Research news
List of news published in the Press Room on research and innovation
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A nanophenomenon that triggers the bone-repair process
The researcher Amir Abdollahi of the UPC’s Numerical Calculus Laboratory (LaCàn) participated in a study that found that flexoelectricity may be responsible for regenerating bone tissue damaged by microfractures.
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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.
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The initiative 5GBarcelona, at the Mobile World Congress
The Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the i2CAT Foundation, the Telecommunications Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTTC), Atos and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) participate in the 5GBarcelona initiative, which aims to turn the city and Catalonia into one of the European digital innovation hubs in the field of 5G technology. The 5GBarcelona strategy is present at the Mobile World Congress 2018, which will be held from 26 February to 1 March at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue.
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CREB researcher Maria Pau Ginebra selected as a finalist for the EU Prize for Women Innovators
Researcher Maria Pau Ginebra, full professor of Materials Science and director of the Biomaterials Division of the UPC’s Biomedical Engineering Research Centre (CREB), has been selected as one of the 12 finalists for the 2018 EU Prize for Women Innovators.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Five young Marie Curie researchers will join the UPC with European funding
Four new UPC projects were selected in the latest Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) call for Innovative Training Networks, and will allow five young researchers to be contracted for a period of three years. The aims of these projects are to train a new generation of researchers specialised in new robotic surgical techniques, in the prediction of extreme meteorological phenomena, in the adaptation of optical fibre communications to deal with increasing data traffic, and in the development of bimetallic catalysts.
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Barcelona hosts the International Conference on Atomic Physics (ICAP) with the presence of 6 Nobel laureates in physics
From July 22-27, the Palau de Congressos of Barcelona will host the most important conference in atomic physics, which will count on the presence of 6 Nobel laureates and physicists from all over the world. In parallel to the main conference, two special events will take place, which are also open to the public: on July 24th at 6:00 p.m., a round table with 6 Nobel Laureates in physics and on July 26th at 7:30 p.m., a public lecture on the change of the international system of units (SI).
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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.
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Terrassa School of Optics and Optometry of the UPC presents Professor Konrad Pesudovs with Best Optometrist of the Year Award
The UPC’s Terrassa School of Optics and Optometry (FOOT) has recognised the work of Australian professor and researcher Konrad Pesudovs, selecting him as the winner of the 2018 International Award for the Best Optometrist of the Year
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An international team of physicists carry out quantum simulation of the physical effects of disorder in topological insulators
A team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States, the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) and the UPC uses experiments with ultra-cold atoms trapped and driven by lasers to create a new disorder-induced topological insulator. The unusual properties of this material open new technological applications in quantum computing, next-generation miniaturised data storage and spintronics.
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The NTU Ranking places the UPC among the top 125 universities in the world in engineering
The UPC is in 445th place in the world in the latest edition of the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities, published by the National Taiwan University (NTU), also known as the NTU or Taiwan Ranking. The UPC is 122nd in the world in the field of Engineering and has maintained its position among the top 100 universities in the world in the subjects Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Civil Engineering and Computer Science.
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The UPC scores well in Computer Science and Engineering in the 2019 Best Global Universities Rankings
In the fifth edition of the Best Global Universities Rankings, also known as the US News Rankings, the UPC is 36th in the world in Computer Science and 60th in Engineering. In the global ranking, the UPC is among the top 500 in the world.
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Barcelona will be the European capital of urban mobility, with the UPC as one of the key technological partners
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has chosen the MOBILus consortium, led by the city of Barcelona and co-partnered by the UPC, to develop one of its innovation communities, in the field of urban mobility.
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The UPC’s Maritime Engineering Laboratory develops a system to protect beaches from erosion and flooding
The UPC’s Maritime Engineering Laboratory (LIM) is testing a project at the Maritime Research and Experimentation Channel to determine the feasibility of adapting sand-filled geotextile bags for use on beaches.
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The WOMEN-UP project launches a MOOC on eHealth applied to female urinary incontinence
The Female Urinary Incontinence and eHealth MOOC is a free online course on urinary incontinence in women and on the techniques and technologies available to enhance the effectiveness of medical treatments (eHealth). It will be available online from 14 January to 15 March.
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The EIT Innovation Community in Urban Mobility is presented in Brussels
On 24 January the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) presented in Brussels the EIT Innovation Community in Urban Mobility, headquartered in Barcelona, with the UPC as one of its technology partners.
