The European Commission (EC) has awarded five new MSCA grants to the five projects presented by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), which will receive a total of €841,000 to provide researchers with training based on excellence and the best development opportunities.

With these actions, the UPC now has a total of 136 projects that have received grants under H2020, to a total of €50.5 million.

UPC's five latest Marie Curie projects were selected from more than 9,000 proposals from all over Europe in the call for individual actions published on 29 January. The projects are related to the fields of civil and environmental engineering, mathematics and chemistry.

According to figures from the EC, Spain is second, behind the UK, in the number of projects that have received MSCA grants, with a total of 154 research projects that have received €24 million.

The five projects are described below.

• New numerical methods for solving physical problems in engineering and applied sciences (Development of a design through analysis methodology based on a coupled isogeometric-maximum entropy approach, ISOMAXENT), coordinated by Professor Marino Arroyo of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. This project will receive €160,000 over two years. It aims to develop a new generation of numerical methods for solving equations in partial derivatives, which model many major physical problems in engineering and applied sciences. The new methods are conceptually original, combining ideas of computational geometry and information theory, and will lead to more flexible and precise simulations.

• Evaluating the impact of climate change on the seafront (Amending the design criteria of urban defence in LECZs through composite-modelling of wave overtopping under climate change scenarios, DURCWAVE), coordinated by Professor Xavier Gironella of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. This project will receive more than €170,000 over two years. The aim of the project is to evaluate the threats posed by climate change for the seafront and buildings near the coast, and to provide a methodology for helping those responsible for estimating the vulnerability of coastal areas.

• A 4D strategy for obtaining meshes that interact with the environment after stimulation (4D-polypropylene meshes as sensitive motion sensors, 4DPOLYSENSE),coordinated by Professor Elaine Armelin Diggroc of the Department of Chemical Engineering. This project will receive more than €158,000 over two years to develop a new generation of non-absorbable surgical meshes. These meshes are used in the repair of hernias and in the reconstruction of the abdominal and thoracic walls, and are capable of acting as self-evolving movement sensors. The project proposes the use of the 4D printing strategy to obtain meshes that can interact dynamically with the environment in response to a specific stimulus.

• Improving satellite navigation at times of scintillation (High accuracy navigation under scintillation conditions, NAVSCIN), coordinated by Professor Jaume Sanz of the Department of Mathematics. This project will receive more than €185,000 over three years to develop a strategy that mitigates astronomical scintillation, a particular type of climatic perturbation in space. The strategy will be adapted for satellite-based navigation techniques and the researchers will work with users and manufacturers of these technologies.

• Creation of an effective tool for assessing earthquake risk (Keeping and increasing resilience opportunities and sustainability of communities against earthquakes, KaIROS), coordinated by Lluís Pujades of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. This project will receive funding of more than €170,000 over two years to develop and provide new methods and tools for measuring and reducing seismic risk in the world by creating modules based on inventories, assessment, reinforcement and regulations that will form a sound and effective tool for assessing earthquake risk.

 
Mobility and excellent training of research talent
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions seek to ensure the dynamic development of the best intellectual capital in Europe, in order to generate new capabilities and innovation based on research talent. To do this, the programme includes lines for fostering new skills through excellent training of researchers, cross-border and cross-sector mobility, and co-financing of activities with a structural impact on various sectors.