Research news

List of news published in the Press Room on research and innovation

  • A computational model to understand the dynamics of tuberculosis lesions within the lungs

    Researchers from the UPC and the Institut Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP) have developed a virtual lung model using computational modelling techniques to study the dynamics of tuberculosis lesions within the lungs. These are the first results to be published by the 3Rs Programme at the Centre for Comparative Medicine and Bioimaging (CMCiB), which aims to minimize the use of animals in preclinical research. The results of the study have been published in the journal Plos Computational Biology.

  • UPC researchers participate in the transformation of the European energy system to adapt to renewables

    Within the framework of the European project FEVER, the UPC’s Centre for Technological Innovation in Static Converters and Drives (CITCEA-UPC) will develop bidirectional EV chargers and solutions for leveraging the flexibility of energy storage resources and meeting the demand for specific services for the electricity grid to make it safe, efficient and resilient.

  • The UPC joins the Planetary Health Alliance

    The UPC, through its Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB), is a new member of the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA), a consortium that promotes the planet’s health. The LAB will contribute technology to monitor biodiversity and alert of potential threats from climate change and human pressure on natural habitats.

  • 16 novel compounds of cannabis identified

    Researchers from the Smart Sustainable Resources research group at the UPC Campus in Manresa have characterised 16 novel compounds of cannabis that had not been identified so far. The discovery has been published in the journal Planta Medica. Characterising novel compounds of cannabis opens the door to discovering new medicinal uses of the plant’s active ingredients.

  • Patient successfully implanted with the world’s first antitumour biomembrane, created by Cebiotex, the UPC’s INTEXTER and the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital

    For the first time ever, an antitumour biomembrane made up of nanofibres, biocompatible and biodegradable has been implanted into a patient and has proved safe. This medical and technological milestone is the result of the collaboration between the biotech company Cebiotex, the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, the UPC’s INTEXTER and the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona. Cebiotex is now going to launch a funding round to raise 1.6 million euros to continue clinical trials.

  • UPC, Esade and IED students join forces with CERN to create innovative solutions to the challenges of the pandemic

    Eight university teams consisting of 42 students from the UPC, Esade and the IED Barcelona present their prototypes after months of work with CERN scientists researching new solutions for the future of humanity.

  • Scientists sink dead dolphin to study effects on marine ecosystem

    The UPC’s OBSEA Underwater Observatory in Vilanova i la Geltrú sunk a dolphin that was found dead a few days ago on a beach in Blanes to study the effect of the carcass on benthic ecosystems and fish communities in the area. It is an experiment by the UPC, the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).

  • UPC study demonstrates the effectiveness of raloxifene in treating inflammatory processes associated with COVID-19

    Researchers from the UPC’s Molecular Biotechnology Centre show that a drug for osteoporosis called raloxifene may inhibit molecules involved in the inflammatory processes associated with COVID-19.

  • The UPC among the world’s best universities in Architecture, Civil Engineering and Telecommunications, Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the QSWUR by Subject

    In the 2021 edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject (QSWUR by Subject), which was published on 3 March, the UPC is ranked the world’s 20th best university in Architecture and Built Environment, 29th in Civil and Structural Engineering and 46th in Telecommunications, Electrical and Electronic Engineering. In the subject area Engineering and Technology, the University climbs from the world’s 76th best university in 2020 to the 67th this year and remains the top university in Spain.

  • Studying how to reduce the impact of maritime transport noise on marine species

    The UPC’s Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB) participates in the European project SATURN, an initiative that brings together partners from ten countries to develop innovative solutions to reduce the negative effects of underwater noise on the ecosystem and move towards a cleaner and quieter maritime sector.

  • More investment for the UPC spin-off Cebiotex to advance its oncology treatment

    A 2.2 million euros investment will allow the biotech Cebiotex - a spin-off from the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital and the UPC - to continue clinical trials with CEB-01 in adult patients and initiate trials in pediatric oncology patients.

  • A UPC study shows that human-generated noise can contribute to deplete seagrass posidonia populations

    When exposed to human noise, specimens of the seagrass Posidonia reveal permanent and severe lesions in their sensory organs—whose function is to sense gravity—that threaten their survival. This is the main conclusion of a recent study by the Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC), entitled “Seagrass Posidonia is impaired by human-generated noise”, which was published in Nature Communications Biology. These new findings demonstrate not only that plants have the physiological ability to perceive sounds, but also, and just as importantly, that commonly encountered sources of noise in the ocean can contribute to depleting their populations.

  • BIOCOM-SC: keeping a close eye on COVID-19

    For over a year now, the UPC’s Computational Biology and Complex Systems Group (BIOCOM-SC) has been working steadily, studying the data and making forecasts about the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Catalonia and Europe. A key task that has highlighted the value of science and technology and the need to make knowledge available to society.

  • UPC researchers obtain for the first time solutions for a fluid capable of simulating any Turing machine

    Researchers from the UPC’s Geometry of Manifolds and Applications (GEOMVAP) research group and the CSIC’s Institute of Mathematical Sciences have managed, for the first time, to construct solutions for a fluid capable of simulating any Turing machine. The result of the study was published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)'.

  • Extrasolar flares detected by using the GPS

    Manuel Hernández-Pajares, a researcher from the Department of Mathematics at the UPC, and David Moreno-Borràs, an alumnus of the Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB), have developed a system that detects stellar flares - sudden increases in star radiation - by using the signals emitted by satellite navigation systems, popularly known as GPS.

