António Menezes Leitão honored with the Sasada Prize 2021
The 2021 Sasada Prize has been awarded to the INESC-ID researcher António Menezes Leitão. António is a senior researcher of the Graphics and Interaction Group at INESC-ID and Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico.
“I had very good teachers but one of them changed my life: Prof. João Pavão Martins became my mentor and he inspired me to follow his example. Just like he did to me, I have challenged my students to become members of my research group and I have tried to be a good mentor. This prize, honoring Prof. Tsuyoshi Sasada, is thus very meaningful to me, as it tells me that I succeeded in that mission. Obviously, the merit also goes to my students. Through their dedication and friendship, they made it very easy to be a mentor”, mentioned António Menezes Leitão about this recognition.
From 2019, the Sasada Prize follows the discontinued Sasada Award (awarded from 2007 until 2016), which was instituted in the memory of Prof. Tsuyoshi Sasada (1941-2005), former Professor of Osaka University, co-founder and Fellow of CAADRIA, a prolific researcher and teacher from whose lab over 200 students have graduated, and better known as “Tee” in the community.
The recipient of this prize is recognized for his sustained record of contributions and their mentoring of others in the research community, demonstrating a significant and lasting impact on computer aided design research. Nominations are called from across the world and this year a rich set was received.
In making its award, the committee was impressed by the focus of António’s research, the quality of his contributions and, in particular, with the significant number of his research students whom he has supported to attend research conferences widely as they establish themselves in the research community. The committee members can recall the high quality of papers and presentations in these sessions over the years.
“My work is focused on the development of theories, techniques, and tools that support architects and engineers in the exploration of algorithmic approaches. These approaches can considerably improve the design process and promote the search for better-performing design solutions but require a significant shift in the way we think about design problems. Throughout the years, I have invited students of architecture, engineering, and computer science to help me advance these ideas and, together, we have been producing a lot of interesting research. The Sasada Prize is the recognition, from the CAADRIA community, that this collaboration has been successful and that my students are now part of a new generation of researchers”, add the INESC-ID Researcher.
The committee has heard from a number of these students who consistently report that he is a committed teacher that is highly sought after and that he is a valued mentor. He has established the research group Algorithm Design for Architecture that welcomes participation from students and young researchers that has developed a strong community committed to design and computation research.
The awarding committee was composed by Atsuko Kaga (Osaka University), Candy Herr (CAADRIA President) and Tom Kvan (CAADRIA Fellow).
Upcoming Events
NII International Internship Programme Presentation and Q&A by Emmanuel Planas
On April 30, Emmanuel Planas, the acting director of the Global Liaison Office (GLO) and responsible for the internationalisation program at the National Institute of Informatics (NII) in Tokyo, Japan, will give a presentation to introduce the NII and its internship program to INESC-ID students and IST’s Master’s in Computer Science students.
Date & Time: April 30, 14h00
Where: Sala Polivalente, Técnico – Taguspark
“The NII International Internship Program is an exchange activity with students from institutions with which NII has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement. This incentive program aims at giving interns the opportunity for professional and personal development by engaging in research activities under the guidance and supervision of NII researchers.
The NII Internship Program is open to Research Master’s and PhD students who are currently enrolled at one of the partner institutions that have signed an MOU agreement with NII.”
Educational Workshop on Responsible AI for Peace and Security (UNODA)
On June 6 and 7, The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) are offering a selected group of technical students the opportunity to join a 2-day educational workshop on Responsible AI for peace and security.
The third workshop in the series will be held in Porto Salvo, Portugal, in collaboration with GAIPS, INESC-ID, and Instituto Superior Técnico. The workshop is open to students affiliated with universities in Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa, Oceania, and Asia.
Date & Time: June 6 a 7
Where: IST – Tagus Park, Porto Salvo
Registration deadline: April 8
Summary: “As with the impacts of Artificial intelligence (AI) on people’s day-to-day lives, the impacts for international peace and security include wide-ranging and significant opportunities and challenges. AI can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but its dual-use nature means that peaceful applications can also be misused for harmful purposes such as political disinformation, cyberattacks, terrorism, or military operations. Meanwhile, those researching and developing AI in the civilian sector remain too often unaware of the risks that the misuse of civilian AI technology may pose to international peace and security and unsure about the role they can play in addressing them. Against this background, UNODA and SIPRI launched, in 2023, a three-year educational initiative on Promoting Responsible Innovation in AI for Peace and Security. The initiative, which is supported by the Council of the European Union, aims to support greater engagement of the civilian AI community in mitigating the unintended consequences of civilian AI research and innovation for peace and security. As part of that initiative, SIPRI and UNODA are organising a series of capacity building workshops for STEM students (at PhD and Master levels). These workshops aim to provide the opportunity for up-and-coming AI practitioners to work together and with experts to learn about a) how peaceful AI research and innovation may generate risks for international peace and security; b) how they could help prevent or mitigate those risks through responsible research and innovation; c) how they could support the promotion of responsible AI for peace and security.”