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Soraia M. Alarcão holds a PhD (2022) in Informatics from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (FCUL). She has been an Assistant Professor at the Department of Informatics (DI/FCUL) since 2024. She was an Invited Assistant Professor at DI/FCUL (2022-2024) and a Teaching Assistant at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico (DEI/IST) (2017-2022). She is also an Integrated Researcher at LASIGE, a Portuguese research unit of excellence in computer science and engineering. She authored twenty peer-reviewed research publications at international conferences and journals, participated in multiple project proposals, and worked on five research projects (both national and international) as a researcher/member, and was an integrated researcher and task leader on the a-STEP COST action. She is currently a member of the PlantPathoRec project. She also peer-reviewed more than 40 submissions to journals and conferences, organized multiple scientific events, and has had more than ten institutional positions (both at FCUL and IST). Her research interests include Affective Computing, Assistive Technologies, Human-Computer Interaction, and Human-Centered AI.
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Identification

Personal identification

Full name
Soraia Vanessa Meneses Alarcão Castelo de Almeida Pires
Gender
Female

Citation names

  • Soraia M. Alarcão

Author identifiers

Ciência ID
D51E-A34D-B4E8
ORCID iD
0000-0002-0794-2979

Email addresses

  • smalarcao@ciencias.ulisboa.pt (Professional)

Websites

Knowledge fields

  • Exact Sciences - Computer and Information Sciences

Languages

Language Speaking Reading Writing Listening Peer-review
Portuguese (Mother tongue)
English Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1) Advanced (C1)
Spanish; Castilian Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1)
French Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1) Beginner (A1)
Education
Degree Classification
2015/10 - 2022/12
Concluded
 Informática (Doutoramento)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
"An Affective Computing and Image Retrieval Approach to Support Diversified and Emotion-Aware Reminiscence Therapy Sessions" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 Approved with Distinction and Honors (Summa Cum Laude)
2016
Concluded
 Curso de Formação Avançada (Curso de doutoramento (conclusão de unidades curriculares))
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
"NA" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 17
2014
Concluded
 Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Mestrado)
Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
"EmoPhoto: Identification of Emotions in Photos" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 17
2013
Concluded
 Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Licenciatura)
Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
"n/a" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
 14
Affiliation

Science

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2018/07 - Current Researcher (Research) Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
2017/07 - 2018/06 Researcher (Research) Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Lisboa, Portugal
2014/11 - 2017/06 Researcher (Research) Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal

Teaching in Higher Education

Category
Host institution 		Employer
2024/12/23 - Current Assistant Professor (University Teacher) Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2022/09 - 2024/12/22 Invited Assistant Professor (University Teacher) Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2017/02 - 2022/08 Assistant (University Teacher) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
Projects

Contract

Designation Funders
2025 - Current PlantPathoRec: Recommender system for biological control agents against plant pathogens
2023.14580.PEX
Researcher
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Ongoing
2025 - Current Auth4ALL - One Method Does Not Fit All: Co-design of Context-aware Adaptive Mobile Authentication for Older Adults
2024.14974.PEX
Principal investigator
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Under evaluation
2025 - Current emPLANThy: A Nature-Inspired System for Exploring Empathy and Connection in Autism
2025.07817.SAU+
Researcher
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Under evaluation
2025 - Current SensAge: Exploring Physiological Data for Emotional and Cognitive Real-Time Monitoring in Aging
2025.08068.SAU+
Principal investigator
Under evaluation
2022/09 - 2024/10 a-STEP - advancing Social Inclusion through Technology and Empowerment
CA19104
Researcher
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
 European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Ongoing
2018/09/01 - 2022/10 AWESOME | Awareness While Experiencing and Surfing On Movies through Emotions
PTDC/CCI-INF/29234/2017
Researcher
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2018/07 - 2018/09 PersonAAL | Personalized web applications to improve quality of life and remote care for older adults
AAL/0011/2014
Researcher
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
 AAL Association

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

European Commission
Concluded
2017/07 - 2018/06 INSIDE | Intelligent Networked robot Systems for symbiotic Interaction with children with impaired DEvelopment
FCT - CMUP-ERI/HCI/0051/2013
Researcher
Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Lisboa, Portugal
 Information and Communications Technologies Institute

