20 years of Science and Innovation
LEPABE was granted new projects in FCT 2022 call
Posted on Semptember 12th, 2022
LEPABE was granted 3 Exploratory Research Projects and 4 Scientific Research and Technological Development Projects in the last FCT call. In 6 of the approved projects, LEPABE is the leader institution, being a partner institution in one of the projects, resulting in, approximately, 800 k€ funding for the next 3 years.
Scientific Research and Technological Development Projects
BacAllFree (Luciana Gomes)
LegioFilms (Ana Alexandra Pereira)
NAMSal (Nuno F. Azevedo)
IRONFLOW (Paula Dias) – Partner
Exploratory Research Projects
SeaProPep (Tânia Tavares)
PhotoRec (Artur Pinto)
TanPT (Seyedali Emami)
Congratulations!
LEPABE was granted new CEEC researchers and Ph.D scholarships in FCT 2022 call
Posted on September 2nd, 2022
LEPABE congratulates the 3 Junior researchers that were granted individual CEEC contracts in the national FCT call:
- Inês Gomes
- Pedro Branco
- Rita Sobral Santos
LEPABE also congratulates the 14 project researchers that were granted individual PhD scholarships in the national FCT call:
- Ana Barbosa
- Ariana Gonçalves
- Cláudia Machado
- Gustavo Rangel
- Laura Pires
- Marta Lima
- Sara Ferreira
Congratulations to all!
- Ana Catarina Silva
- Bruno Freitas
- Fábio Carvalho
- Joana Moreira
- Mariana Gomes
- Saeed Ranjbar
- Tiago Santos
LEPABE leads ERA-CHAIR e.Biofilm
Posted on August 11th, 2022
LEPABE congratulates Prof. Nuno F. Azevedo and the Biofilm Engineering Lab (BEL) for the approval of a ERA-CHAIR for the Creation of a group of Excellence on Engineered Biofilms (e.Biofilm).
This project will allow the development of new methods to modulate and characterize biofilm communities in industry, in health and in the environment. For instance, in the case of infections these new methods will allow to eliminate more efficiently pathogenic microorganisms from biofilms, whereas in the environmental cases they will ensure that microorganisms that clean wastewaters more efficiently are present in the biofilm.
Granting 2,5 M€ in financial support, this is the first ERA-CHAIR to be led by FEUP and counts with the collaboration of Darla Goeres, from the Center for Biofilm Engineering (Montana State University, USA), considered a world reference in the area of biofilms.
Congratulations!
Know more about this ERA-CHAIR here.
Successful collaboration with CANCELAFÉ wines
Posted on August 18th, 2022
The CANCELAFÉ winery highlights the collaboration established with LEPABE.
In this collaboration the group led by Prof. Lúcia Santos, from the Environmental research group of LEPABE, investigates the potential valorization of wine industry by-products and their application in cosmetic and food sector. This brand is deeply compromised to ensure a more sustainable future for the residues resultant from their wine production, such as Grape pomace and grapeseed. To do so, they established a partnership with LEPABE to investigate alternative solutions for their by-products, reducing their environmental impact.
Know more about this collaboration here.
Eva Salgado was awarded “Best poster presentation” at WPAT2022
Posted on July 15th, 2022
LEPABE PhD student Eva Salgado, supervised by Dr. José Carlos Pires, was awarded Best Poster Presentation by a Young Water Professional at the “13th IWA Specialist Conference on Wastewater Ponds and Algal Technologies” that took place in July 3-6th, 2022 and was held in Melbourne, Australia.
The student presented a poster with the title “Microalgal cultures for the bioremediation of urban wastewaters in the presence of siloxanes” that reports the use of microalgal cultures to biologically remove siloxanes from wastewaters in a more sustainable and economically way.
Congratulations!
Final webinar of the PhytoEnergy project
Posted on July 5th, 2022
The final webinar of the PhytoEnergy project occurred on June, 29th, at UCP. The PhytoEnergy project, entitled “Assessment of the ENERGY production potential from PHYTOremediation derived biomass”, was coordinated by UCP, and had a team led by Prof. Nídia Caetano, from LEPABE, as partner institution.
This webinar aimed at presenting the potential of biomass resulting from phytoremediation of metal contaminated soils for energy generation, by means of a novel integrated strategy comprising the utilization of all plant parts for the generation of several energy products.
