Towards an algorithmic skeleton framework for programming the Intel R Xeon PhiTM processor

The Intel R Xeon PhiTM is the first processor based on Intel’s MIC (Many Integrated Cores) architecture. It is a co-processor specially tailored for data-parallel computations, whose basic architectural design is similar to the ones of GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), leveraging the use of many integrated low computational cores to perform parallel computations. The main novelty of the MIC architecture, relatively to GPUs, is its compatibility with the Intel x86 architecture. This enables the use of many of the tools commonly available for the parallel programming of x86-based architectures, which may lead to a smaller learning curve. However, programming the Xeon Phi still entails aspects intrinsic to accelerator-based computing, in general, and to the MIC architecture, in particular. In this thesis we advocate the use of algorithmic skeletons for programming the Xeon Phi. Algorithmic skeletons abstract the complexity inherent to parallel programming, hiding details such as resource management, parallel decomposition, inter-execution flow communication, thus removing these concerns from the programmer’s mind. In this context, the goal of the thesis is to lay the foundations for the development of a simple but powerful and efficient skeleton framework for the programming of the Xeon Phi processor. For this purpose we build upon Marrow, an existing framework for the orchestration of OpenCLTM computations in multi-GPU and CPU environments. We extend Marrow to execute both OpenCL and C++ parallel computations on the Xeon Phi. We evaluate the newly developed framework, several well-known benchmarks, like Saxpy and N-Body, will be used to compare, not only its performance to the existing framework when executing on the co-processor, but also to assess the performance on the Xeon Phi versus a multi-GPU environment.

Algorithms for information extraction and signal annotation on long-term biosignals using clustering techniques

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Biomédica

Social BPM – The role of social networks in business process management

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Estatística e Gestão de Informação

Intrusion tolerant routing with data consensus in wireless sensor networks

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática

Optimization of breast tomosynthesis image reconstruction using parallel computing

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, being a major public health problem. Worldwide, X-ray mammography is the current gold-standard for medical imaging of breast cancer. However, it has associated some well-known limitations. The false-negative rates, up to 66% in symptomatic women, and the false-positive rates, up to 60%, are a continued source of concern and debate. These drawbacks prompt the development of other imaging techniques for breast cancer detection, in which Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) is included. DBT is a 3D radiographic technique that reduces the obscuring effect of tissue overlap and appears to address both issues of false-negative and false-positive rates. The 3D images in DBT are only achieved through image reconstruction methods. These methods play an important role in a clinical setting since there is a need to implement a reconstruction process that is both accurate and fast. This dissertation deals with the optimization of iterative algorithms, with parallel computing through an implementation on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to make the 3D reconstruction faster using Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). Iterative algorithms have shown to produce the highest quality DBT images, but since they are computationally intensive, their clinical use is currently rejected. These algorithms have the potential to reduce patient dose in DBT scans. A method of integrating CUDA in Interactive Data Language (IDL) is proposed in order to accelerate the DBT image reconstructions. This method has never been attempted before for DBT. In this work the system matrix calculation, the most computationally expensive part of iterative algorithms, is accelerated. A speedup of 1.6 is achieved proving the fact that GPUs can accelerate the IDL implementation.

Importance of global co-innovation networks: A TCS case study

Today all kinds of innovations and research work is done by partnerships of competent entities each having some specialized skills. Like the development of the global economy, global innovation partnerships have grown considerably and form the basis of most of the sophisticated innovations today. To further streamline and simplify such cooperation, several innovation networks have been formed, both at local and global levels. This paper discusses the different types of innovations and how cooperation can benefit innovation in terms of pooling of resources and sharing of risks. One example of an open global co-innovation network promoted by Tata Consultancy Services, the TCS COIN is taken as a case. It enables venture capitalists, consultants, research agencies, companies and universities form nodes of the network so that each entity can play a meaningful role in the innovation network. Further, two innovation projects implemented using the COIN are discussed. Innovation Networks like these could form the basis of a unique global innovation network, which is not owned by any company and is used by innovation partners globally to collaborate and conduct research and development.

A contribuição da informática para o desenvolvimento sustentável: o exemplo do conceito de grid computing

Este trabalho foi realizado sob orientação do Prof. António Brandão Moniz para a disciplina “Factores Sociais da Inovação” do Mestrado Engenharia Informática realizado na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal)

Ubiquitous computing and natural interfaces for environmental information

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente, perfil Gestão e Sistemas Ambientais

Fuzzy clustering não supervisionado na detecção automática de regiões de upwelling a partir de mapas de temperatura da superfície oceânica

Trabalho apresentado no âmbito do Mestrado em Engenharia Informática, como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática

Visualization of clusters in geo-referenced data using three-dimensional self-organizing maps

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Estatística e Gestão de Informação

Location model for CCA-treated - wood waste remediation units

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciência e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica

Scale-free networks and scalable interdomain routing

Trabalho apresentado no âmbito do Mestrado em Engenharia Informática, como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática

Cities and emerging networks of learning communities

In the 21st century the majority of people live in urban settings and studies show a trend to the increase of this phenomenon. Globalisation and the concentration of multinational and clusters of firms in certain places are attracting people who seek employment and a better living. Many of those agglomerations are situated in developing countries, representing serious challenges both for public and private sectors. Programmes and initiatives in different countries are taking place and best practices are being exchanged globally. The objective is to transform these urban places into sustainable learning cities/regions where citizens can live with quality. The complexity of urban places, sometimes megacities, opened a new field of research. This paper argues that in order to understand the dynamics of such a complex phenomenon, a multidisciplinary, systemic approach is needed and the creation of learning cities and regions calls for the contribution of a multitude of fields of knowledge, ranging from economy to urbanism, educational science, sociology, environmental psychology and others.

Model morphisms (MoMo) to enable language independent information models and interoperable business networks

MSc. Dissertation presented at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia of Universidade Nova de Lisboa to obtain the Master degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Service-oriented mobility of java code in web services-based architectures

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para a obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática