Graduate degree in civil engineering from Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (1987), master's in civil engineering from Instituto Alberto Luiz Coimbra de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa de Engenharia (1992), and doctorate in civil engineering from Instituto Alberto Luiz Coimbra de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa de Engenharia (1999). Has experience in civil engineering, acting on the following subjects: structural mechanics, structural optimization, and evolutionary algorithms in optimization.