Research news

Title Date Description
First-ever simulation of interactions between quasi-particles called Fermi polarons Nov 15, 2023 10:55 AM Quasi-particles are an essential tool to describe the complex processes arising from strong interactions in solids. Using an ultracold quantum gas has allowed to study how Fermi polaron quasiparticles interact with each other.
The UPC is working to create Space Tech Unite! Nov 09, 2023 02:50 PM The Unite! alliance has launched Space Tech Unite!, a network of universities and companies for the teaching of space-related subjects. UPC researchers Adriano Camps, Jordi Gutiérrez and Hyuk Park are involved.
A decade leading industrial doctorate projects in Catalonia Oct 16, 2023 10:00 AM Year after year, the UPC leads the ranking of projects under the Government of Catalonia’s Industrial Doctorates Plan, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Over a decade, 257 projects have been carried out at the University, which accounts for 28% of all the projects at Catalan universities.
The UPC participates in a European project to offer specialised training in blockchain Oct 15, 2023 02:25 PM Researchers from the UPC’s Department of Network Engineering participate in the CHAISE project—funded as part of the European Union's Erasmus+ programme—to promote skill acquisition and development in blockchain technology. An online pilot course is now underway to validate its first contents.
The UPC is the top Spanish technical university in the new QS World University Rankings: Europe (2024) Oct 11, 2023 01:41 PM In the first edition of the new QS Europe University Rankings, the UPC is ranked 129th among 688 institutions analysed and is the leading technical university in Spain. It obtained its best scores in Sustainability and International Research Network.
Reinforcement learning helps underwater robots to locate and track objects Oct 04, 2023 11:20 AM Deep reinforcement learning enables underwater autonomous vehicles and robots to accurately locate and track objects and marine animals. This has been demonstrated for the first time by a team of researchers including professor Mario Martin from the UPC’s Department of Computer Science.
Circular solutions for the construction sector will be tested in Barcelona under a UPC-led European project Oct 04, 2023 10:45 AM Five pilot projects in Barcelona, Belgrade, Paris, Prague and Vesterålen will demonstrate, on a large scale, circular solutions in buildings and the construction sector. In Barcelona, they will be deployed to demolish secondary buildings of the old Mercedes-Benz factory for the construction of Spain’s first ecodistrict laMercedes.
Awards to a new generation of surgical meshes, a program for designing buildings and the Process Talks spin-off Sep 27, 2023 12:48 PM The jury of the 14th UPC Research Valorisation Award, promoted by the Board of Trustees, has recognised 4DPolysense as the best technology transfer project, the NECADA program as the best invention or work for its application in the market and the Process Talks spin-off as the best technology-based company. The Nimble Diagnostics spin-off has also received a special acknowledgement.
First nanoscale direct observation of how glass transforms into liquid at increasing temperature Sep 21, 2023 10:25 AM A group of researchers featuring professor Jorge Alcalá, from the UPC’s Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering (ETSEIB), have developed a methodology that makes it possible for the first time to observe under the microscope, in real time, what happens when glass is heated and changes to a supercooled liquid phase, known as the “glass transition”. Published in Nature Physics, the research is of great importance for the cryopreservation of living tissues and for the manufacture of drugs and new materials.
A UPC team listens to endangered river dolphins in the Amazon Sep 21, 2023 10:10 AM Echolocating animals, such as cetaceans, use sound as a form of navigation. Echolocation clicks can be used to track the movements of two endangered freshwater dolphin species in the Amazon, contributing to conservation strategies for their natural habitat. This is demonstrated by a study published in Scientific Reports featuring researchers from the UPC’s Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB).
New findings about stellar explosions Sep 07, 2023 02:02 PM International research involving UPC professor and researcher Jordi José, from the EEBE, has made it possible to precisely quantify the possible detection of gamma rays from stellar nova explosions.
Photonic snakes, a new instrument for revealing the secrets of light Sep 04, 2023 10:50 AM Researcher Salim B. Ivars, a doctoral student at the UPC’s Department of Physics, has collaborated with researchers from the Institute of Photonic Sciences and the Universitat Politècnica de València in the discovery of the so-called photonic snake states, a novel instrument that can greatly assist in unravelling the mysteries of light. The results of this research, led by the UPV, have been published in the scientific journal Nature Photonics.
The UPC is on the way to winning a global competition to protect rainforest biodiversity Jul 28, 2023 01:02 PM A team of researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), developing a cutting-edge technology to protect biodiversity in rainforests, is a finalist in the XPRIZE Rainforest, a ten-million-dollar international competition to transform our understanding of the complexity of rainforests. The final will take place in July 2024.
The UPC is among the world’s top 50 in the SDG Climate Action, according to the THE Impact Rankings Jul 04, 2023 01:30 PM In the latest edition of the THE Impact Rankings—which assess the impact of universities in achieving the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—the UPC is ranked the world’s 38th in Climate Action (SDG 13), climbing 33 positions from the previous edition.
Semiconductors, at the heart of technology Jun 28, 2023 12:00 PM The semiconductor ecosystem in Catalonia, a sector that is in a phase of development, comprises around a hundred companies and research entities and some 4,400 professionals. Companies such as Cisco, Monolithic Power Systems (MPS) and Intel have chosen Barcelona as the location for their microchip design centres, and another twenty or so foreign investment projects are expected to follow in the next few years.
The UPC is one of the universities with the highest graduate employment rate in Spain according to the U-Ranking Jun 22, 2023 01:57 PM Developed by the BBVA Foundation and the Valencian Institute of Economic Research, the U-Ranking project published an analysis of graduate employment in the Spanish university system by degree subject area and by university on 16 May. The UPC is ranked 2nd-4th among 67 universities analysed.
