

Research Tracks

Computing and Adaptive Systems – The track emphasizes the investigation of computer systems that, like natural adaptive ones, display high flexibility and robust operations. The notion of adaptiveness emerges in several topics countless areas of computer systems engineering, but with a strong connotation of architectures based on human intelligence and biology-inspired models in general. Therefore, the research track’s highlights include: construction of human learning process models; development of computing methods strongly inspired in biological reality; creation of systems-control algorithms through computational view; modeling natural and artificial dynamical systems; and the characterization of new computing models

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Communication, Photonics and Nanomaterials – This research line focuses on the development of electronic, optical, and photonic devices, with applications in communications and detection across various areas of electrical engineering and general sciences. In particular, it investigates nonlinear optical properties and the creation of new devices based on graphene and other two-dimensional materials. Special optical fibers and silicon waveguides are also studied for optical communication systems and sensing applications. Additionally, research is being conducted to develop femtosecond-pulse fiber lasers intended for use in optical networks and supercontinuum generation. For wireless communication systems, performance evaluations are conducted at the physical and transport layers through computer simulations, software-defined radios, reconfigurable logic programming, digital signal processing, and machine learning for communications and laboratory testing, focusing on the development and enhancement of technologies used in the telecommunications, broadcasting, and streaming sectors. The research developed is related to the following topics: channel coding, advanced digital modulation, channel modeling, antennas, prototyping of electronic devices and software, characterization of RF chips and devices, as well as the analysis and implementation of communication protocols used in the transport layer..

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Radio Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Relations – Investigation of the Sun and its activity phenomena, the structure of the solar atmosphere, spot formation and confined plasma in active regions. Characterization of spots and stellar rotation profile. Particle acceleration mechanisms to high energies, instability of ultra relativistic electron beams in laboratory accelerators and in solar flares. Interplanetary medium and its disruption by solar activity, coronal mass ejection. Study of Earth's upper atmosphere, ionosphere and plasmasphere. Effects from outer space and anomalies due to seismic phenomena in VLF propagation. Total electron content (TEC) in the ionosphere and its variation with solar activity in the detection of GPS signals and metric waves. Acceleration mechanisms of the solar wind and charged dust particles. Study of nuclear and hadronic interactions to understand the nature of the nuclear force and the properties of nuclear matter. Research on active galaxies and quasars and their activity using radio waves, including VLBI. Diagnostics from solar telescopes observations at CASLEO (Argentina): in the sub millimeter (212 and 405 GHz), millimeter (45 and 90 GHz), infrared and visible, and cosmic rays detector. Radio polarimeter at 7 GHz. Research and development of sensor devices, materials and filters for applications in medium and far infrared. Implementation of THz solar radiation photometers operating in stratospheric balloons and satellites. Radiometric techniques to study the propagation of VLF signals, GPS and ionosonde and precipitable water vapor content in the troposphere. Influence of space weather on satellites and on the ground. VLBI applied to precision space Geodesy for measurements of irregularities in the rotation and plastic movements of the Earth and the length of days. Operation of the ROEN 14.2 meters antenna. Georeferencing system development and applications to the synchronism of time, navigation and remote positioning.

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