In the life of a university, there are moments that go beyond the usual framework of academic activity and become landmarks for the future. The defense of Munteanu Viorel’s doctoral thesis was such a moment for the Faculty of Computers, Informatics and Microelectronics and for the Technical University of Moldova.
On the morning of March 30, 2026, in the 3-3 “Amdaris” auditorium, the academic community gathered to witness the defense of the doctoral thesis in the field of Natural Sciences, specialty 122.03 Modeling, mathematical methods, software products. The thesis, titled “Continuous-time Markovian models based on phylogeny for gene dynamics in microbial pangenomes”, reflected years of work, rigor and passion for research at the intersection of computer science, mathematics and biology.
Viorel Munteanu’s career is emblematic for the new generation of researchers trained at UTM – a generation that not only assimilates knowledge, but actively contributes to its expansion. His scientific activity has gone beyond the boundaries of the institution, being integrated into international projects and materialized in publications in prestigious journals. His participation in papers published in Nature family journals, including Nature Reviews Methods Primers (Impact Factor – 56), as well as in journals such as Nature Water, Genome Biology or Cell Genomics, confirms the relevance and visibility of the research carried out.
Behind this career was a solid academic team. Under the guidance of the scientific leader, prof. univ., dr. hab. Bostan Viorel, corresponding member of the AŞM, and with the support of the guidance committee – Rodica Siminiuc, Serghei Mangul and Dumitru Ciorbă – the research was guided with rigor and vision, being integrated into the international scientific context.
The moment of the defense also brought together a Public Defense Committee formed by prominent figures of science from the Republic of Moldova and Romania. Under the presidency of prof. univ., dr. hab. Emilian Guțuleac, together with prof. univ., dr. hab. Bostan Viorel, and having as official referees Serghei Mangul (USA), Andrei Lobiuc (Romania) and Liliana Cepoi, the thesis was evaluated at the highest academic standards.
Following the public defense, the Council highly appreciated the scientific contributions of the work and decided to confer the title of:
🎓 Doctor of Informatics
This defense has a special significance: it marks the first doctoral thesis in bioinformatics completed and defended at the Technical University of Moldova. It is a moment that reflects the maturation of a strategic research direction and the opening towards cutting-edge interdisciplinary fields.
For FCIM, for UTM and for the scientific community, this event is not just the end of a doctoral journey, but the beginning of a new stage. Bioinformatics is becoming a pillar of modern research, and the results obtained by Viorel Munteanu show that excellence is possible when the passion for science is supported by a dedicated academic environment.
FCIM – where research meets the future.