- Distinguished ECE Professor Jose Príncipe is retiring after nearly 40 years.
- He was selected as a UF distinguished alumnus this year.
- He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from UF in the 1970s.
Armed with a fresh bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Porto, Portugal-born Jose Príncipe, now Ph.D., first stepped onto the University of Florida campus in the early 1970s to pursue a master’s degree.
More than 50 years later, Príncipe is retiring as a distinguished professor from the University of Florida after nearly 40 years as a faculty member — a faculty member who, incidentally, graduated 112 Ph.D. students (with four more in the pipeline).
He is going out with a bang, as he was selected as a UF distinguished alumnus this year. Already, he is a distinguished professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at UF, where he has led research in signal processing, machine learning and computational neuroengineering for decades.
He focuses on adaptive systems, information-theoretic learning, neural networks and brain–machine interfaces — timely areas at the intersection of engineering, artificial intelligence and neuroscience. Colleagues contend Príncipe is one of the most influential scholars in his field.
“Few researchers have had as much impact on such a broad range of topics in electrical engineering as Jose Príncipe,” said Professor John Shea, Ph.D., associate chair for Faculty Affairs. “His career stands as a testament to intellectual curiosity, innovation, and a lifelong commitment to advancing science and humanity.”
Príncipe’s path to retirement took him back and forth across the Atlantic. After earning his master’s degree at UF, he returned to Portugal amid the 1974 revolution that toppled the Estado Novo dictatorship, worked at the University of Aveiro, Portugal as a professor, came back to Gainesville for his Ph.D., returned to Portugal to teach and then, in the mid-1980s, returned to UF for good as a professor to study the theory of neural networks.
He preferred research over teaching, so he did not expect to stay for 40 years as faculty, but he is glad he did. So are his colleagues and, certainly, his graduate students.
He is an innovative thought leader at UF, a respected educator whose legacy includes mentoring graduate students. One of his biggest rewards as a professor, he said, is seeing his former students succeed in industry and academia. When he travels, be it in the states or abroad, he loves to meet up with former students he knows are working in the area.
“When I go to countries like Korea and China — and also in Europe — I call and say, ‘I’m here,’” he said.
He not only loved the student mentoring but the cultural melting pot fueling the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
“You know, my laboratory is amazing because it’s like the United Nations,” he said. “I really enjoy all the different cultures and the collaborative work that naturally arises when solving problems in science and technology. In these times when we are butting heads with everybody, it’s much more productive to think about better ways of collaboration.”
Príncipe retires as the Don D. & Ruth Eckis Endowed Distinguished Professor.
“It’s been a great, great journey,” he said of his time at UF.
A pioneer in computational intelligence, Príncipe founded the Computational NeuroEngineering Laboratory (CNEL) at UF, creating a globally recognized hub for interdisciplinary research that blends machine learning with biological inspiration. His work has focused on developing mathematical frameworks that model cognitive processes and enable machines to learn from complex, real-world data.
Among his many awards and honors, he is a fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the National Academy of Inventors. His awards include the IEEE Biomedical Engineer Career Award, IEEE Neural Network Pioneer Award, the IEEE Shannon-Nyquist Technical Achievement Award and the SEC Faculty Achievement Award.
He holds honorary degrees from Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland, the University Federal do Maranhao in Brazil and the University of Reggio Calabria in Italy. He has authored hundreds of publications and supervised more than 100 UF Ph.D. students.
“The reason I’m still here is because of the mentoring of post-graduate students,” he said. “I have learned a lot by mentoring my students.”
Equally rewarding, he added, is watching them leave the nest as promising technical leaders.
“Students are always stuck during their research,” he said. “So in the process of helping them improve their research, I learned and integrated a lot of new knowledge. When they teach me something, it is an indication that they have advanced science. At that point, my role ends and, really, you kick them out, right? This is the most fulfilling moment, and I’ve had many of these in my career.”
What’s next for Príncipe?
“I’m going to continue being involved in research but not directly with students — probably indirectly with colleagues interested in pushing science forward,” he said. “I plan to be as busy as I am now. My curiosity is still all there, so I will continue pushing forward the science-and-engineering envelopes. I hate boredom.”