Research news
List of news published in the Press Room on research and innovation
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Launch of EIT Urban Mobility in Barcelona to transform European cities into liveable spaces
The city of Barcelona launched the European initiative EIT Urban Mobility at the Smart City Expo World Congress. The event marked the official start of the EIT Innovation Community, which aims to finance projects that contribute to mobility solutions that accelerate the transition towards more liveable urban spaces.
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Microchips manufactured at the UPC will measure the wind on Mars
The UPC’s Micro and Nanotechnologies Research Group has participated in the design, manufacture and calibration of the wind sensor of the MEDA instrument, which will travel to Mars on board NASA’s Mars 2020 mission to measure wind direction and speed, relative humidity, pressure and properties of suspended dust on the Red Planet. It will be the third time that UPC technology travels to Mars. On this occasion, it is 60 silicon dice that make up the heart of the sensor and that were recently delivered to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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NASA’s InSight probe with UPC technology on board lands successfully on Mars
On 26 November, NASA’s InSight probe landed successfully on Mars with UPC technology on board. Researchers from the UPC’s Micro and Nanotechnologies Research Group participated in the design of the wind sensor that travelled on the probe, which will be the first to record seismic vibrations and measure the flow of heat emitted by the planet’s surface. This information will help determine the planet’s internal composition and how it was formed.
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A microchip designed at the UPC is on its way to Mars
Researchers from the UPC’s Micro and Nanotechnology Research Group participated in the design of a wind sensor that has been installed in NASA's InSight spacecraft to study the interior of the planet Mars.
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A new hydrogel developed for desalinating seawater using sunlight and for medical therapies
Researchers from the UPC’s research group Innovation in Materials and Molecular Engineering - Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies (IMEM-BRT) are working on a thermosensitive hydrogel with several applications, such as the desalination of seawater with solar radiation and the creation of new biomedical adhesives for semi-invasive therapies and for medical diagnosis.
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The Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, the UPC and Probitas create iMAGING, an AI-based app to diagnose malaria
A multidisciplinary team involving the Microbiology Service of the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, the Microbiology research group of the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, the UPC and the Probitas Foundation has developed a novel AI-based diagnostic method for malaria.
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The UPC launches Connèxia, a new 360° programme to accelerate technology transfer to industry
On 27 October, the UPC presented the Connèxia UPC programme. Aimed at industry, it provides tailored collaboration to connect the University’s technological capabilities with the specific and strategic needs of the productive sector.
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Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub reveals that AI and 5G-6G are the technologies with the highest potential for techno-social disruption
Artificial intelligence, 5G-6G, big data, robotics, cybersecurity, computers and IoT protocols and 3D and 4D printing are the technologies with the most research groups at the UPC, according to the study 'Analysis, map and detection of Deep Tech areas and technologies'. Prepared with its own methodology within the framework of the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub, the study detects the end of 16 technologies in which 50% of the University's research groups are distributed, depending on the social impact or industrial escalation.
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The UPC climbs positions in the 2024 QS Sustainability Ranking and is placed as one of the world’s 150 best universities
The new edition of the QS Sustainability Ranking places the UPC as one of the world’s 150 best universities, specifically in 143rd place. The ranking also places the University among the world’s top 100 in governance, in 79th.
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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-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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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.