Is there a doctor in the room? Doctor doctor to the rescue! Juan Diego Gutiérrez Gallardo defends his second PhD thesis on AI and prompt optimization

Today is a day of immense joy and pride for everyone at i3 lab! Our dear colleague and brilliant researcher, Dr. Juan Diego Gutiérrez Gallardo (Andy), has successfully defended his second PhD thesis within the Doctoral Program in Computer Technologies (R016). Supervised with great dedication by Dr. Roberto Rodríguez Echeverría and Dr. José María Conejero Manzano, this achievement by Andy represents not only an extraordinary academic milestone, but also a beautiful testament to his passion, tireless effort, and boundless curiosity.

PROBE: Exploring the Limits of AI with Model-Driven Software Engineering

Prompt-based AI foundation models offer unprecedented potential for solving complex tasks, ranging from generating coherent text to recognizing objects in images. However, adapting these general-purpose models to specialized domains without resorting to costly retraining or fine-tuning processes remains a major challenge. Furthermore, the scientific community lacked a systematic way to measure performance ceilings or fairly compare different versions of the same model.

To address this, Andy developed PROBE (Prompt Optimization for Boundary Exploration), a novel non-intrusive framework grounded in MDSE. His thesis provides a structured roadmap to answer three crucial questions for the field:

• Feasibility: Determining how effectively a general-purpose model can be tailored to a specialized task solely through prompt optimization.
• Performance Ceilings: Identifying and quantifying the maximum achievable performance limit without modifying the model internally.
• Direct Transfer: Understanding how updates in base foundation models automatically improve performance in target tasks.

Practical Validation and Real-World Impact

Theory meets practice in the best possible way! Andy’s proposal was empirically validated through an in-depth case study on image segmentation. The results clearly demonstrated PROBE’s capability to guide prompt optimization and accurately outline performance boundaries, offering software engineers and AI practitioners a reliable guide for making informed architectural decisions.

Committee Recognition and Celebration

We would like to express our most sincere gratitude to the members of the evaluation committee: Guadalupe Ortiz Bellot (Full Professor at the University of Cádiz), Juan Antonio Pereira Varela (Professor at the University of the Basque Country), and María Encarnación Sosa Sánchez (Professor at the University of Extremadura). Thank you for your time, dedication, and the insightful contributions made during the session.

The crowning touch to such a special day came with the highest possible distinction: Sobresaliente Cum Laude! An impeccable and thoroughly deserved recognition of years of hard work, brilliance, and research excellence.

We couldn’t be prouder of Andy! Earning two doctorates is a magnificent achievement, but what truly makes him special to all of us at i3 lab is his warmth, his constant willingness to help others, and the joy he brings every single day. Huge congratulations, Dr. Dr. Andy! Thank you for inspiring us all.

Stay tuned for future announcements and updates from our team! If you have ideas, want to know more, or would like to collaborate with us, get in touch with our team!