At 92, creator of the first Brazilian computer gets information with Alexa and uses a smartwatch

The furniture in the apartment in Alto de Pinheiros, an upscale neighborhood in São Paulo, has seen four changes in more than 50 years. On the shelves are distributed silverware and crockery that match the red sofa with buttons and the grandfather clock. On the coffee table, an Alexa with a screen.

“Who is Hélio Guerra Vieira?”, asks the 92-year-old man sitting in front of the virtual assistant. He listens to the milestones of his own life: the period leading the rectorship of USP, the presidency of Fapesp and the commendation of Eminent Engineer from the Institute of Engineering.

Vieira wanted to simplify the work of the reporter, who was digging through the file he had set aside for the interview: drafts of lectures, speeches at conferences and scientific articles. The device fails to mention one feat: the leadership of the project that created the first Brazilian computer, at the Escola Politécnica da USP.

The Ugly Duckling, as the machine was named, was launched on July 24, 1972 at the university’s electrical engineering building. The ceremony was attended by the then governor of São Paulo, Laudo Natel, and by Bishop Dom Ernesto de Paula​.

“The hardest part was finding the components”, recalls Vieira, who was 42 years old at the time. Four years earlier, he had founded the USP Digital Systems Laboratory, which gave rise to the computer. “I’ve always liked electricity. And I got interested in computing because it was new,” he says.

The name was a play on Cisne Branco, Unicamp’s corresponding project. “It’s just that ours got off the ground”, says Vieira. The computer at the State University of Campinas was not ready.

The change that computing brought to society in later years did not surprise the engineer.

“I had no doubt that things would evolve to the way they are today. This house here, for example, is all connected”, he says, demonstrating with light and television, controlled by the virtual assistant. “This is all mediated by a computer.”

Although he has always chosen to keep up to date with new devices, Alexa was a gift from one of his children, as was the smartwatch he wears on his left wrist.

“This watch is drop-dead gorgeous,” he says, describing its functions, such as measuring blood pressure and heart rate. “Every now and then he gives me advice: ‘Stand up’ or ‘Take a few steps’.”

The grandson of farmers and the son of professors, Vieira was born in Guaratinguetá, in the interior of São Paulo, on July 14, 1930. He graduated from Escola Politécnica in 1953 and worked at Ford before returning to academic life.

He was director of the School from 1980 to 1982, the year in which he took over the rectorship of USP, where he stayed for four years. Vieira had applied for the position and was in fourth place in the vote, but was nominated by the then governor of the state, Paulo Maluf.

In almost the same period —between 1979 and 1985—, he chaired Fapesp (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo). Still in the 1970s, he helped create the Foundation for the Technological Development of Engineering.

Today, Vieira is guided by the routine that her daughter wrote on a sheet of paper. The list of activities starts at 5am, with the first pill in the morning, goes through dinner, when you have to charge your smartwatch, and ends with your pajamas.

Throughout the day, check in with Alexa and watch TV.

“My wife, on the other hand — and I like that a lot, it’s good to let her know — paints all the time. All the paintings here are hers,” he says. From one of the sofas, it is possible to see six paintings distributed in the hallway and in the television and dining rooms.

Syllene Castejón Guerra Vieira studied art at institutes in France and the United States while following her husband’s specializations. They have been married for 66 years.

From the time of Patinho Feio, she remembers the heavy work routine, but also the group’s excitement. “I could see the importance he had through him, because I didn’t attend Poli. And he was very enthusiastic”, she says.