Saulo Jacques | Portfolio

About Me

I'm a PhD in Ecology and Evolution and co-founder of Hacking Ecology, where I coordinate projects at the intersection of open technologies and ecological research. My academic background includes investigating 1) climate-driven shifts in microbial diversity within aquatic ecosystems, microbial metabolism and functional diversity, 2) experimental studies covering microbial community composition, nutrient cycling and organic carbon composition, 3) long-term ecological research in coastal lagoons. I’ve held visiting researcher position at the Biodiversity Research Centre of the University of British Columbia and research consultant at the Centre for ICT Product Development Services and Training at the University of Zimbabwe. Currently, my work focuses on open hardware development and integration of experimental ecology with free/ open source technologies.

What I Do

IoT and Sensor Networks

Design and deployment of environmental monitoring systems using low-power wireless networks and sustainable design principles.

Data Processing and Statistics

Development of software tools and statistical workflows to support ecological research across disciplines.

Open Hardware Development Guidance and Technical Mentorship

Supporting teams on circuit design, use cases, development strategy, and MVP optimization for open hardware projects.

Ecosystems Ecology

Research on microbial diversity, nutrient dynamics, and climate-driven changes in ecological systems.

Experimental Ecology

Field and lab experiments investigating how environmental variation influences ecological processes and patterns.

Publications

2025 – Simulating climate change scenarios established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in aquatic mesocosms. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. [DOI]
2024 – LoRaTRUST: Blockchain-Enabled Trust and Accountability Service for IoT Data. MDPI Electronics. [DOI]
2023 – A privacy-preserving federated learning architecture implementing data ownership and portability on edge end-points. International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management. [DOI]
2018 – Salinity Drives the Virioplankton Abundance but Not Production in Tropical Coastal Lagoons. Microbial Ecology. [DOI]
2017 – Functional structure of the bromeliad tank microbiome is strongly shaped by local geochemical conditions. Environmental Microbiology. [DOI]
2016 – High taxonomic variability despite stable functional structure across microbial communities. Nature Ecology and Evolution. [DOI]

Projects

LoRaTRUST

An open-source solution to ensure data trust for IoT devices.
NGI TruBlo

Nayad

A full-featured IoT system for environmental monitoring.
OSHWA Certified

fractaL

Exploring the hidden dynamics of natural environments through ecology, technology, and synesthesia.
ecofractal.gitlab.io

Climobike

A citizen science project to collaboratively monitor air quality while cycling.
Article (Portuguese)

Professional Experience

2022–Present – Co‑Founder & R&D Coordinator, Hacking Ecology
Peer Reviewer - Internet of Things and HardwareX journals.
2020–22 – Visiting Researcher, Centre For ICT Product Development Services and Training (University of Zimbabwe)
2015 – Member, Bromeliad Working Group (UBC)
2007–2017 – Researcher, Limnology Lab (UFRJ)
Advisor, Open Hardware Maker Program

Talks & Community Engagement

Speaker: World FutureVerse Conference – Talk Info
Workshop: Hackeando Dados Ambientais – ColaborAmerica 2017
Panel: GOSH Community Call – Environmental Sensors