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World Food Day 2023: INL is working towards a sustainable agri-food system

World Food Day is an annual event that highlights the importance of addressing global hunger and promoting sustainable agriculture. With the global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, the need for a robust and sustainable agri-food system has never been more critical. The INL Food Cluster is committed to foster innovation in agriculture and food production. INL researchers are at the forefront of this mission, striving to create a resilient, efficient, and sustainable agri-food system. Their multidisciplinary approach combines nanotechnology, biotechnology, and advanced materials to create solutions that enhance food quality, safety, and availability. This video showcases INL’s nanotechnologies to build a future food system that is sustainable and able to secure healthier, tastier, authentic, and safer foods, optimising and monitoring the processes all throughout the different parts of the whole food value chain.

UT Austin Portugal Annual Conference 2023

INL hosts the UT Austin Portugal Annual Conference 2023 next October 24. The event is the Program’s largest knowledge-sharing and networking initiative and serves as an ideation exercise that explores how the Program can help shape the future of Portugal’s scientific and technological landscape. With the theme “Modelling the Future”, the agenda includes insightful discussions around topics such as Clean Energy, Advanced Computing and Nanotechnologies, networking moments and an E-Poster exhibition. Attendance for this event is free of charge, but registration is required.More information here. Registration here.

Quantum dots: the nanoparticles behind the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023

As the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 was attributed to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Alexei I. Ekimov, INL acknowledges some of the work done by research groups using quantum dots: the chemical particles discovered and synthetized by these scientists. Quantum dots are nanoparticles with semiconducting properties. This means that their size directly influences their capacity to absorb and emit light in a range of specific colours. These particles are so small that their structure is largely governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. We can explain their functionality with a metaphor: the electron wave gets confined inside a ‘box’, i.e., inside the tiny particle, affecting its optical properties. So, regardless of being chemically identical, large quantum dots emit red light while the small ones emit blue. Independently, Ekimov and Brus were able to demonstrate and understand the size-dependent quantum effects in particles. Later on, Bawendi came up with the effective synthesis of quantum dots with well-defined size and with high optical quality. Synthetising quantum dots with different sizes and shapes is very important, since their applications vary according to their multiplicity. From medical imaging to everyday uses, like TVs with Qled screens, there’s ground for researching immense […]

Spintronics for neuromorphic computing: a breakthrough in energy-efficient information processing

In a recently published paper, the Spintronics research group describes a spintronic circuit as a basic programmable computing unit for neuromorphic computing. This circuit connects multiple spintronic devices with different functionalities in one circuit using a single fabrication process, which paves ways to fabricate complex neuromorphic computing systems. Neuromorphic computing offers a hopeful way to tackle some significant problems we face in technology, like the high energy consumption when processing a lot of data at once, which is similar to how our brains work. The idea behind neuromorphic computing is to handle information using many small processing units all at once. These units can be quite simple and can be set up in different ways. So, a good implementation needs to be energy-efficient, take up less space, and work quickly. It should also be able to grow and adapt for use in networks with millions of devices. INL researcher Tim Böhnert explains that “the computer memories should keep their memory over long periods and the processing units should activate above a certain threshold value. Thus, we are looking for other important properties such as non-volatility of the memories and non-linearity of the processing component.” In this paper, researchers investigated one […]

INL congratulates the Nobel Prize Winners in Physics 2023

INL congratulates the Nobel prize winners in Physics 2023 Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier who were recognised “for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter.” At INL, the Ultrafast Bio- and Nanophotonics (UBNP) group led by Jana Nieder takes advantage of the latest ultrafast laser technologies, not to create attosecond pulses, but to develop new biomedical imaging technologies. One of the key methods enabling the required pulse compression at the focus of a microscope, the d-scan technique, was co-invented by the Nobel laureate Anne l’Huillier, together with researchers from our close collaborators at University of Porto, counting with the team led by Helder Crespo, and their spin-off, Sphere Ultrafast Photonics, a company co-founded by Anne l’Huillier. The collaborative project ExtreMed, funded by ANI, demonstrated, together with our collaborators and researchers from UTAustin, the potential of ultrafast laser sources in bioimaging applications and medical research. The project was able to explore the versatility of such light sources that prove to enable label-free screening of 2D and 3D in vitro cancer models. The novel bioimaging technique allows deeper tissue imaging capabilities and the assessment of the therapeutic efficacy of drugs, opening the opportunity to speed up […]

