Research news
List of news published in the Press Room on research and innovation
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The UPC celebrates the inauguration of MareNostrum 5, which positions the University as a global benchmark in supercomputing knowledge
Recently, the rector of the UPC, Daniel Crespo, welcomed Catalan president Pere Aragonès and Spanish president Pedro Sánchez to the launch event of MareNostrum 5 at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center–Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS).
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Cyber avatars for a new era
The UPC takes part in the Avatar Symbiotic Society, an initiative by the Japanese government to drive the creation of a society in which teleoperated avatars and cyborgs can stand in for individuals in various areas of life. Researcher Alberto Sanfeliu, from the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics (IRI), is the only international member in a team of Japanese researchers led by professor Hiroshi Ishiguro.
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The UPC opens the Hydrogen Laboratory and the green hydrogen pilot plant
Recently, the UPC opened the Hydrogen Laboratory and the green hydrogen pilot plant on the Diagonal-Besòs Campus. These cutting-edge facilities serve as a living lab to advance research and innovation in hydrogen technologies, a key energy vector in the transition towards decarbonisation. The Laboratory is also supporting industry and training activities.
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UPC researcher Corrado Altomare receives a Leonardo Grant to study how heavy swell can affect seaside promenades
Corrado Altomare, a Ramón y Cajal researcher at the UPC’s Maritime Engineering Laboratory, has been awarded a Leonardo Grant from the BBVA Foundation to study how episodes of heavy swell, caused by climate change and rising sea levels, can affect seaside promenades.
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The UPC will coordinate the new interuniversity master’s degree in Semiconductor Engineering and Microelectronic Design
The UPC, the UB, the UAB and the URV, with the collaboration of the IMB-CNM of the CSIC, programs, for the academic year 2024-2025, the new interuniversity master's degree in Semiconductor Engineering and Microelectronic Design, intended for train the next generation of professionals in this field. The master's degree will be taught in English and pre-registration will open in the first semester of 2024.
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The UPC at the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit
Around thirty companies stemming from the UPC, along with researchers from the University, have presented breakthroughs and transformative trends at the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit, on 28 and 29 November.
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Light-powered catalyst to make hydrogen
A team from the UPC and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) have designed an efficient and stable photocatalyst capable of producing hydrogen directly using sunlight. The results are published in the journal Nature Communications.
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The UPC supports the GreenChips-EDU project as part of Unite!
The UPC and other universities, companies and research institutions join forces in the European project GreenChips-EDU to accelerate the training of skilled workers in microelectronics.
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The first six companies to be part of the ESA BIC Barcelona incubator are selected
The business incubation centre ESA BIC Barcelona of the European Space Agency has selected six space tech start-ups to be part of the incubation programme. The selected companies will receive 50,000 euros to develop their product or service and will have up to two years of incubation from now on. Promoted by the Government of Catalonia as part of the NewSpace Strategy, and also by the UPC and the Mediterranean Technology Park, the programme will incubate up to 18 companies in three years.
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The UPC among the world’s best universities in two subjects according to ShanghaiRanking’s 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects
The UPC is ranked among the world’s top 100 universities in Atmospheric Science and Civil Engineering according to the latest edition of ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS). It is the leader in Spain in the first field and in Instruments Science and Technology.
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New findings about stellar explosions
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.
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Circular solutions for the construction sector will be tested in Barcelona under a UPC-led European project
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.
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A decade leading industrial doctorate projects in Catalonia
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.
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A robotic wheelchair helps to improve the physical condition of people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy
How can care robotics help patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD)? This inherited neuromuscular disorder affects one in 3,500 children worldwide. It causes the progressive loss of muscle function and therefore leads to progressive disability. Despite advances in treatment, patients have an average life expectancy of 35 years and already need an electric wheelchair in their teens.
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First smart ocean monitoring buoy with UPC technology installed in the Corcovado Gulf, Chile
On 13 October, the UPC’s Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB), the Chilean Ministry of the Environment and MERI Foundation installed the first smart buoy of The Blue BOAT Initiative in the Corcovado Gulf, Chile. Equipped with cutting-edge LIDO technology developed by the UPC, the buoy monitors in real time marine biodiversity and the impact of human activities on the ecosystem. The data obtained will allow to alert vessels of the presence of whales to avoid collisions.
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First-ever simulation of interactions between quasi-particles called Fermi polarons
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.
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The UPC is working to create Space Tech Unite!
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.
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The UPC participates in a European project to offer specialised training in blockchain
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.
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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 is the top Spanish technical university in the new QS World University Rankings: Europe (2024)
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.
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Reinforcement learning helps underwater robots to locate and track objects
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.
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A UPC team listens to endangered river dolphins in the Amazon
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).
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First nanoscale direct observation of how glass transforms into liquid at increasing temperature
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.
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Awards to a new generation of surgical meshes, a program for designing buildings and the Process Talks spin-off
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.
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Photonic snakes, a new instrument for revealing the secrets of light
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.
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The UPC is on the way to winning a global competition to protect rainforest biodiversity
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.
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The UPC is among the world’s top 50 in the SDG Climate Action, according to the THE Impact Rankings
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.
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New generation of antibacterial materials for medical implants developed
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.
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The UPC is one of the universities with the highest graduate employment rate in Spain according to the U-Ranking
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.
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A total of 117 UPC researchers in the CSIC ranking of the most outstanding female scientists
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.