Matheus Zaia Monteiro, a 2023 graduate of the Ilum School of Science, received second place for the Beatriz Neves Award, given by the Brazilian Society of Applied and Computational Mathematics (SBMAC) in the Scientific Initiation category. The award was created in 2002 and every year recognizes outstanding work by students at different levels within the field of applied mathematics.
The winning project originated during Matheus’s undergraduate studies at Ilum, under the guidance of his professor Vinicius Wasques, and received financial support from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). The research investigated fuzzy neural networks, an approach that differs from classical deep learning models precisely because it offers greater interpretability — in other words, it makes it possible to more clearly understand the logic behind the decisions made by the model.
“For the Scientific Initiation category, the award is named for Professor Beatriz Neves, an important Brazilian mathematician, and this year our graduate Matheus Zaia Monteiro received second place for this award,” explained Wasques, who was his project advisor. In his words, the study by Matheus “highlighted the interpretability of fuzzy neural networks in contrast with classical deep learning models” and covered applications in different areas: predicting protein crystal quality, approximating wave function in quantum physics, and predicting COVID-19 cases in Brazil.
The work also yielded a concrete contribution to the scientific community: the code for the model was made available in an open repository on GitHub, where it can be used freely at no cost. Previously, no open code version in the Python language was available in the country, according to Matheus. The research also led to an article published in the journal Neural Computing & Applications.
Matheus Zaia Monteiro, a 2023 graduate of the Ilum School of Science, received second place for the Beatriz Neves Award, given by the Brazilian Society of Applied and Computational Mathematics (SBMAC) in the Scientific Initiation category (Disclosure/CNPEM)
Matheus graduated at the beginning of this year and has already begun his doctorate at USP’s Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences (ICMC) in São Carlos. His current project is also linked to artificial intelligence: developing machine learning models to reconstruct tomography images using Sirius, the particle accelerator at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas.
Reflecting on the path that led him from his undergraduate studies to doctoral work at an institution like USP, Matheus stresses the proximity between teaching and research as one of the most striking features of his education at Ilum. In his opinion, direct contact with laboratories and researchers from the very start of the program, together with a teaching mission centered around projects rather than traditional assessments, was decisive to both his award-winning project as well as his preparation for academic life.
By formally submitting this project to SMBAC for award consideration, Wasques highlights the caliber of scientific work produced by Ilum students during their undergraduate studies, and reinforces the trajectory of a school that closely follows the performance of its alumni within the national scientific scenario.
About the Ilum School of Science
Ilum offers a free undergraduate degree program that utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to train scientists and professionals in science and technology. With an innovative educational model, the three-year full-time bachelor program offers courses that connect life sciences, materials science, data science, artificial intelligence, and the humanities in order to prepare researchers to work in an ethical and collaborative manner in the search for solutions to the global challenges of the twenty-first century. The Ilum School of Science is funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) and is part of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo, a social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI). Ilum's educational mission offers early contact with experimental activities, in teaching labs at the school as well as at CNPEM, in projects carried out together with researchers.
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), with the involvement of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM's research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology.