Winners of the #ERN2023 Photo Competition

The #ERN2023 Photo Competition celebrated science, technology and art in the most creative way and the most eclectic mix of ideas, disciplines and perspectives creating the most far-reaching conversations, in-depth debates, and inspiring developments and playing an important role in making science accessible to a wide audience. This initiative occurred under the European Researchers’ Night 2023 event that took place on September 29, 2023, in different cities of Portugal – Braga, Coimbra, Lisboa and Évora and around Europe. In Braga, the main event happened at Altice Fórum Braga. This year’s motto was Science for Everyone – Sustainability and Inclusion. The #ERN2023 Photo Competition was an open competition and everyone was encouraged to capture scientific phenomena happening all around us and submit up to two original photographs in a unique category: ‘Science for Everyone – Sustainability and Inclusion’ (nano/micro images obtained through microscopes, images related to the labs, setups, sample preparation, simulations, everyday life related to science, etc.) All selected photos were evaluated by a jury composed of internal and external representatives from different areas. Please, find below the 3 winners: First place: HÉLDER FONSECA, PHOTO 30 2073: The ghost yellow room Second place: FREDILSON MELO, PHOTO 52 Bloom, Algae! Bloom! […]

European project FUNLAYERS: a boost for research in functional layered materials

In a concerted effort to advance research and innovation in layered materials, the European project FUNLAYERS (Functional Layered Materials for Advanced Applications) brings together three research institutions to make significant steps in the field of functional layered materials with broad applications. FUNLAYERS is a collaborative initiative involving INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, ALBA Synchrotron in Barcelona, Spain, and the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, Germany, aiming to achieve the following key objectives: a) fostering a transnational research environment for layered materials, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange; b) enhancing the scientific and research capacity of INL; c) elevating research excellence in developing layered materials with applications in fields such as spintronics and energy storage; d) building strategic partnerships in the international research community, among industry stakeholders, policymakers, the business community, and the general public; e) creating a sustainable environment for future collaborations, ensuring that the advancements made in the field endure beyond the project’s duration. One of the highlights of the FUNLAYERS project is an upcoming workshop scheduled to take place from October 23-25, 2023, at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, Germany. The workshop will bring together experts to discuss recent developments […]

i-GRAPE project distinguished by Port and Douro Wines Institute

On September 10th, the project i-GRAPE was celebrated amidst “Porto Wine Day”, an event hosted by the Port and Douro Wines Institute (IVDP). With the goal of preserving the wine’s heritage and attained to the theme “Douro + Susteinable”, this was also an opportunity to celebrate Sogrape, which was awarded in the “Viticulture” category. INL is the project coordinator of i-GRAPE and Professor Paulo Freitas, INL’s Deputy Director-General, attended the event, held at Teatrinho Reguense, in the city of Peso da Régua. i-GRAPE is an innovative project, focused on developing a new generation of analytical methods for control of the grape maturation phase and vine hydric stress. Operating in a highly competitive market, its simple, rapid and cost-effective techniques will allow the winemaker to control irrigation in the latest steps of grape maturation, and plan the harvest at the optimum time. When it comes to efficacy, this means optimizing wine quality at the end of the wine value chain. Promoting forefront applications to everyday fields, i-GRAPE provides a digital tool that supports the decision-making processes, making sure that the automation control has an impact in the quality and value of the wine. This tool consists in an apparatus that is […]

TrustEat Final Conference in Wageningen Netherlands

TRUSTEAT project final conference will take place in Wageningen – Netherlands on September 22, 2023. The one-day event is aimed towards both national and international industrial players, research institutions and universities, as well as national and regional authorities. By bringing together R&D experts and stakeholders, the consortium aims to identify common research goals, overlaps, and promising areas of potential collaboration. The sessions will also include disseminating selected technologies and collaboration opportunities in fundraising through brokerage sessions: TrustEat Final Conference is powered by the KB37 project, which is centred on promoting healthy and safe food systems, bringing together experts from various fields. Know more and register by clicking here.