The research in LIS is centered around modeling and implementing applications and tools which manipulate large amounts of complex data, for multidisciplinary applications. Our current research topics are:
- Scientific Databases
- Image Databases
- Geographic Information Systems
- User Interfaces for Geographic Information
- Heterogeneous Data and Interoperability
- Workflow Management Systems
- Spatial Decision Support Systems
- Graph databases
The work already developed includes the specification and implementation of several tools that are incorporated in database systems, the design of database languages and interfaces for different application domains, and tools to manage the different stages of the lifecycle of scientific data. Past and ongoing work includes rjoint esearch and development for:
- environmental planning applications in cooperation with the Geoscience Institute of UNICAMP and the National Aerospace Research Institute (INPE);
- agricultural planning applications (in cooperation with the GEO (Study Group in Geoprocessing) of the Agricultural Engineering Faculty of UNICAMP, and CEPAGRI, the Center for Meteorological and Climate Research applied to Agriculture of UNICAMP.
- urban planing;
- biodiversity mapping and collection data management (in cooperation with researchers of IB, the Institute of Biology, UNICAMP)
- management and operation of telephone networks (in cooperation with Brazilian Telecommunications Research and Development Center (CPqD –Telebras)).
These projects are developed with the help of other professors of the Institute of Computing:
- Neucimar Jeronimo Leite and Alexandre Falcao (image processing),
- Maria Cecilia Calani Baranauskas (interfaces and educational software),
- Eliane Martins (software engineering);
- Ariadne Carvalho (natural language interface) and
- Edmundo Madeira (computer networks),
- as well as researchers from other UNICAMP centers
LIS has a long term cooperation with the database researchers of the University of Paris IX ( LAMSADE), in the area of database versions.
Another research effort is geared towards developing an automated process-oriented environment to help design and document scientific experiments in the areas of geosciences and biosciences. This effort started as part of a joint project in scientific workflows with researchers of the Wirtschaftsinformatik Institut, University of Münster, Germany, and proceeded with with Marie-Jose Blin of the LAMSADE laboratory, and Jacques Wainer .
The group also was involved in participating in the design and development of a biodiversity information system for the state of Sao Paulo, within the BIOTA/FAPESP program.