Nivio Ziviani

Nivio Ziviani
Born (1946-08-27) August 27, 1946 (age 78)
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Alma materUniversity of Waterloo
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Federal University of Minas Gerais
Known forAkwan Information Technologies
Scientific career
FieldsComputer science
Doctoral advisorGaston Gonnet

Nivio Ziviano (born 27 August 1946) is a Brazilian computer scientist working primarily in information retrieval and recommendation systems. He is an emeritus professor in the Computer Science department of the Federal University of Minas Gerais,[1][2] where he leads the Laboratory for Treating Information (LATIN).[3] Ziviani is known for cofounding multiple companies, including Akwan Information Technologies, bought by Google in 2005[1] and Kunumi, bought by Banco Bradesco (a large Brazilian Bank) in 2024[4]

Biography

As a child, Ziviani suffered from polio.[5] Ziviani went on to obtain a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, 1971, a master's degree in informatics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, 1976, and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Waterloo, 1982, where we has supervised by Gaston Gonnet.[6] Ziviani played an important role in establishing Computer Science undergraduate courses in Brazil.[5]

Throughout his career, he cofounded multiple startups that were later adquired by larger companies. In 1998, he cofounded the Miner Technology Group in 1998, which was acquired by Grupo Folha de S.Paulo/UOL in 1999. In 2000, he cofounded the Akwan Information Technologies in 2000, bought by Google in 2005.[1] Google went on to establish its headquarters in Latin America in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, after the purchase.[7][8] In 2016, he cofounded the start-up Kunumi, which was adquired by Banco Bradesco (a large Brazilian Bank) in 2024[4]

Books

  • Projeto de Algoritmos Com implementações em Pascal e em C (Cengage Learning, ISBN 9788522110506, Third Edition, 2010) (in Portuguese).[9] This book was also published in Spanish.[10]
  • Projeto de Algoritmos Com implementações em Java e C++ (Thomson Learning, ISBN 85-221-0525-1, Second Edition, 2007) (in Portuguese).[11]

Awards

Ziviani has received multiple honors and awards, including:

References

  1. ^ a b c "Professor da UFMG recebe prêmio de mérito científico da Sociedade Brasileira de Computação", Estado de Minas, 2011
  2. ^ "Nivio Ziviani recebe título de Professor Emérito da UFMG". Notícias da UFMG.
  3. ^ A pequena Kunumi vai brigar contra o Google, 2017
  4. ^ a b Gerais, Universidade Federal de Minas (2024-06-13). "Spin-off da UFMG é adquirida pelo Grupo Bradesco". Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  5. ^ a b "Nivio Ziviani: O criador de startups". revistapesquisa.fapesp.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  6. ^ "Nivio Ziviani – ABC" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  7. ^ "Google compra empresa brasileira de busca", Universo Online, 2005, archived from the original on 2013-12-20, retrieved 2013-02-14
  8. ^ Google monta base em Minas Gerais
  9. ^ Projeto de Algoritmos Com implementações em Pascal e em C
  10. ^ Diseño de Algoritmos com implementaciones en Pascal y C
  11. ^ Projeto de Algoritmos Com implementações em Java e C++
  12. ^ "Nivio Ziviani at the Brazilian Academy of Sciences", Brazilian Academy of Sciences, archived from the original on 2013-12-20, retrieved 2013-01-31
  13. ^ "Nivio Ziviani at Ministry of Science and Technology (Brazil)", Ministry of Science and Technology (Brazil)