Research news

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

  • 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)'.

  • For the first time in Barcelona, Sónar, the UPC and betevé will organise the AI and Music Festival

    Sónar, the UPC and betevé will host the AI and Music Festival on site in Barcelona and online on 27 and 28 October. Within the framework of the S+T+ARTS programme of the European Commission, the festival will focus on the applications and challenges of artificial intelligence in creating music. Since the end of April, the UPC is leading an applied research laboratory to explore this relationship.

  • 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.

  • UPC, Vall d’Hebron and UAB researchers design an app to help assess the severity of symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome

    The technology uses a chest strap connected to a mobile app that measures heart rate variability. Researchers have shown that heart rate variability is related to the severity of fatigue in women with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis.

  • The UPC, leader in patent filing

    The UPC is the leading Spanish university in filing patent applications, according to data from the European Patent Office.

  • 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’s NanoSat Lab demonstrates the feasibility of using nanosatellites to observe the Earth and monitor climate change

    The FSSCat is ESA’s first mission that relies on CubeSats to support the Copernicus monitoring services for land and marine environment of the European Earth Observation programme. The mission won the Sentinel Small Satellite (S^3) Challenge Award of ESA and was honoured as the Copernicus Masters Overall Winner in 2017.

  • Sónar, the UPC and betevé present, for the first time in Barcelona, the AI and Music S+T+ARTS Festival

    Sónar, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) and betevé are partnering to present the AI and Music S+T+ARTS Festival on 27 and 28 October. The festival will be held live in Barcelona and online and will feature nearly 30 activities, including shows, presentations, talks and roundtables with artists, scientists and other professionals who incorporate artificial intelligence as an essential element in musical projects. UPC students can get a discount (ticket price of 15 euros) by presenting their student card.

  • 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.

  • A UPC-led project to restore European coasts with natural solutions and blue carbon underway

    The Maritime Engineering Laboratory (LIM) of the UPC is leading a European project to restore the coast and adapt it to climate change. It is a shock plan for the next four years funded by the European Union under the European Green Deal. Pilot projects will be carried out on the Ebro Delta and other locations in the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the Black Sea and the North Sea.

  • Leadership of a European project aimed at using ultrasound to produce antimicrobial textiles and devices on an industrial scale

    Researcher and professor Tzanko Tzanov, who works on the Terrassa Campus of the UPC, is the leader of the European PROTECT project, which focuses on applying ultrasound technology in the industrial-scale manufacture of textiles and devices coated with antimicrobial nanoparticles. The technology will be used to coat medical textiles, materials used in public areas, medical devices, and water treatment membranes.

  • 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.

  • UPC rises 46 places in QS World University Rankings 2018

    Once again, the UPC ranks amongst the world’s top 300 universities as it did two years ago. It holds 275th place on the QS World University Rankings 2018, published on 8 June. The UPC ranks 120th in Europe, in Spain it is the sixth ranked university overall and the top technical university, and in Catalonia it holds third position.

  • 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.

  • 56 cooperation projects under way in year Centre for Development Cooperation (CCD) turns 25

    Fifty-six development cooperation projects are getting under way at the UPC. The projects are supported by the Centre for Development Cooperation, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and 165 members of the university community are directly involved. Part of the funding for these projects comes from voluntary contributions made by UPC students and by academic, administrative and service staff through the 0.7% campaign.

  • The Besòs Coast Sustainable Territory project receives a grant from the ERDF

    Besòs Coast Sustainable Territory, a regional specialisation and competitiveness project in which UPC researchers are participating, will receive a subsidy of €555,500 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) that will cover half the cost.

  • 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 European project GEECCO faces the challenge of promoting and increasing the presence of women working in science and technology

    The implementation of actions that eliminate barriers to hiring, maintaining and promoting women researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is the objective of the European project Gender Equality in Engineering through Communication and Commitment (GEECCO), carried out by nine European partners, including the UPC.

  • UPC brand technology at the Smart City Expo World Congress

    At the Gran Vía venue of Fira de Barcelona from 14 to 16 November

  • The TETRAMAX European project to improve technology transfer in ICT

    The Data Management Group (DAMA-UPC) of the UPC is participating in the European project Technology Transfer via Multinational Application Experiments (TETRAMAX), whose goal is to implement the European Smart Anything Everywhere initiative in the field of ICT technologies, particularly those aimed at the internet, in order to promote innovation based on technology transfer experiences.

  • 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.

  • LIVE_FOR, a European project for judicial cooperation on cybercrime

    The UPC’s Network Security Emergency Coordination Unit (esCERT-UPC) will become an information centre for police, prosecutors and judges in Western Europe, advising them on the application of European Investigation Orders in the fight against cross-border cybercrime and cyberterrorism. The initiative is part of the European LIVE_FOR project, funded by the European Union’s Directorate-General for Justice, which wants to facilitate the application of a new European directive on judicial cooperation in tackling crimes of this kind.

  • UPC improves positioning on Webometrics ranking and now holds 280th place globally

    The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) has moved up 32 positions on the Ranking Web of Universities and now ranks 280th in the world. At the European level, the UPC has moved up ten positions, and within the Spanish university system it has held onto its place as the country’s top technical university.