Know more about this event here.
Final seminar of the EMISSHIP project
Posted on June 30th, 2022
The final seminar of the EMISSHIP project occurred on June, 21st, at FEUP. The EMISSHIP project, entitled “Towards reducing atmospheric pollution from shipping emission – forecasting and assessment of human health impact”, was coordinated by LEPABE researchers Prof. Fernando Martins and Dr. Sofia Sousa, having the University of Cádiz (Spain) and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (Finland) as partners.
In this project, researchers were able to estimate the impacts of shipping emissions on air quality and on human health, as well as externalities at a regional level (Iberian Peninsula) and at a local level in some of the major Portuguese ports. Future emissions were also assessed.
The results and outputs of the project can be found at emisship.fe.up.pt.
PhD Thesis by Nuno Garrido on particulated wood agglomerates
July 1st, 2022
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Nuno Garrido for his PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Environmental Engineering, entitled “Optimização da operação de corte de aglomerados de partículas fabricados com um elevado teor de madeira reciclada” supervised by Prof. Carlos Costa and Luísa Carvalho, defended on July 1st, 2022 FEUP.
LEPABE team awarded in the BIP PROOF Programme
Posted on June 22nd, 2022
A team led by LEPABE Research Dr. Seyedali Emami was awarded in the 2021-2022 edition of the Business Ignition Program (BIP) PROOF, promoted by U. Porto Inovação, with the project PerovSiPort. This program aims to support proof-of concept projects to stimulate the achievement of valuable steps leading to the valorisation of promising research results.
Project PerovSiPort involves technology developed by LEPABE Senior Researcher Prof. Adélio Mendes, which proposes the production of long-term sustainable perovskite solar cells, combining the most advanced production and design methods with the use of innovative materials.
More information can be found here.
PhD Thesis by Nuno Delgado on vanadium redox flow batteries
June 23rd, 2022
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Nuno Delgado for his PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Chemical and Biological Engineering, entitled “Modelling and design optimization of all-vanadium redox flow batteries” supervised by Prof. Adélio Mendes, defended on June 23rd, 2022 FEUP.
LEPABE work highlighted by RTP3 program “Tech 3”
Posted on June 20th, 2022
Vera Homem, Assistant Researcher at LEPABE, participated in the RTP3 program “Tech 3”, broadcasted on June, 12th. The program addresses topics such as creativity, innovation, technology and knowledge.
This episode was dedicated to Águas do Douro e Paiva, SA, a company integrated in FEUP-PRIME program. Vera Homem talks about the project “AGRONAUT - Agronomic Impact of Sludge Amendment Using a Comprehensive Exposure Viewpoint”, which aims to contribute to improving knowledge about the safe use of sewage sludge on agricultural land. This project is part of a long collaboration with the company.
Watch the full episode here.
LEPABE work highlighted by 90 seconds of science podcast
Posted on June 8th, 2022
Professor Luís Miguel Madeira, senior researcher at LEPABE, participated in 90 seconds of science program, broadcasted by Antena 1, which gives voice to Portuguese researchers and their projects.
In this episode, Luís Miguel Madeira talks about the project VERPRAZ - energetic valorisation and treatment of olive oil production wastes. One of the main goals of this project is to generate green hydrogen from the residues derived from the olive oil production.
You can listen to the full podcast here.
LEPABE member participated in the RTP program “É Ou Não É?”
Posted on June 3rd, 2022
Professor Francisco Xavier Malcata, senior researcher at LEPABE, participated in the TV program “É Ou Não É – O Grande Debate”, broadcasted by RTP1, on May, 31st.The episode theme was “Are we facing a global food crisis?”.
The program “É Ou Não É – O Grande Debate” is a space for debate where it is intended to promote discussion and dissipate doubts, but above all to add knowledge about the main issues of society. After the energy shock, the world prepares for the food shock. Ukraine and Russia are the breadbasket of the world, but the war has blocked the distribution and trade of grain. What will be the solution to what could be the biggest food crisis of this century?
Watch the full episode here.
Polymers Special Issue on “Properties and Applications of Natural Polymers”
Posted on May 30th, 2022
Dr. Diana Paiva and Prof. Fernão D. Magalhães, researchers at LEPABE, are guest editors of the special issue on “Properties and Applications of Natural Polymers” to be published in the scientific journal Polymers (MDPI).
