https://i3lab.unex.es/beta/tag/i3-lab/ I3 Lab Hugo Blox Builder (https://hugoblox.com)en-usFri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://i3lab.unex.es/beta/media/logo_hu9707b9a559174456f684143b487c9165_12548_300x300_fit_lanczos_3.png https://i3lab.unex.es/beta/tag/i3-lab/ https://i3lab.unex.es/beta/post/26-09-04-double-thesis/ Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://i3lab.unex.es/beta/post/26-09-04-double-thesis/ <p>September 2026 will forever be etched in the history of <strong>i3 lab</strong> as a month of unprecedented scientific achievement and joy! Our research group is thrilled to celebrate the successful PhD thesis defenses of two outstanding colleagues, Dr. <strong><a href="../../author/juan-d.-gutierrez/" title="Juan Diego Gutiérrez Gallardo">Juan Diego Gutiérrez Gallardo</a></strong> and Dr. <strong><a href="../../author/fran-melchor/" title="Francisco Javier Melchor González">Francisco Javier Melchor González</a></strong>, both of whom achieved the maximum academic grade of <strong>Sobresaliente Cum Laude</strong>.</p> <h2 id="double-academic-triumph-in-software-engineering-and-artificial-intelligence">Double Academic Triumph in Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence</h2> <p>This double success highlights the exceptional quality and impact of the research conducted within our lab across cutting-edge domains:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Dr. Dr. Juan Diego Gutiérrez Gallardo (Andy):</strong> Successfully defended his second doctoral thesis, introducing the <strong>PROBE</strong> (<em>Prompt Optimization for Boundary Exploration</em>) framework. Grounded in <abbr title="Model-Driven Software Engineering">MDSE</abbr>, Andy&rsquo;s work provides a systematic methodology to optimize prompts and explore performance boundaries in foundation models without requiring costly retraining. For full details on his milestone defense, check out <a href="../26-09-02-andy-second-thesis/" title="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">Andy&rsquo;s PhD defense announcement</a></li> <li><strong>Dr. Francisco Javier Melchor González (Fran):</strong> Culminated a five-year scientific journey bridging Software Engineering and Data Science. His research proposes an <abbr title="Model-Driven Software Engineering">MDSE</abbr> framework that brings formal verification, reproducibility, and traceability to <abbr title="Data Science">DS</abbr> and <abbr title="Artificial Intelligence">AI</abbr> data pipelines through metamodeling and a specialized <abbr title="Domain-Specific Language">DSL</abbr>. Read the complete story in <a href="../26-09-03-fran-thesis/" title="Major Celebration at i3 lab! Francisco Javier Melchor Successfully Defends His PhD Thesis Bridging Software Engineering and Data Science">Fran&rsquo;s PhD defense announcement</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Both doctoral dissertations were supervised with great dedication and expertise by Dr. <strong><a href="../../author/roberto-rodriguez-echeverria/" title="Roberto Rodríguez Echeverría">Roberto Rodríguez Echeverría</a></strong> and Dr. <strong><a href="../../author/jose-m.-conejero/" title="José María Conejero Manzano">José María Conejero Manzano</a></strong>, whose guidance has been fundamental to these triumphs. We congratulate Andy and Fran from the bottom of our hearts for their brilliance, perseverance, and daily generosity.</p> <p>Interested in our research lines, want to learn more about our ongoing projects, or thinking about collaborating with us? <a href="../../contact/" title="Come, learn, and teach us!">Get in touch with our team</a>!</p> <hr>