MSc dissertation by INESC TEC researcher awarded in Brazil

The awarded dissertation was concluded in 2012 as part of Carolina Marcelino’s Master’s Degree in Mathematical and Computational Modelling at the Federal Centre for Technological Education in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and it focuses on maximising energy production in hydro power plants. “The main goal is to mathematically model hydroelectric generation and to optimise the process of producing energy using evolutionary algorithms. Using statistical inferences, it was possible to show that the best algorithm used economised 0.37% of hydro resources in a monthly projection,” explains Carolina Marcelino.

The distinction, awarded by the Brazilian government through the CAPES (Fundação Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, the Foundation responsible for coordinating the improvement of higher education staff), together with the company Vale S. A., “is extremely important in Brazil,” states Carolina Marcelino. “It was an honour for all of us,” adds the researcher working at CPES since February, as part of a dual traineeship supervised by director Vladimiro Miranda. “I would like to thank professor Vladimiro Miranda for the opportunity to work at CPES, where I am improving my knowledge on optimisation using evolutionary algorithms applied to power systems problems. This has been a growth opportunity and a great source of satisfaction for me,” Carolina Marcelino reveals.

The researcher will receive the award in a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June.

The INESC TEC researchers mentioned in this article are associated with the following partner institutions: FEUP.

* former Power Systems Unit (USE)