During the month of June, the academic from the School of Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh and a global leader in extreme data analysis, Dr. Miguel Carvalho, visited the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, AC3E, as part of the research collaboration he is conducting with the Center’s researcher, Dr. Ronny Vallejos.

The academics are working together on a project related to “Extreme event statistics,” that is, earthquakes, fires and all those unexpected episodes, which, despite having a low probability, have a strong impact on the population. This research initiative arises from a visit by Dr. Vallejos to the University of Edinburgh.

“Certain extreme events are happening more and more frequently and with greater magnitude, causing greater concern in the community. Modeling these phenomena and combining it with new artificial intelligence tools will allow us to determine the probabilities of them happening again and their potential impact. These techniques make it possible to make extrapolations beyond the observable data,” highlighted Dr. Carvalho.

The experience of the AC3E researcher allows him to contribute to this work from the analysis of spatial data, which are fundamental to determine probabilistic aspects. This project seeks not only to develop knowledge, but also to contribute to society, so we have been permanently writing scientific outreach articles to put into simple words what we are doing,” highlighted Dr. Vallejos.

It is worth noting that this research work also includes a postgraduate student from USM who is currently interacting in research with both academics.

During the visit, the academics took the opportunity to work on the illustrations of the methodologies to be developed to find the probabilities of this type of events and exchange ideas.