A total of 117 UPC researchers in the CSIC ranking of the most outstanding female scientists Jun 21, 2023 12:35 PM 117 UPC researchers are listed in the second edition of the CSIC ranking of Spanish and foreign female scientists who conduct research in Spain. The ranking classifies female scientists with an h-index equal to or greater than 18.
New generation of antibacterial materials for medical implants developed Jun 15, 2023 10:00 AM The UPC’s Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering Group (BBT) leads the international project Bio-TUNE, which aims to develop multifunctional materials with high antibacterial potential and efficient tissue integration. The consortium is made up of ten research teams from Europe, America and Asia, and is funded through the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.
The UPC, leader in Knowledge Transfer and Regional Engagement in the latest edition of the CYD Ranking Jun 15, 2023 09:56 AM In the 2023 edition of the CYD Ranking, the UPC is once again the top Spanish university in Knowledge Transfer. It also shares the top position in Regional Engagement and achieves outstanding results in International Orientation. In the ranking by field, the UPC stands out in Earth Sciences, in which it is ranked among the top 3 universities.
Urgent International Call for Action to Reduce Human Noise in the Ocean Jun 08, 2023 01:19 PM Today, 8 June, on the occasion of World Oceans Day, international scientists are making an urgent call to reduce noise pollution at sea and safeguard marine ecosystems. In the following communication, they entreat governments around the world to act immediately. The experts call for actions that include fostering international collaboration, enforcing and strengthening regulations on acoustic pollution and investing in research and innovation.
New light shed on the development of quantum technologies Jun 02, 2023 10:45 AM Using quantum gas as a coolant sheds new light on the development of future quantum technologies. This is demonstrated by a team of international scientists—including researcher Grigori Astrakharchik, from the UPC’s Department of Physics—who have used state-of-the-art numerical techniques to study how two ionic quasiparticles interact with each other. The results are published in the journal Nature Communications.
The BSC and the UPC develop an AI tool to improve deaf people’s accessibility to technology May 22, 2023 12:52 PM It is an AI tool to convert sign language sentences recorded on video into spoken language in text format. To this end, the researchers have combined computer vision, natural language processing and machine learning techniques.
A study demonstrates that heat can freeze fluids in the quantum world May 22, 2023 12:44 PM An international research team has discovered that increasing the temperature of an ultracold fluid can trigger its phase transition to a solid state. The study was recently published in Nature Communication, with UPC researcher Juan Sánchez Baena as first author.
The ACTRIS ERIC platform, of which the UPC is a member, becomes a European infrastructure for atmospheric research May 18, 2023 09:59 AM The European Commission has decided to establish ACTRIS, a research infrastructure that studies the short-lived atmospheric components, as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium. Published on 3 April, the decision places the participating institutions—including the UPC and the BSC-CNS—at the forefront of global atmospheric exploration.
A low-cost robotic arm created by students as an alternative to conventional prostheses May 09, 2023 11:49 AM The ARM2u biomedical engineering team, from the UPC’s Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering (ETSEIB), is working on new functions for their low-cost 3D-printed transradial prosthesis. In addition to developing technology to control the prosthesis using AI techniques, they are working to create a hand with fingers and add it to the robotic arm. The team is looking for funding to start marketing the prosthesis and for new carriers to test the prototype.
The number of summer days in Spain has increased from 90 to 145 in the last 50 years, according to a study by the UPC May 04, 2023 10:53 AM The average temperature in the main Spanish cities has risen by 3.54 °C between 1971 and 2022. The country is among those with the most pronounced climatic anomalies in the world. Over the last 50 years, summer days have increased from 90 to 145, which accounts for a two-month increase in hot days. Tropical nights have jumped by 18, from an average of 45 to 63. These are the conclusions of a study by the Centre for Land Valuation Policy (CPSV) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC).
The UPC among the world’s top 25 in Architecture and the world’s top 35 in Civil and Structural Engineering according to the QS WUR by Subject Apr 05, 2023 12:05 PM In the new edition of the QS Word University Rankings by Subject, the UPC is ranked the world’s 22nd in Architecture and Built Environment, and 35th in Civil and Structural Engineering. It is also Spain’s leader in both subjects. The ranking, which analyses indicators related to research and reputation, also features the University as the Spanish leader in the following subjects: Telecommunication, Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Computer Science and Information Systems; Statistics and Operational Research; Art and Design; and Materials Sciences.
A pioneering open-source platform for the next generation of cloud applications Apr 04, 2023 11:51 AM The UPC’s Department of Computer Architecture coordinates the European project Vitamin-V, which develops a complete set of hardware-software for cloud services, based on pioneering open-source technologies for RISC-V processors.
UPC researchers design a device to harvest hydroelectric energy from water flowing in pipes Mar 29, 2023 10:25 AM The UPC’s Barcelona Fluids & Energy Lab and the Centre for Technological Innovation in Static Converters and Drives participate in the European project H-HOPE, focused on developing solutions to harvest green energy from as yet untapped water sources such as water pipes and canals.
Neutron star that behaves like a black hole discovered Mar 23, 2023 10:48 AM An international scientific team including researcher Yuri Cavecchi, from the UPC’s Department of Physics, and led by the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands has found a neutron star that captures matter from a companion star in a violent and unstable process. This process, previously observed only in very bright black holes, opens the door to new insights into the behaviour of stars. The study is published in the journal Nature.