Joao P. A. Dantas
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Joao P. A. Dantas

Research Engineer, Brazilian Air Force
dantasjpad@fab.mil.br
jpdantas@gmail.com
CV | LinkedIn | Publications

Biography

I am a Research Engineer in the Decision Support Systems Subdivision at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IEAv), a research organization of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). My research focuses on defense applications, especially creating decision support systems to support FAB's mission. My long-term objective is to develop new national technologies on the edge of knowledge with a high added value to guarantee our technological sovereignty and to develop the Brazilian defense ecosystem. My work has been deployed in multiple defense applications, including air combat simulation, missile modeling, and autonomous agents in operational scenarios.

I received my B.Sc. degree in Mechanical-Aeronautical Engineering from the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), Brazil, in 2015. During this time, I participated in a year-long undergraduate exchange program at Stony Brook University, USA. I also received my M.Sc. degree from the Graduate Program in Electronic and Computer Engineering at ITA in 2019. Currently, I am pursuing my Ph.D. degree in the same program at ITA and, recently, I was working as a visiting researcher in the AirLab at Carnegie Mellon University. My research interests include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, and Simulation.

Selected News

April 2023 Selected to participate at the Brazil at Silicon Valley 2023 in Santa Clara, CA
January 2023 Finished my Ph.D. Exchange Program at the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
December 2022 Excited to present one paper at the Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) 2022
December 2022 Attendance to the course Missile Design and System Engineering offered by Prof. Eugene Fleeman at Georgia Institute of Technology
November 2022 Excited to participate in the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2022
. • July 2022 Excited to present one paper at the World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, & Applied Computing (CSCE) 2022
July 2022 Honored to receive the Fundacão Estudar Merit Scholarship for outstanding trajectory and academic potential, 30 recipients out of 33,876 applicants
June 2022 Presentation of the project Close-Proximity Safe and Seamless Operation of Manned and Unmanned Aircraft in Shared Airspace to the U.S. Army Futures Command at the Technology Terrain Walk
June 2022 One paper accepted at the Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) 2022
May 2022 One article accepted at the IEEE Latin America Transactions
May 2022 Excited to participate at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2020, presenting one workshop paper at the Aerial Robotics Workshop
April 2022 One paper accepted at the 20th International Conference on Scientific Computing (CSC)
April 2022 One workshop paper accepted at the Aerial Robotics Workshop, International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2022
April 2022 Demonstration of the project Close-Proximity Safe and Seamless Operation of Manned and Unmanned Aircraft in Shared Airspace at the Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems Symposium & Exposition 2022, an event hosted by the Association of the United States Army (AUSA)
Jan 2022 I founded the Brazilian Armed Forces Research Association (BAFRA), an organization responsible for integrating scientists who are abroad carrying out research aimed at the technological development of the Brazilian defense ecosystem
December 2021 Excited to present one paper at the 10th Brazilian Conference on Intelligent Systems (BRACIS)
December 2021 Honored to receive 3rd place at the 5th Brazilian Competition on Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD-BR) and present the paper related to this work at the 18th National Meeting on Artificial and Computational Intelligence (ENIAC)
November 2021 Excited to start a Ph.D. Exchange Program at the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
October 2021 Excited to present one paper at the 18th Latin American Robotics Symposium (LARS)

Publications

Journals

Machine Learning to Improve Situational Awareness in Beyond Visual Range Air Combat
Joao P. A. Dantas, Andre N. Costa, Diego Geraldo, Marcos R. O. A. Maximo, Takashi Yoneyama
IEEE Latin America Transactions, 2022
[Link] [PDF] [Video] [Code]

Formation control method based on artificial potential fields for aircraft flight simulation
Andre N. Costa, Felipe L. L. Medeiros, Joao P. A. Dantas, Diego Geraldo, Nei Y. Soma
SIMULATION SAGE, 2021
[Link] [PDF]

Peer-reviewed Conferences

Learned Tree Search for Long-Horizon Social Robot Navigation in Shared Airspace [submitted]
Ingrid Navarro, Jay Patrikar, Joao P. A. Dantas, Rohan Baijal, Ian Higgins, Sebastian Scherer, Jean Oh
International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2023
[PDF] [Video] [Code]

Autonomous Agent for Beyond Visual Range Air Combat: A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach
Joao P. A. Dantas, Marcos R. O. A. Maximo, Takashi Yoneyama
SIGSIM PADS (Principles of Advanced Discrete Simulation), 2023
[PDF]

ASA: A Simulation Environment for Evaluating Military Operational Scenarios
Joao P. A. Dantas, Andre N. Costa, Vitor C. F. Gomes, Andre R. Kuroswiski, Felipe L. L. Medeiros, Diego Geraldo
World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, & Applied Computing (CSCE), 2022
[PDF] [Presentation] [Video I] [Video II]

