Leo is awarded the degree of Livre Docente (Dr. habil.) from USP
Published on 2025/10/09 by Leonardo Uieda.
I’m very happy to share that last week I was awarded the degree of “Livre Docente” (Dr. habil.) from Universidade de São Paulo! This is the highest degree that one can earn after a PhD. In many European countries this is called Habilitation. At USP, it’s a requirement for promotion to Professor Associado, which will hopefully come in the next couple of months.
Attaining this degree involves written and teaching exams and the defense of a thesis and a “memorial” (in portuguese), which is a long form narrative CV that includes reflections on our experiences. The thesis is a compilation of the work of the wonderful graduate researchers and CompGeoLab members Santiago Soler, India Uppal, and Gelson Souza-Junior.
My examination committee was composed of Walter Eugênio de Medeiros (UFRN), Roberta Mary Vidotti (UnB), Gelvam André Hartmann (UNICAMP), Mauricio de Souza Bologna (USP), and Carlos Alberto Mendonça (USP), all of whom are experts in their fields and well respected. Their feedback was very positive and constructive and I certainly learned a lot from them during the examination. It was a very exhausting experience, with two full days of exams, but also very rewarding to see all of my effort being recognized by the committee.