Dr. Mario Costa Sousa is a Full Professor of Computer Science at the University of Calgary, Canada, where he directs the Illustrares Research Group. His research focuses on interactive visual computing, spanning computer graphics, scientific visualization, visual analytics, and human–data interaction, with applications across geoscience, engineering, medicine, and creative technologies.

He holds a PhD from the University of Alberta and an MSc from PUC-Rio, Brazil, both in computer graphics and scientific visualization. Since joining the University of Calgary in 2001, he has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers, authored two textbooks, and delivered more than 90 invited talks worldwide.

Throughout his career, Dr. Costa Sousa has led numerous funded research initiatives and supervised more than 50 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and research staff. He held an eight-year Industrial Research Chair in Scalable Reservoir Visualization and more recently served as one of three Principal Investigators of the 10-year Rapid Reservoir Modeling (RRM) Joint Industry Project—an international consortium co-led with colleagues from Imperial College London and Delft University of Technology, and supported by leading energy companies.

His scholarship, mentorship, and collaborative leadership continue to shape innovation in visual computing and its real-world impact.