Mauricio Verano Merino

Hi there! I'm an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at VU Amsterdam.

These are some of my research interests:

Software language engineering
End-user programming
Domain-specific languages
Sports analytics and data science
Creative coding
Block-based environments

I'm also a guest researcher at SET group at TU/e and SWAT group at CWI.

Whether you're a fellow researcher, a student with a question, or just someone curious about my work, feel free to reach out and m.verano.merino@vu.nl conect! ⚽️🎾

Publications

2025

The Ecosystem of Open-Source Music Production Software -- A Mining Study on the Development Practices of VST Plugins on GitHub

MSR'25

Enhancing Block Composition: The Role of Category Highlighting in Block-Based Environments

IDE'25

2024

Programming Smart Objects: How Young Learners’ Programming Skills, Attitudes, and Perception Are Influenced

SPLASH-E'24

Block-based Platform for Defining Adaptation Rules for Automotive Systems

PAINT'24

2023

The Art of Creating Code-Based Artworks

CHI'23

2022

A Language-Parametric Approach to Exploratory Programming Environments.

SLE'22

Making the Invisible Visible in Computational Notebooks

VL/HCC'22

Engineering Language-Parametric End-User Programming Environments for DSLs 🏆

PhD Thesis

Suppose You Had Blocks within a Notebook

PAINT'22

Workbench for Creating Block-Based Environments

SLE'22

2021

What you Always Wanted to Know but Could not Find About Block-Based Environments [Under review]

CSUR

Getting Grammars into Shape for Block-based Editors 🏆

SLE'21

Projecting Textual Languages

Book

2020

Block-Based Syntax from Context-Free Grammars

SLE'20

A principled approach to REPL interpreters

Onward!'20

Bacatá Notebooks for DSLs, Almost for Free

Programming

2018

Bacatá a language parametric notebook generator (tool demo)

SLE '18

Language Workbench Support for Block-Based DSLs

Blocks+'18

2017

Cost comparison of running web applications in the cloud using monolithic, microservice, and AWS Lambda architectures

SOCA'17

Bacatá a generic notebook generator for DSLs

DSLDI'17

2016

Searching for Optimal Configurations Within Large-Scale Models A Cloud Computing Domain

ER'16

Infrastructure Cost Comparison of Running Web Applications in the Cloud Using AWS Lambda and Monolithic and Microservice Architectures

CCGRID'16

2015

Re-architecting a JEE on-premise web application to deploy it in the cloud

Globecom'15

Evaluating the monolithic and the microservice architecture pattern to deploy web applications in the cloud

CCC'15

2014

Migrating JEE applications to a microservice-based architecture deployed in the cloud.

Master

Plataforma web para la ejecución en paralelo de algoritmos de optimización.

Bachelor

Press

Creating tools to open up programming languages to multiple users

Teaching

Introduction to Python Programming.

VU Amsterdam

Applied Programming for AI.

VU Amsterdam

Generic Language Technology (2IMP20).

TU/e

Programming for Data Science (JBI010).

TU/e

Object-Oriented Programming I (CS1)

Uniandes

CoderDojo - Colombia

Accenture

Students

Master

Mining study for Characterizing the Development Practices of Open-source Virtual Studio Technology Plugins Bogdan Andrei

2024-06

Towards Version Control for Creative Coding Maximilian Mayer

2023-01

Football and Machine Learning Dionysios Kyriazopoulos

2023-01

Mining Creative Repositories Behnam Bozorgi

2023-01

Automotive DSL Luigi Altamirano Mollo

2021-12

DSLs usability with AI Nandini Rajasekar

2021-04

Solver Agnostic Interface Bart Helvert

2021-01

Textual and Projectional Language Workbenches Jur Bartels

2020-01

Academic services

Organizer

Programming Abstractions and Interactive Notations, Tools, and Environments

Workshop on Programming Languages in The Netherlands

VERSEN - Chair Working Group: Community Events

Reviewer

ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) 2023

ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2023

Science of Computer Programming

ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)

Empirical Software Engineering (EMSE)

Journal of Systems and Software (JSS)

Journal of Cluster Computing, Networks, Software Tools and Applications

Conference on Software Language Engineering (SLE)

International Conference on Model Driven Engineering Languages and Systems (MODELS)

Workshop on Modeling Language Engineering and Execution (MLE)

Tools

Talks

Language-Parametric User Interfaces for DSLs. Spendlab

Language-agnostic User Interfaces. Capgemini (Altran)

Research on (grammar-based) Software Language Engineering. Guest Lecture - Generic language technology at TU/e

Towards Language Workbench Support for Block-Based Language at Langdev '19

Bringing Domain-Specific Languages Closer to End-Users at HTSC Research Meet 'Digital Engineering'

Bacatá: A Notebook Generator for DSLs at IPA Fall Days '18