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Artificial intelligence will improve quality of life for Alzheimer's patients
The UPC is coordinating the European eHealth research project CaregiversPRO-MMD, in which a virtual health platform has been created to support people with Alzheimer's disease, their caregivers and health professionals.
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The CIMNE, technological partner in the REALQUIRUR project
The International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) is participating in a project promoted by the J. Torrent Institute at the El Pilar Hospital to apply augmented reality in open liver surgery.
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The UPC ranks higher in the 2019 Europe’s Most Innovative Universities ranking
The UPC climbs six positions, so that it now ranks 81st in Europe and 1st among technical universities in Spain in the 2019 Europe’s Most Innovative Universities ranking drawn up by Reuters. The ranking lists the top 100 European universities that contribute the most to progress in science and technological innovation and to the promotion of global economic development.
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The UPC launches #looopers, a science outreach series on YouTube
“Nanoquè? Nanosatèl·lits!” (Nano-what? Nanosatellites!) is the first video in the series that the UPC has launched on its YouTube channel. Teaching and research staff and students have collaborated to reach out to young people and encourage them to take up STEAM vocations.
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Quantum mechanics explains how superfluid helium films grow in carbon nanotubes
Research by an international team of researchers led by scientists from the ICFO, with the participation of Jordi Boronat, a researcher at the UPC’s Department of Physics, reports on the controlled, layer-by-layer growth process of superfluid helium on the surface of carbon nanotubes. The experiment opens the door to studying new phenomena at the nanoscopic scale and, in particular, in topological phase transitions.
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The UPC maintains its position among the 150 best young universities in the world
In the Times Higher Education’s 2019 Young University Rankings, the UPC maintains its position among the 150 best young universities in the world (101-150 band) and ranks in the 58-82 band in Europe. It is the top technical university in Spain.
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Microgravity does not affect frozen sperm according to a study by Dexeus Mujer in collaboration with the UPC
A study conducted by Dexeus Mujer in collaboration with the UPC reveals that gravity conditions outside the Earth do not affect frozen human sperm. The results of this study were reported in late June at the 35th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology held in Vienna.
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UPC performing well in the latest international rankings
In the 2019 edition of the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, the UPC remains in the 601-700 range—in which it has been ranked since 2017—in the Top 1000 list. In the recently published 2019-2020 CWUR World University Rankings, the UPC ranks 443rd out of nearly 20,000 universities analysed around the world. Additionally, in the SIR Iber ranking it takes 16th place among the best Ibero-American universities. In the Ranking Web of Universities (Webometrics), the UPC climbs from the 297th to the 275th place worldwide and is the top Spanish technical university.
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European grants for excellent research awarded to Ariadna Quattoni, from the Department of Computer Science, and Xavier Oliver, from the UPC-CIMNE
The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a Starting Grant to Ariadna Quattoni, a researcher at the Department of Computer Science, to develop a machine learning project, and a Proof of Concept grant to Xavier Oliver, a professor and researcher at the CIMNE, to launch a computational design project. In addition, researchers Dmitri Efetov, from the ICFO, and Loris Rizzello, from the IBEC, which are UPC-affiliated institutes, will receive Starting Grants to carry out cutting-edge research in the fields of Physical and Engineering Sciences and Life Sciences, respectively.
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The UPC participates in a new 'spin-off' MiWEndo Solutions, which is to develop a device to improve the early detection of colorectal cancer
Supported by UPF, the UPC, Hospital Clínic and ICREA, it will use microwave technology to automate the detection of polyps during colonoscopies.
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A researcher from the UPC’s ESEIAAT leads a European project to create four advanced support centres for the textile industry in Morocco and Jordan
Mònica Ardanuy, a professor of textile engineering at the Terrassa School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering (ESEIAAT) and a researcher in the TECTEX research group at the UPC, is leading the European project FOSTEX, which aims to create four advanced support centres for the textile industry in Moroccan and Jordanian universities. FOSTEX received one million euros in funding from the European Commission and aims to have these centres operational by 2022.
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The UPC, among the world’s 500 best universities and the top 100 in four subjects
In the 2019 edition of the Taiwan Ranking, the UPC ranks among the world’s 500 best universities and 138th in the field of Engineering, in which it remains the leader among Spanish universities. The University is also listed among the world’s top 100 in four subjects: Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Computer Science.