This Special Issue is focused on current understanding of the structure/processing/properties relationships in (bio)polymers containing naturally occurring compounds. The submission deadline is October 15th, 2022.
More information on this special issue can be found here.
PhD Thesis by Kashif Mushtaq on non-aqueous redox flow and liquid metal batteries
May 26th 2022
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Kashif Mushtaq for his PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Sustainable Energy Systems, entitled “Energy storage: development of non-aqueous redox flow and liquid metal batteries” supervised by Prof. Adélio Mendes, defended on May 26th, 2022 FEUP.
LEPABE represented at Triggers program
Posted on May 24th, 2022
Dr. Cláudio Rocha, Post-Doctoral researcher from ALiCE/LSRE-LCM and Pedro Cerqueira, PhD student from ALiCE/LEPABE, participated in the bootcamp (2nd phase) of the "Triggers" program promoted by Casa do Impacto, on March 2-3rd, in a virtual event.
Triggers program aims at accelerating the implementation of sustainable and innovative projects in the business environment. It supports teams that show motivation and know-how for impact entrepreneurship, focused on the environmental sustainability of the planet. The two researchers presented the project entitled "Olive Mill Wastewater".
Know more about Triggers here.
1st 2SMART Artistic Residency
Posted on May 13th, 2022
The opening of the final exhibition of André Rangel's artistic residency will take place on May 18th, at 17:30, at the FEUP Library.
This exhibition, which is a result from the development of the 2SMART research project, and counts with the collaboration of 4 UP research units (LEPABE, LSRE-LCM and CEFT by FEUP and I2ADS by FBAUP), presents the vision of artist André Rangel, after finishing his artistic residency at the Nano4MED nanotechnology research laboratory at LEPABE.
Come and discover a new way of disseminating science and how science is seen through the eyes of art.
More information here.
Laura Cerqueira was awarded CBE Young Investigator
Posted on May 20th, 2022
Dr. Laura Cerqueira, from the Biofilm Lab of LEPABE, was awarded CBE Young Investigator by the Montana State University. This prize allows the researcher to attend to the annual Montana Biofilm Science & Technology Meeting, held in Bozeman, U. S. A, in July 12-14th, 2022.
Her work focuses on the application of PNA-FISH based-methods for bacterial detection and localization in biofilms
The prize includes the fee to present orally her work at the meeting, financial support in travel expenses and the possibility to publish in the Elsevier’s Biofilm Journal.
Congratulations!
ERA-NET project Nano4Glio
Posted on May 5th, 2022
LEPABE congratulates the team of the Nano4MED Lab (Supramolecular Assemblies Research Group), led by Prof. Maria do Carmo Pereira for the approval of the ERA-NET (European Research Area Networks) project Nano4Glio - Engineered nano-based device for glioblastoma multiforme therapy.
Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive brain tumour that is incurable, due to drugs' low bioavailability in the brain, and resistance mechanisms. Other limitations such as high toxicity reenforce the need for new therapies. Thus, Nano4Glio will develop an implantable device composed of a biodegradable hydrogel incorporating drug-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) for GBM continuous treatment. This project will deliver a suitable approach to improve GBM therapeutic efficacy, allowing for a continuous and enhanced therapy, without the need for daily administration, while overcoming resistance. Thus, Nano4Glio will deliver a pioneering approach that will be able to overcome the limitations of current therapy.
LEPABE team is composed by Prof. Maria do Carmo Pereira, Prof. Manuel Coelho, Dr. Joana Loureiro and Dr. Maria João Ramalho. Led by LEPABE/FEUP, this project has as partners the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health of University of Porto (i3S, Portugal); SINTEF Industry (Norway) and University of Copenhagen (UCPH, Denmark).
Congratulations!
2nd Power2Methane Webinar
Posted on May 11th, 2022
On the 5th of May of 2022, the 2nd Power2Methane Webinar, entitled CO2 capture and utilization: from fundamentals to demonstration plants, was held. Organized by members and researchers from both LEPABE and LSRE-LCM, the event featured academia/research and industrial speakers in fields related to CO2 capture and/or utilization and was attended by over 210 participants from all over the world. Additional information about the event (program, flyer, and speakers' bio) can be found in the website of the FCT funded Power2Methane project. Soon, recordings and visual support of some of the lectures will be available for consultation.