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Concluded
2017/05 - 2017/06 ALHTOUR | Assisted Living Technologies for the Health Tourism Sector
EU H2020 No. 692311
Invited Scientist Fellow
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
 European Commission
Concluded
2014/11 - 2015/10 ITACA - Innovation Technologies and Applications for Coastal Archaeological sites
FP7- SPACE No. 606805
Researcher
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
 European Commission
Concluded
Outputs

Publications

Book chapter
  1. Isabel Trancoso; Soraia M. Alarcão. "Assistive Technologies in Psychomotricity Sessions with Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder". 2023.
    10.24140/asdigital.v1.p02.07
Conference paper
  1. Deffrennes, Armand; Vincent, Lucile; Pivette, Marie; El Haddad, Kevin; Bailey, Jacqueline Deanna; Perusquia-Hernandez, Monica; Soraia M. Alarcão; Dutoit, Thierry. "The Limitations of Current Similarity-Based Objective Metrics in the Context of Human-Agent Interaction Applications". Paper presented in International Conference on Multimodal Interaction, 2023.
    Accepted • 10.1145/3610661.3617155
  2. Teresa Chambel; Patrícia Arriaga; Manuel J. Fonseca; Thibault Langlois; Octavian Postolache; Cláudia Ribeiro; Nuno Piçarra; Soraia M. Alarcão; Ana Jorge. "That's AWESOME: Awareness While Experiencing and Surfing On Movies through Emotions". Paper presented in ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences Workshops, 2023.
    Accepted • 10.1145/3604321.3604330
  3. Soraia M. Alarcão; Fonseca, Manuel J.. "Enriching IAPS and GAPED Image Datasets with Unrestrained Emotional Data". Paper presented in International DMS Conference on Visualization and Visual Languages, San Francisco, 2018.
    10.18293/seke2018-009
  4. Soraia M. Alarcão; Pavão, Ruben; Fonseca, Manuel J.. "Where do People Look while Identifying Colors in Images". Paper presented in International DMS Conference on Visualization and Visual Languages, San Francisco, 2018.
    10.18293/seke2018-012
  5. Soraia M. Alarcão; Fonseca, Manuel J.. "Reminiscence therapy improvement using emotional information". Paper presented in International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII), San Antonio, Texas, 2017.
    Accepted • 10.1109/acii.2017.8273655
Conference poster
  1. Chambel, Teresa; Arriaga, Patrícia; Fonseca, Manuel J.; Langlois, Thibault; Octavian Postolache; Cláudia Ribeiro; Piçarra, Nuno; Soraia M. Alarcão; João Oliveira. Corresponding author: Chambel, Teresa. "AWESOME: Awareness While Experiencing and Surfing On Movies through Emotions". Paper presented in Encontro com a Ciência e a Tecnologia em Portugal, FCT, 2021.
Journal article
  1. Klavina, Aija; Pérez-Fuster, Patricia; Daems, Jo; Lyhne, Cecilie Nørby; Dervishi, Eglantina; Pajalic, Zada; Øderud, Tone; et al. "The use of assistive technology to promote practical skills in persons with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities: A systematic review". DIGITAL HEALTH 10 (2024): https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241281260.
    Open access • Published • 10.1177/20552076241281260
  2. João Oliveira; Soraia M. Alarcão; Teresa Chambel; Manuel J. Fonseca. "metaFERA: a meta-framework for creating emotion recognition frameworks for physiological signals". Multimedia Tools and Applications (2023): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11042-023-15249-5.
    Accepted • 10.1007/s11042-023-15249-5
  3. Soraia M. Alarcão; Vânia Mendonça; Carolina Maruta; Manuel J. Fonseca. "ExpertosLF: dynamic late fusion of CBIR systems using online learning with relevance feedback". Multimedia Tools and Applications (2023): https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-022-13119-0.
    Accepted • 10.1007/s11042-022-13119-0
  4. Soraia M. Alarcão; Vânia Mendonça; Cláudia Sevivas; Carolina Maruta; Manuel J. Fonseca. "Annotate Smarter, Not Harder: Using Active Learning to Reduce Emotional Annotation Effort". IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing (2023): https://doi.org/10.1109/TAFFC.2023.3329563.
    Accepted • 10.1109/TAFFC.2023.3329563
  5. Filipe Galvão; Soraia M. Alarcão; Manuel J. Fonseca. "Predicting Exact Valence and Arousal Values from EEG". Sensors 21 10 (2021): 3414-3414. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21103414.
    Accepted • 10.3390/s21103414
  6. Soraia M. Alarcão; Pavão, Ruben; Fonseca, Manuel J.. "Dominant Colors as Image Content Descriptors: A Study with Users". Journal of Visual Languages and Sentient Systems 4 1 (2018): 38-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.18293/vlss2018-034.
    Accepted • 10.18293/vlss2018-034
  7. Soraia M. Alarcão; Fonseca, Manuel J.. "Enriching Image Datasets with Unrestrained Emotional Data: A Study with Users". Journal of Visual Languages and Sentient Systems 4 1 (2018): 47-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.18293/vlss2018-033.
    Accepted • 10.18293/vlss2018-033
  8. Soraia M. Alarcão; Fonseca, Manuel. J.. "Identifying emotions in images from valence and arousal ratings". Multimedia Tools and Applications (2018): https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11042-017-5311-8.
    Accepted • 10.1007/s11042-017-5311-8
  9. Soraia M. Alarcão; Fonseca, Manuel J.. "Emotions Recognition Using EEG Signals: A Survey". IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing 10 3 (2017): 374-393. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAFFC.2017.2714671.
    Accepted • 10.1109/TAFFC.2017.2714671
Thesis / Dissertation
  1. Soraia M. Alarcão. "EmoPhoto: Identification of Emotions in Photos". Master, 2014.
Activities

