The Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação (ICMC) of the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) is dedicated to higher education and research in Mathematics and Computer Science. It is located in São Carlos, a city in the interior of the state of São Paulo. The singularity theory group at ICMC-USP was founded by Gilberto Loibel in the 70's and grew thanks to the enthusiasm and determination of his students, especially the late Luiz Antonio Favaro and of Maria Aparecida Soares Ruas. Today (2013) it counts on 11 permanent members of academic staff, 6 MSc students, 20 PhD students and 6 Post-docs. The group receives regular academic visits from mathematicians from within and outside Brazil.