Business meeting to address new challenges in advanced materials

8/06/2019

On 5 June, a business meeting on Advanced materials and future industrial challenges was held on the Campus Diagonal Besòs of the UPC, organised by the CIT UPC Technology Center. Through projects developed at the UPC, speakers presented the central role of advanced materials as facilitating technologies to face new challenges in three major areas: health, energy and the environment and in structures and components.

Vega Pérez, deputy director of the company EEBE UPC, and Antonio Alvarez, director of CIT UPC, gave the welcome address. Pedro Moneo, founder and CEO of Opinno and editor of the journal MIT Technology Review in Spanish opened the conference with a talk on the ten emerging technologies of 2019.

In the first block on the application of new materials in the health field, José María Manero, a researcher from BBT – CREB UPC, spoke about new biomaterials with antimicrobial and osteoinductive properties. Then, Sonia Lanzalaco, a researcher from IMEM UPC, discussed movement sensors for surgical meshes. To end this block, Luis J. del Valle, from PSEP UPC, addressed the application of drugs through new biopolymers.

The second part of the meeting was on materials for generating energy and reducing environmental impact. Jordi Llorca, director of NEMEN UPC, spoke about catalysts for the production of hydrogen and elimination of contaminants. The second speech was given by Mª Lluïsa Maspoch, a researcher from e-PLASCOM UPC, who discussed the processing of plastics and eco-friendly compounds. Fernando Carrillo, from INTEXTER UPC, ended this second section by explaining acoustic absorbent materials made from natural fibres.

Georgina Fabregat, a researcher from IMEM UPC, opened the third part of the meeting, on engineering of structural materials and components, with a talk entitled Control and prevention of corrosion in metal structures. Luis Llanes, director of CIEFMA UPC, spoke about the design of hard materials for shaping tools for metal parts. Marilda Barra, a researcher at MATCAR UPC, ended the block with a talk on some projects relating to the recovery of industrial waste as durable, sustainable construction materials.

At the same time as the meeting, a Showroom was organised to demonstrate some of the advanced materials projects developed on the campus.

To close the meeting, attendees were offered a guided tour of Campus Diagonal Besòs laboratories.

Pictures of the day:

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