PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Mário A. P. Vaz

Also known as Mário Augusto Pires Vaz, Mário Vaz

Mário Vaz is a mechanical engineer at the University of Porto whose research brings machine learning and image-based methods into health and workplace settings. He earned a mechanical-engineering degree at FEUP in 1984 and a doctorate there in 1995. At INEGI, he became director of the Laboratory of Optics and Experimental Mechanics in 2000, then served as an associate professor from 2005 to 2011; his 2006 work developed an active-vision platform for 3D reconstruction. He coauthored a 2009 study of machine learning for mammography and a 2023 study that uses machine learning to estimate firefighters' physical fatigue. He received the Robert Hooke Award at the 2016 ICEM17 conference; he is a full professor at FEUP, a position he has held since November 2024.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 1984

    Mechanical-engineering degree

    He earns a mechanical-engineering degree at the University of Porto's Faculty of Engineering in 1984.

  2. 1995

    A mechanical-engineering doctorate

    He completes a doctorate in mechanical engineering at the University of Porto's Faculty of Engineering in 1995.

  3. 2000–2011

    Lab director and professor

    He becomes director of INEGI's Laboratory of Optics and Experimental Mechanics in 2000. From 2005 to 2011, he serves as an associate professor at the University of Porto's Faculty of Engineering.

  4. 2006

    Active vision for 3D reconstruction

    In 2006, he coauthors a computer platform for 3D object reconstruction using active vision.

  5. 2009

    Machine learning for mammography

    At the Ibergrid conference in 2009, he coauthors a study that evaluates a method for machine learning with mammography.

  6. 2016

    A Robert Hooke Award

    At the 2016 ICEM17 conference, he receives the Robert Hooke Award.

  7. 2022–2023

    Predicting firefighters' fatigue

    In December 2022, he coauthors a study that uses supervised machine learning to estimate four levels of firefighters' physical fatigue from physiological signals. The study appears in the 2023 volume of Sensors.

  8. Since 2024

    Full professor at FEUP

    He becomes a full professor at FEUP in November 2024. In February 2026, he serves on a University of Porto hiring jury for an associate-professor opening in mechanical engineering.

Career

  1. Since 2005University of PortoAssociate Professor, Full Professor
  2. From 2000Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial EngineeringDirector

Education

  1. 1995University of PortoDoctorate in Mechanical Engineering
  2. 1984University of PortoDegree in Mechanical Engineering

From the biography.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Mário A. P. Vaz. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Porto. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Porto. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Porto. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Mário Augusto Pires Vaz (CE10-03CD-66A2) | CIÊNCIAVITAE cienciavitae.pt. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. «A Mecânica Experimental e os Novos Desafios da Biomecânica» – NOVAs Conversas com Mário Vaz – UNL unl.pt. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Centro Extremeño de Tecnologías Avanzadas - Discovering Mammography-based Machine Learning Classification ceta-ciemat.es. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Eventos – APAET apaet.pt. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Machine Learning Approach to Model Physical Fatigue during Incremental Exercise among Firefighters - PMC pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. DOCPUB-FEUP-26-1 - Apply U.Porto - University of Porto apply.up.pt. Checked 21 October 2026.