PhD Thesis by Fátima Santos on dye-sensitized solar cells
May 3rd, 2022
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Fátima Santos for her PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Chemical and Biological Engineering, entitled “Highly Efficient Monolithic Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells” supervised by Prof. Adélio Mendes, defended on May 3rd, 2022 FEUP.
Last Lecture by Prof. Romualdo Salcedo: Optimization – an engine for innovation
May 6th, 2022
Prof. Romualdo Salcedo, senior member of LEPABE, will have his last lecture on May 6th, at FEUP’s Auditorium.
His research interests have involved the development of numerical optimization techniques and algorithms to search for the global optimum, and their application to the optimized design of gas-solid separators, in particular for the capture of small particles using cyclones. He is co-founder and CTO of Advanced Cyclone Systems SA, a spin-off of LEPABE.
Optimization – an engine for innovation is the topic for his last lecture.
Habilitation title was granted to Prof. Fernando Rocha
Posted on April 20th, 2022
LEPABE senior member Prof. Fernando Rocha had his public defense for the attribution of the habilitation title, with the topic of “Proteins Crystallization”, on April 18-19th, 2022, at FEUP.
The habilitation title was approved unanimously by the members of the jury.
Congratulations!
LEPABE member leads new CoLAB
Posted on April 26th, 2022
The Polymer Competence Network (ARCP) application to the CoLAB title has been approved in the most recent FCT call for Collaborative Laboratories. ARCP, led by LEPABE senior member Fernão Magalhães, was one of the 6 approved from a total of 19 submissions.
The main goal of the CoLAB is to provide a solid interface between industry and academia, focused on R&D&I on Polymer Science and Technology. ARCP involves 5 academic institutions and 7 companies.
Congratulations!
Seminar: Food Safety
April 9th, 2022 - FEUP
The FEUP's Industry Liaison Office, under the cycle of talks “A Voz da Indústria” (Voice from the Industry), is organising a seminar entitled “Segurança Alimentar” (Food Safety) in collaboration with the SurfSAFE project and PortugalFoods. The seminar will be on April, 19th (17h00) and will have as keynote speaker, the LEPABE researcher Dr. Luciana Gomes.
This seminar is directed for people working on food industry or that have a direct/indirect contact with food production/processing activities and the related food safety issues.
The seminar will be in Portuguese, and the participation is free of charge, but registration is mandatory (register here). The program is available here.
PhD Thesis by Bruno Esteves on innovative processes for olive mill wastewater
April 11th, 2022
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Bruno Esteves for his PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Environmental Engineering, entitled “Innovative approach for olive mill wastewater reclamation: integrated heterogeneous Fenton oxidation using olive mill solid residues and membrane filtration processes” supervised by Prof. Luís Miguel Madeira, defended on April 11th, 2022 FEUP.
Senior LEPABE member pursue the habilitation title
Posted on April 6th, 2022
LEPABE member Prof. Fernando Rocha will have his public defense for attribution of the habilitation title next 18-19th April 2022.
All researchers are invited to attend the event, particularly the Oral Lesson with the title: Proteins Crystallization, that will happen on April 19th, 10h30.
More information here.
LEPABE published in prestigious scientific journal
Posted on March 7th, 2022
The article "A 25 cm2 Solar Redox Flow Cell: Facing the Engineering Challenges of Upscaling" was published in Advanced Energy Materials (vol. 12), a prestigious journal from Wiley (IF: 29.368, JCR 2021).
This paper resulted from the PhD work developed by Telmo Lopes, under the supervision of Dr. Paula Dias and Prof Adélio Mendes. In this work, the research team designed, built and tested a solar redox flow cell (SRFC) with the largest photoactive area ever – the SolarFlow25 cell. They here also invited to design the inside back cover page of the issue 5, that can be found here.
This achievement was also published by the pv magazine global, an important scientific Newsletter in the scope of photovoltaic developments. Find the article here.
Access here to the published paper.
Work by LEPABE team is highlighted as best cover image
Posted on February 25th, 2022
The article "Improvement of vitamin E microencapsulation and release using different biopolymers as encapsulating agents" was selected as best cover image 2021. The paper was published in Food and Bioproducts Processing (vol. 130), a journal from Elsevier.