Supervision

Thesis Title
Role 		Degree Subject (Type)
Institution / Organization
2024/09 - Current [MSc] Personalized Images Recommendation based on Emotions
Co-supervisor of Ana Domingos
 MSc on Data Science (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2024/09 - Current [MSc] Exploring Explainability in Emotion Recognition
Supervisor of Rute Patuleia
 MSc on Data Science (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2024/09 - Current [MSc] Explore the Use of Contextual Information on the Recognition of Emotions in Multimedia
Supervisor of Judite Ramos
 MSc on Data Science (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2024/09 - Current [MSc] Investigation and Development of an Emotional and Interactive Intelligent Virtual Agent
Supervisor of Guilherme Cepeda
 MSc on Informatics Engineering (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2024/09 - Current [MSc] Accessible and Inclusive Authentication for Older Adults
Co-supervisor of Joaquim Simões
 MSc on Information Security (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/09 - 2025/03 [MSc] Personalised Image Emotion-based Recommender System
Co-supervisor
 MSc on Data Science (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/09 - 2025/02/04 [MSc] Essential-functions mobile app as a cognitive training tool for elderly people
Co-supervisor of Rafaela Rodrigues
 MSc on Informatics Engineering (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/09 - 2025/01/28 [MSc] Data Privacy and Security for Remote Healthcare
Supervisor of Ana Luísa de Brito
 MSc on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/09 - 2024/12/18 [MSc] Exploring the Uncanny Valley Effect: How Visual Perception-Related Autistic Traits Shape Human-Robot Interaction
Co-supervisor of Berta Trancoso
 MSc on Cognitive Science (Degree)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/09 - 2024/11/26 [MSc] Desenvolvimento de um gestor de senhas acessível para idosos
Supervisor of João Arcanjo
 MSc on Informatics Engineering (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/09 - 2024/03 [MSc] Emotion-based Image Recommendation System
Co-supervisor of Maria Leonor Miranda
 MSc on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2022/09 - 2023/12 [MSc] Exploring the combination of motion and EDA data to improve emotion recognition
Supervisor of Hugo Rocha
 MSc on Informatics (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2022/09 - 2023/01 [MSc] Identificação de Perfis de Clientes Bancários: Uma Perspetiva de Ciência De Dados
Supervisor of Ema Mendes
 MSc on Data Science (Master)
Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal

