Seminar with Experts. Why are infections increasing so much if we are all wearing masks? Is there an ideal mask?

3/11/2020

In the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, in a country as affected as Spain, we often ask: Why are infections increasing so much if we are all using masks? Then another key question inevitably arises: Does an ideal mask exist?

In this new Seminar with Experts, at the initiative of Railgrup and co-organized by CIT UPC, we will try to answer these two questions, led by two prestigious researchers in materials.

We will start the Seminar with Experts by answering the first question with UPC researcher Enric Álvarez. A recent study by the research group Computational Biology and Complex Systems Group (BIOCOM-SC) of the UPC, offers some conclusive, surprising answers. We will analyse the conclusions of the study and assess whether public transport can really constitute a relevant focus of infection or whether this is mainly produced in other areas and for other reasons.

In the second part, with Enric Carrera, director of the research group Institute of Textile Research and Industrial Cooperation of Terrassa (INTEXTER) of the UPC, we will address the topic of masks to protect against COVID-19. We will analyse the materials used in masks on the market, their real protection capacity, the standards, the feasibility of local manufacture, and potential ways to reuse and recycle to minimize waste generation. This part will focus particularly on criteria for deciding which types of masks could be the best for public transport staff, which could be extrapolated to any employee who works in an environment in which they are in constant contact with people. In addition, we will talk about potential treatments of textile materials in public transport to fight against the virus.

Speakers

Enric Álvarez – Researcher in the Computational Biology and Complex Systems Group (BIOCOM-SC) of the UPC.

Enric Carrera – Director of the Institute of Textile Research and Industrial Cooperation of Terrassa (INTEXTER) of the UPC.

Chaired by Ignasi Gómez-Belinchón

Date and time

Wednesday, 11 November

10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Register here

The event has been jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union, through the ERDF Operational Programme of Catalonia 2014–2020.