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Activity Funded

CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials

CICECO-Instituto de Materiais de Aveiro

Reference
UIDB/50011/2020
Project Start Date
2020-01-01
Project End Date
2024-12-31
Principal Investigator
Scientific Area
Engineering and technology
Funding Program
Concurso de avaliação no âmbito do Programa Plurianual de Financiamento de Unidades de I&D (2017/2018) - Financiamento Base

Abstract

10.2 Summary in English for general dissemination purposes The associated laboratory CICECO was created in 2002 in Aveiro University joining scientists from the Departments of Chemistry, Physics and Materials Engineering, whith the mission to develop the scientific and technological knowledge necessary for the innovative production and transformation of materials for a sustainable development and the benefit of society. We are about 380 people from 23 countries (183 with PhD), including 46 professors and 41 researchers very commited to training the next generation of researchers, at present 107 post-docs and 119 PhD students. CICECO has a solid international reputation in its field and is very productive, publishing around 10 patents and over 400 scientific papers per year. We have a very successful partnership with (inter)national industry, thus contributing to national economic and social development. CICECO is strongly engaged in EU programs (including 3 ERC grants). We host the best materials science and engineering research facilities in Portugal, and are very active in reaching out to citizens of all ages. Though future CICECO activities will build upon the present work, new and disrupting research will start, e.g., on responsive materials whose design is inspired on the adaptive capabilities of living organisms. Societal challenges in the areas of Sustainability, Information and Communication Technology, Energy, and Health, will be addressed. Sustainability is core to our work, as the new materials and processes developed should, ultimately, find their place in a Circular Economy, i.e., in addition to excellent properties or figures of merit they should integrate a regenerative system closing material and energy loops. These challenges are addressed on our activities on Biorefinery (biomass fractionation/conversion), or the recovery of noble and rare-earth metals from electronic wastes. We are developing light emitting materials for tomorrows Information and Communication Technology, including for the internet of things, sensing and security tagging. A sustainable planet requires cleaner and more efficient energy sources and processes, and materials are part of the solution to one of the greatest challenges of humankind. We will improve materials for photovoltaics, fuelcells, batteries and supercapacitors, and for mixed renewable energies and harvesting (thermoelectrics and piezoelectrics, magnetocalorics), including materials that endure harsh conditions (such as marine environments). UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 urges us to insure healthy lives and promote the well-being for all at all ages. We will, thus, seek to create better materials for a better Health through a far-reaching program including, for instance: encapsulation of hydrogels to build three-dimensional disease models; development of purification technologies for producing cheap antibodies, nucleic-acid-based products, and recombinant proteins; and the use of nanoporous silicates for treating of hyperkalemia. 10.3 Summary in English for evaluation In the period 2018-22, CICECO activities will encompass: creation of new fundamental and applied knowledge in Materials Science and Engineering, increasing even more the scientific quality of our work, and raising international visibility; training and tutoring the next generation of scientists, MSc, PhD, and post-doc researchers; pursuing a very successful partnership with various sectors of (inter)national industry, stimulating innovation in product and process development, ultimately contributing to the economic and social development of Portugal and Europe; adding value to our intellectual property, via patenting, creation of startups and technology licensing; reaching out to citizens of all ages. CICECO scientific activities will be organized in Research Lines (L) or transverse thematic axes, expressing societal needs, and running across Groups (G), which are focused on classes of materials (except for new G6): L1 - Information and Communication Technology L2 - Energy and Industrial Applications L3 - Sustainability L4 - Health G1 - Inorganic Functional Nanomaterials and Organic-Inorganic Hybrids G2 - Multifunctional Ferroic Ceramics and Nanostructures G3 - Materials for Energy and Functional Surfaces G4 - Biorefineries, Biobased Materials and Recycling G5 - Biomedical and Biomimetic Materials G6 - Computer Simulation and Multiscale Modeling. CICECO main future challenges comprise the following highlights. 