Supervised Machine Learning for Effective Missile Launch Based on Beyond Visual Range Air Combat Simulations
Joao P. A. Dantas, Andre N. Costa, Felipe L. L. Medeiros, Diego Geraldo, Marcos R. O. A. Maximo, Takashi Yoneyama
Winter Simulation Conference (WSC), 2022
[Link] [PDF] [Presentation] [Code]

Weapon Engagement Zone Maximum Launch Range Estimation Using a Deep Neural Network
Joao P. A. Dantas, Andre N. Costa, Diego Geraldo, Marcos R. O. A. Maximo, Takashi Yoneyama
Brazilian Conference on Intelligent Systems (BRACIS), 2021
[Link] [PDF] [Video] [Code]

Engagement decision support for beyond visual range air combat
Joao P. A. Dantas, Andre N. Costa, Diego Geraldo, Marcos R. O. A. Maximo, Takashi Yoneyama
Latin American Robotics Symposium (LARS), 2021
[Link] [PDF] [Video] [Code]

Enhanced Self-Organizing Map Solution for the Traveling Salesman Problem
Joao P. A. Dantas, Andre N. Costa, Marcos R. O. A. Maximo, Takashi Yoneyama
National Meeting on Artificial and Computational Intelligence (ENIAC), 2021
[Link] [PDF] [Code]

Simulation study applied to air logistics in the Amazon region
Joao P. A. Dantas, Caio A. M. Silvestre, Daniel A. Pamplona, Anibal T. Azevedo
III Regional Meeting of Operations Research of the Southeast (ERPO), 2018
[Link] [PDF]

Exploratory Data Analysis of Brazilian Aeronautical Accidents
Joao P. A. Dantas, Jelton A. Cunha, Jamesson L. Silva, Alessandro O. Arantes, Vitor C. F. Gomes
Flight Safety Symposium (SSV), 2018
[Link] [PDF]

Magazines

Simulation model applied to transport missions in the Amazon region
Joao P. A. Dantas, Caio A. M. Silvestre
Spectrum: Operational Applications in Defense Areas, 2020
[Link] [PDF]

Game theory applied to beyond visual range air combat
Joao P. A. Dantas
Spectrum: Operational Applications in Defense Areas, 2017
[PDF]

Workshops

Challenges in Close-Proximity Safe and Seamless Operation of Manned and Unmanned Aircraft in Shared Airspace
Jay Patrikar, Joao P. A. Dantas, Sourish Ghosh, Parv Kapoor, Ian Higgins, Jasmine J. Aloor, Ingrid Navarro, Jimin Sun, Ben Stoler, Milad Hamidi, Rohan Baijal, Brady Moon, Jean Oh, Sebastian Scherer
International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2022
[Link] [PDF] [Video]

Master's Thesis

Decision support for beyond visual range air combat: an artificial neural network approach
Joao P. A. Dantas, Takashi Yoneyama
Master's Thesis at Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Electronic and Computer Engineering Division, 2018
[PDF]

Undergraduate Research

Hexacopter for civil construction monitoring: assembly, testing and operation
Joao P. A. Dantas, Davi Antonio dos Santos
Senior Thesis at Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Mechanical-Aeronautical Engineering Division, 2015
[PDF]

Automatic data acquisition in tests of thermal barrier materials carried out in a supersonic plasma tunnel
Joao P. A. Dantas, Gilberto P. Filho
ITA Scientific Initiation and Postgraduate Meeting (ENCITA), 2013
[PDF] [Presentation]

Study of a low pressure thermionic cathode discharge
Joao P. A. Dantas, Gilberto P. Filho
ITA Scientific Initiation and Postgraduate Meeting (ENCITA), 2012
[PDF] [Presentation]

Education

Aug 2021 - Present

Ph.D., Electronic and Computer Engineering

Aeronautics Institute of Technology

São José dos Campos, Brazil
GPA: 9.5/10.0
Research Advisors: Prof. Takashi Yoneyama and Prof. Marcos R. O. A. Maximo

Nov 2022 - Jan 2023

Ph.D. Exchange Program, Robotics

Carnegie Mellon University, Robotics Institute

Pittsburgh, PA
Research Advisor: Prof. Sebastian Scherer

Aug 2016 - Jan 2019

M.Sc., Electronic and Computer Engineering

Aeronautics Institute of Technology

São José dos Campos, Brazil
GPA: 8.5/10.0
Research Advisor: Prof. Takashi Yoneyama
Thesis Committee: Roberto K. H. Galvao, Takashi Yoneyama, Henrique C. Marques, Helcio V. Junior