  • App based on intangible cultural heritage to prevent memory loss in the elderly

    The UPC’s Soft Computing research group is leading the LONG-REMI project for designing an app for reminiscence therapy. The project is being developed jointly by researchers from the UPC, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra (Portugal).

  • Three CREB UPC projects receive awards in the 2021 CaixaResearch Validate call

    A 3D game-based platform for virtual training in surgical techniques, new software that aids the mechanical ventilation of patients and a certification for artificial intelligence systems in health are the three proposals of the CREB UPC that have been selected in the “la Caixa” Foundation’s 2021 CaixaResearch Validate call

  • The UPC confers an honorary doctoral degree on engineer and MIT researcher Antonio Torralba

    Engineer Antonio Torralba is a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, and head of the Artificial Intelligence and Decision-Making (AI+D) Faculty at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. On 11 March, he has been awarded an honorary doctoral degree by the UPC at an event that has been broadcasted live on YouTube. Torralba is a graduate from the Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSETB). He is a pioneer in the research on computer vision and the application of artificial intelligence in this field.

  • Among 100 most innovative European universities

    The UPC ranks 84th and is the top Spanish technical university in Thomson Reuters’ ranking of Europe’s Most Innovative Universities – 2017, a list that identifies and ranks the educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies, and help drive the global economy.

  • The UPC continues to be the top Spanish university in obtaining funds from the Horizon 2020 programme

    By activity, the UPC scores high in grants from the European Research Council (ERC), from Marie Curie actions and from the programmes dedicated to environment and climate action, security, and information and communication technologies.

  • 200 ‘ICT women’ from around the world meet at the womENcourage conference

    The UPC has hosted the 2017 international womENcourage conference, a scientific and networking meeting in which over 200 students, researchers and professionals linked to the field of computer science have participated. The conference, which took place in Spain for the first time, aims to be a meeting point for sharing professional experiences, success stories and debate on fostering vocations, especially those of women, in the field of computer science.

  • Ricoh España and the UPC’s CIM Foundation inaugurate a cutting-edge centre for 3D printing technologies

    On 19 September, Ricoh España, a leader in technology and digital transformation, and the UPC’s CIM Foundation, an organisation whose mission is to generate and transfer knowledge of engineering and technology management to professionals and companies, opened the Ricoh Additive Manufacturing Centre in Barcelona. This is Ricoh’s first 3D printing and additive manufacturing centre in Spain, and will serve the international industrial market.

  • The UPC is among the 300 best universities in the world in Arts & Humanities in the THE WUR ranking

    In the same field, the UPC is also ranked among the 165 top universities in Europe and is the top technical university in Spain and the fifth university in Catalonia.

  • The UPC proposes key actions to advance towards a new energy paradigm

    The UPC has developed a roadmap that sets out the strategic lines it will pursue in research and technological development to help move beyond the energy paradigm that has prevailed for the last 150 years, which is based on growing use of non-renewable resources.

  • The UPC and the Barcelona City Council present a book on a new form of architectural design for accessible environments

    On 11 December, Laia Ortiz, deputy mayor for Social Rights of the Barcelona City Council, and Ramon Carbonell, president of the UPC's Board of Trustees, presented the book 4 Wheelchair-User Architects (4WUA) in Space 4 of the Palau de la Virreina in Barcelona. The book was written by four graduates of the Vallès School of Architecture (ETSAV) who aim to improve people's quality of life by transforming the built environment.

  • New Marie Curie grants for five projects in the fields of civil and environmental engineering, mathematics and chemistry

    Five new UPC projects have been selected in the latest Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) call for individual fellowships under the European Horizon 2020 (H2020) research programme. The aims of these projects are to create numerical methods to make more precise simulations; to create systems for assessing the threats of climate change to the seafront; to create surgical meshes that repair hernias and abdominal and thoracic tissue; to improve satellite navigation at times of scintillation; and to create a tool for earthquake risk assessment.

  • The UPC maintains its position among the top 300 universities in the world and as the top technical university in Spain

    In the 2019 edition of the QS World University Rankings, the UPC has maintained its position among the top 300 universities in the world, in 275th place. It is again in 120th place in Europe and is the top technical university in Spain. It is also the top European university in Mathematics and Computer Science in the Leiden Ranking 2018.

  • The UPC, among the top 30 young universities in the world in the QS Top 50 under 50 ranking

    The UPC is placed 26th in the world in the QS Top 50 under 50 ranking of universities under 50 years old. It has maintained its 8th place in Europe and has moved up one position to second place in Spain. It is also ranked first in Catalonia.

  • A researcher at the UPC's Terrassa Campus discovers a climate change pattern thanks to a new method

    Dario Zappalà, a member of the Nonlinear Dynamics, Nonlinear Optics and Lasers (DONLL) research group of the UPC on the Terrassa Campus, recently published a study in the scientific journal Earth System Dynamics revealing great anomalies in temperature variations in zones near the North Pole and the Amazon. By studying the variations in the amplitude and frequency of temperatures using a new method, Zappalà discovered a pattern.

  • UPC cements position as leading Spanish university in Horizon 2020 funding

    According to provisional results reported by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) for the period 2014–2017, the UPC remains the top university and the third Spanish institution when it comes to attracting funds under Horizon 2020 (H2020), the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.