1) Creation of Scientific Knowledge Research will be initiated on a new and very challenging theme, responsive materials built up from hierarchies of chemomechanical feedback (CF), i.e., the dynamic interplay between chemical changes and multiscale motions. Adaptive capabilities of living organisms can be traced to CF built into their most basic materials. We will conceive and create better materials by learning Nature solutions. Much work will be carried out on light emitting materials, for example, to be used in luminescent thermometers, solar concentrators, molecular logic gates, security tags (luminescent QR codes), real-time sensing and thermal memory for the internet of things, and bioimaging. Piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials will be investigated, in particular, bioinspired materials for micro-electromechanical biomedical applications, and for energy harvesting, and bone implants or repairs based on electrically functionalized coatings. Work on quantum materials will embrace the use of diamond quantum sensors in ultrasensitive magnetic, electric and thermal mapping, and the optical imaging and nanoscale scanning probe study of domain walls and spin textures in multiferroics. Research on Energy will be extended to batteries, supercapacitors, and integration of other renewables (heat, biomass) or harvesting principles (thermo/piezoelectrics, magnetocalorics) comprising novel mixed energy concepts. Research on Biorefinery (biomass fractionation processes, cascade conversion of biomass components, materials based on cellulose nanofibers) will be extended to Circular Economy (recovering noble/rare-earth metals from electronic wastes, recycling inorganic industrial wastes). Work on pharmaceutical materials will encompass: cell-encapsulating hydrogels to build3D disease models; purification technologies for producing cheap pure antibodies from egg yolk and other antibodies, nucleic-acid-based products and recombinant proteins; use of nanoporous silicates for treating hyperkalemia and for other ion-based therapies; relating biomaterials composition/structure and cellular/tissue response, leading to omic-guided protocols and large biodata for improved tissue regeneration and personalized performance prediction; development of methods for characterizing solid drugs (polymorphism, hydrates, amorphous materials, deformulation/reverse engineering studies, dry powder inhalers). 2) Internationalization Emphasis will be on increasing the number of highly cited, 1% and 10% top papers, and on a 20% growth of Science and Nature series papers. Not belittling FCT and other national funding sources, 23 European projects are running (we coordinate 9) and more are expected to come. In particular, we aim at increasing the number of ERC grantees. We will continue engaging in EU networks and access grand facilities, like ESRF, ISOLDE-CERN, ISIS. With the end of the financial crisis, the number of foreign post-docs and researchers is expected to increase. 3) Scientific Training Target by 2022 is 35 PhD and 120 MSc theses finished per year. We will keep our strong involvement in ca. 10 PhD (including one European) programs. We will start a Creative Lab receiving 10-15 first cycle students. 4) Partnership with Industry& Knowledge Valorization Aveiro Science-Innovation Park, a consortium of U. Aveiro, companies and local Government, will open in 2018 harboring our joint ventures with industry and spin-offs, boosting the work with national and international companies on the development of innovative processes and products. 5.2 MEur projects with industry are already in progress. We will seek to create a CICECO-industry partnership on electronic textiles and are preparing proposals for two Collaborative Laboratories. Three startups on the production of pure antibodies from egg yolk, polymeric supports from biomaterials of human origin, and on wearable electronics, are in preparation. Fifty national and international patents are expected to be filled, and some 40 prototypes and 15 models produced, while projects with Bosch and Navigator may result in new products in the market. 5) Outreach We will hold lectures, science cafes, demonstrations, school visits, organize National Chemistry Olympiads, cooperate with Aveiro science for the citizen center, be broadcasted on radio and TV. In the frame of EU programs, we will create a European network of high schools/universities/research centers/companies to educate and raise awareness to materials importance.

Institutions

Main Institutions

  • Universidade de Aveiro CICECO (CICECO/UA)
  • Universidade de Aveiro (UA)

Funding 5.034.461,70 €

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Portugal

5.034.461,70 €