About NCA-UFMA

A research and development center focused on high-impact solutions for industry, government, and society.

History and Mission

The Center for Applied Computing (NCA) at the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA) is a research and development center focused on computational solutions for socioeconomic and industrial development. NCA brings together researchers, doctoral, master’s, and undergraduate students on high-impact projects for industrial, governmental, and academic partners.

The Applied Computing Center (Núcleo de Computação Aplicada - NCA) at the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA) in Brazil was formally established in 2008 to drive computational research and development. The building formal inauguration as a center was a strategic initiative to embed UFMA in a national network of scientific computing and visualization done in 2012. From its base at the Dom Delgado University City campus in São Luís, the NCA has evolved into a multidisciplinary hub, uniting researchers from computer science, electrical engineering, and related fields to address regional challenges and support local development. Its foundational mission emphasized high-level human resource training and technology-based entrepreneurship, focusing on applied research with tangible societal impact.

Today, the NCA is a vibrant research and development unit, recognized for its extensive industry collaborations and impactful technological innovations. Operating across seven key areas—including Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Medical Image Processing, and Natural Language Processing—it bridges academic research with practical applications in sectors like energy, oil and gas, and healthcare. Notable projects include automated meter reading systems for ALUMAR, AI-based audit systems for the Maranhão State Court of Accounts, and advanced medical imaging for cancer detection, demonstrating the center’s ability to translate cutting-edge research into real-world solutions that drive social and economic development. Through its deep partnerships with industry leaders such as Petrobras and Equatorial Energy, the NCA exemplifies a successful model of university-industry collaboration, fulfilling its mission of high-level education and applied research for the benefit of both academia and society.

Infrastructure

O NCA mantém um parque próprio de dez servidores equipados com GPUs dedicadas ao processamento de modelos de aprendizado profundo. Entre as máquinas disponíveis, 6 são computadores com processadores Intel Core i9 de 9ª geração ou AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X, equipados com GPUs NVIDIA das séries RTX 3090, RTX 4090 e RTX 5080, com memória de vídeo entre 16 GB e 24 GB por unidade, RAM entre 32 GB e 128 GB e armazenamento local variando de 1 TB a 5 TB por servidor. 4 servidores adicionais, com processadores Intel Core i5 e i7 de 13ª geração, são equipados com GPUs NVIDIA RTX 3060 e RTX 4060 Ti, totalizando memória de vídeo de 12 GB a 16 GB por unidade, com RAM entre 32 GB e 64 GB e armazenamento de até 3 TB cada. O NCA conta ainda com um servidor de aplicação equipado com processador IntelCore i9 de 13ª geração, 128 GB de RAM e 14 TB de armazenamento total em disco, e 2 servidores de rede e aplicação com processadores Xeon de 16 núcleos, 32 a 64 GB de RAM e armazenamento de 1 TB a 1,8 TB.

Institutional Affiliation

The NCA is an integral part of the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), one of the leading federal universities in the North/Northeast region of Brazil, headquartered in São Luís, Maranhão. The group’s researchers are affiliated with the Computer Science Coordination and the Electrical Engineering Coordination, and actively participate in three CAPES-accredited graduate programs at UFMA:

  • PPGCC — Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Computação (Graduate Program in Computer Science, Master’s level).
  • PPGEE — Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Elétrica (Graduate Program in Electrical Engineering, Master’s and Doctoral levels).
  • DCCMAPI — Doutorado em Ciência da Computação em Associação UFMA/UFPI (Doctoral Program in Computer Science, joint program between UFMA and the Federal University of Piauí).

Location

NCA Lab, CCET Building Av. dos Portugueses, 1966 Vila Bacanga, São Luís - MA, Brazil, 65080-805