Jul 2014 - Jul 2015

Undergraduate Exchange Program, Mechanical Engineering

Stony Brook University, College of Engineering

Stony Brook, NY
GPA: 3.93/4.00
One-year study program. Full scholarship by Brazil's Ministry of Education
Research Advisor: Prof. Carlos Colosqui

Jan 2011 - Dec 2015

B.Sc., Mechanical-Aeronautical Engineering

Aeronautics Institute of Technology

São José dos Campos, Brazil
GPA: 8.7/10.0
Senior Thesis: Hexacopter for civil construction monitoring: assembly, testing and operation
Research Advisor: Prof. Davi Antonio dos Santos

Awards and Honors

• 2023: Travel award (~$2,500) to participate at the Brazil at Silicon Valley 2023 in Santa Clara, CA
• 2022: Fundacão Estudar Merit Scholarship for outstanding trajectory and academic potential (30 recipients out of 33,876 applicants)
• 2021: 3rd place in the 5th Brazilian Competition on Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD-BR)
• 2021: Military Bronze Medal received from the Brazilian Air Force
• 2020: Distinguished Fellowship Award for making significant contributions to the Fellows Community, Institute Four
• 2019: 6th place out of 39 competitors in the 3rd Brazilian Competition on Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD-BR)
• 2019: Ambassador Award of Excellence, International Youth Math Challenge
• 2019: 4th place in the Data Science Challenge at Engineering Education for the Future (EEF)
• 2016: Selected by Instituto Four to participate in the Prolider Program (29 recipients out of 2,013 applicants)
• 2015: Honorable Mention in the Department of Humanities, Aeronautics Institute of Technology
• 2014-2015: Full scholarship from Brazil's Ministry of Education for a one-year study program at Stony Brook University, College of Engineering (~$75,000)
• 2014: Military Merit Award from the Brazilian Air Force (25% best military behavior grades among the Officer Candidates)
• 2011-2013: Fellowship of Scientific Initiation Scholarship Program for 24 months, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development
• 2011: 1st place overall out of 120 Officer Candidates, Brazilian Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (CPORAER-SJ)
• 2011: Approved in the Aeronautics Institute of Technology entrance exam, 120 recipients out of 7627 applicants
• 2009: Academic Merit Award from the Brazilian Air Force (25% best military grades among the Cadets)
• 2007: Bronze Medal, 10th Brazilian Olympiad of Astronomy and Astronautics (OBA) (187,726 competitors)
• 2006: Honorable Mention in the XIV Ceara Science and Biology Olympiad, a competition managed by the Federal University of Ceara, Brazil
• 2006: Gold Medal in the Internal Science Olympiads in the disciplines of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Farias Brito High School, Brazil
• 2004-2006: Full scholarship for three years at Farias Brito High School, Brazil (~$30,000)
• 2003: Honor to Merit for 2nd place three times and 5th place one time in the Internal Mathematics Olympiad, Christus Middle School
• 2003: 2nd place in the 3rd Christus Exhibition of Science and Technology (EXCETEC) in the area "Exact, Social and Commercial Sciences" with the project "Educational Exodus Study", Christus Middle School, Brazil.

Work Experience

Jan 2013 - Present, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil

Brazilian Air Force

Captain Officer, Researcher Engineer, Institute for Advanced Studies

• Working on multiple defense applications using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science to develop decision support systems to improve the Air Force's decision-making process

Feb 2017 - Jul 2021, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil

COC Educational System

Scientific Olympiads Coordinator and Mathematics Teacher

• Responsible for the preparatory class for Scientific Olympiads, having obtained 158 medals and honorable mentions in 46 national and international competitions

Oct 2016 - Dez 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Emerge Brasil

Co-Founder and Head of Communications

• Initiative that was born to foster and strengthen market-oriented technological innovation in Brazil, mapping more than 300 technologies, with 60 technologies already working in partnership with the Brazilian Industry

Volunteering

Apr 2020 - Jul 2021, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil

International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition

Ambassador

• Working to enables motivated students and supportive mentors to inspire youths for astronomy and astrophysics and to encourage them to participate in the competition

Jul 2019 - Jul 2021, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil

International Youth Math Challenge

Ambassador

• Working to inform schools and encourage students and youths to participate in the competition

Jun 2012 - May 2013, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil

Alpha Lumen Institute

Mathematics Teacher

• Teacher of mathematics in the preparatory class for the Aeronautics Institute of Technology entrance exam

Contact


Address
Office P-30, Decision Support Systems Subdivision
Institute for Advanced Studies
The Brazilian Department of Science and Aerospace Technology
Trevo Coronel Aviador José Alberto Albano do Amarante 01
Putim, Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo, Brazil 12228-001
Phone Number
+55 (12) 99133 5303
Email
dantasjpad@fab.mil.br
jpdantas@gmail.com