This paper resulted from the work developed by Dr. Berta Estevinho and Prof. Fernando Rocha, from the Supramolecular Assemblies group of LEPABE. It describes Vitamun E efficient protection through the encapsulation in microparticles by spray-drying and can be applied in functional products.
Access to the cover paper here.
LEPABE Senior Researcher invited for the Commemorations of the 25 years of FCT
Posted on February 28th, 2022
LEPABE Senior Researcher Prof. Fernando G. Martins is invited to be present at the round table debate about the theme “The context of PhD degrees” as coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Refining, Petrochemical and Chemical Engineering (EngIQ). This event will happen on March, 3rd at the University of Aveiro.
This debate happens under the second session of the commemorations of the 25 years of FCT, dedicated to advanced training and doctoral programs.
Find the program and more information here.
ALiCE kick-off meeting
Posted on January 21st, 2022
The kick-off meeting of ALiCE, the recently created Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, took place on January 21st, at FEUP Main Auditorium. During the event, ALiCE members and invitees got to know ALiCE main objectives and mission and its organisation in research thematic lines.
The ALiCE consortium, is composed by LEPABE, LSRE-LCM and CEFT, three R&D Units based at the Department of Chemical Engineering at FEUP. The Associate Laboratory status is attributed, through highly competitive calls, to institutions or consortia of scientific institutions that make institutional commitments to carry out the country's scientific and technological policy objectives.
Prof. Pedro Rodrigues (Vice-Rector of U.Porto), Prof. João Falcão e Cunha (Director of FEUP) and Prof. Nuno Rodrigues (Vice-Director of IPLeiria) were present at the meeting and addressed ALiCE members with kind and motivational words. ALiCE is thankful for all the support from U.Porto and FEUP in achieving this goal.
ALiCE team is proud of the accomplishments made so far and wishes all the success for ALiCE members in the future!
FEUP Scientific and Pedagogical Excellence Award 2021
Posted on January 31st, 2022
Two senior member of LEPABE were the recipients of this year’s FEUP Scientific and Pedagogical Excellence Award, in the FEUP’s Day Ceremony, on January 28th, 2022.
Prof. Luís Miguel Madeira was awarded with the Scientific Excellence Award as recognition for his outstanding work in scientific research over the last 5 years.
Prof. Francisco Xavier Malcata was awarded with the Pedagogical Excellence Award as recognition of his excellent work and initiative in the pedagogic activities during the last 5 years
Congratulations!
Work by LEPABE team is highlighted as feature paper in CrystEngComm
Posted on January 14th, 2022
The article “Crystallization of paracetamol from mixtures of ethanol and water in a planar oscillatory flow crystallizer: effect of the oscillation conditions on the crystal growth kinetics” is a feature paper in the HOT articles collection of CrystEngComm, a journal from Royal Society of Chemistry.
The HOT collection represents the top 10% of research published articles in CrystEngComm each quarter. Featured articles are marked as HOT by the handling editor or as recommended by referees. The distinguished article resulted from the work developed by a team from LEPABE, led by Prof. Fernando Rocha and Dr. António Ferreira, in which crystal growth kinetic data is reported for a planar oscillatory flow crystallizer.
Access to the HOT paper here.
PhD Thesis by Luís Moreira on nucleic acid mimics oligonucleotides
January 13th, 2022
LEPABE would like to congratulate Dr. Luís Moreira for his PhD thesis of the Doctoral Program in Chemical and Biological Engineering, entitled "Design and application of nucleic acid mimics oligonucleotides (NAMs) in combination with nanoparticles for detection and/or growth inhibition of microorganisms” supervised by Prof. Nuno F. Azevedo, defended on January 13th, 2022 FEUP.
Four LEPABE researchers with permanent contracts
Posted on January 6th, 2022
Four researchers were recently hired as permanent researchers under the scope of LEPABE/ALiCE: Dr. Nuno Ratola as Principal Researcher, and Dr. José Carlos Pires, Dr. Sofia Sousa and Dr. Tânia Tavares as Assistant Researchers.
These contracts are in line with LEPABE and ALiCE’s commitment to recruit and retain researchers of high scientific merit, as part of the strategy to foster the development of scientific careers.
Congratulations!
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