Course / Discipline taught

Academic session Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization
2025/02 - Current Introduction to Web Technologies Licenciatura em Tecnologias de Informação (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2024/09 - 2025/02 Programming I (LTI) Licenciatura em Engenharia Informática (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2022/09 - 2025/02 Interacting with Computers Licenciatura em Tecnologias de Informação (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2022/09 - 2024/02 Database and Information Systems Licenciatura em Engenharia Informática (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/02 - 2023/07 Human-Computer Interaction Licenciatura em Engenharia Informática (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2023/02 - 2023/07 Introduction to Web Technologies Licenciatura em Tecnologias de Informação (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências, Portugal
2022/03 - 2022/07 Computer Graphics Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2022/02 - 2022/07 Multimedia Content Production Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Mestrado) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2022/02 - 2022/07 Information Visualization Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Mestrado) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2020/09 - 2021/02 Computer Graphics Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2019/09 - 2020/02 Computer Graphics Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2019/02 - 2019/07 Human-Computer Interaction Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2018/09 - 2019/02 Artificial Intelligence Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2018/02 - 2018/07 Human-Computer Interaction Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2017/09 - 2018/02 Information Visualization Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Mestrado integrado) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2017/02 - 2017/07 Human-Computer Interaction Engenharia Informática e de Computadores (Licenciatura) Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal

Mentoring / Tutoring

Topic Student name
2021/09 - 2033/05 [MSc] KeepsakeBox: Aplicação para a Criação e Realização de Atividades de Reminiscência Pedro Neves
2023/04 - 2024/11/30 [Internship] EMORecSys - an EMOtional Recommender System for multimedia data Filipe Fernandes
2023/09 - 2024/06 [Internship] DPSRH - Data Privacy and Security for Remote Healthcare Berat Göktas
2021/09 - 2023/05 [MSc] KeepsakeBox: Insertion and Validation of New Images on the Platform Raúl Alves
2021/09 - 2023/04 [MSc] KeepsakeBox: visualização do histórico de sessões de terapia de reminiscência Bruna Vieites
2021/09 - 2022/02 [MSc] EmoVideo: Automatic Prediction of Emotional Responses to Videos using its Cinematic Features Silvana Graça
2020/09 - 2022/02 [MSc] RTPatient - Platform for Managing Reminiscence Therapy Sessions and Patients Maria Goulão
2020/09 - 2022/01 [MSc] KeepsakeBox: Caregivers Platform for Supporting Reminiscence Therapy André Santana
2019/09 - 2021/01 [MSc] Aplicação para Terapia da Reminiscência Madalena Vagos
2019/09 - 2021/01 [MSc] Identifying Areas of Emotional Interest in Images Through Content Tags and Eye Gaze: A Study with Users Claúdia Desidério
2019/09 - 2020/07 [MSc] EmoEEG - Recognising People's Emotions using Electroencephalography Filipe Galvão
2018/09 - 2019/11 [MSc] EmoStatus - Estimating the Emotional State of People using Electrodermal Activity João Oliveira
Distinctions

Award

2024 Distinguished Publication 2024, "Annotate Smarter, not Harder: Using Active Learning to Reduce Emotional Annotation Effort"
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
2023 Distinguished Publication 2023, "metaFERA: A Meta-Framework for creating Emotion Recognition Frameworks from Physiological Signals”
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
2023 Outstanding Teachers Award, Computer Graphics 2021/2022
Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2022 Distinguished Publication 2022, "ExpertosLF: dynamic late fusion of CBIR systems using online learning with relevance feedback”
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
2022 Distinguished Publication 2022, "Predicting Exact Valence and Arousal Values from EEG"
Universidade de Lisboa Laboratório de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala, Portugal
2022 Editor's Choice Articles Award, "Predicting Exact Valence and Arousal Values from EEG"
MDPI AG, Switzerland
2022 Most Cited Paper Award, "Emotions Recognition Using EEG Signals: A Survey"
IEEE, United States
2022 Outstanding Teachers Award, Computer Graphics 2020/2021
Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2021 Outstanding Teachers Award, Computer Graphics 2019/2020
Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2020 Outstanding Teachers Award, Human-Computer Interaction 2018/2019
Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
2018 Best Paper Award, "Where do People Look while Identifying Colors in Image" at International DMS Conference on Visualization and Visual Languages
2014 Academic Merit Board 2013/2014 (MSc in Computer Science and Engineering - Taguspark)
Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal

Other distinction

2022 Finalist for the Best PhD Award - RedeSAÚDE
Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
2018 PhD Grant, SFRH/BD/138263/2018
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal
2017 Travel Grant, Doctoral Consortium at International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction, San Antonio, Texas, USA