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INL held joint workshop with JRC on nanotechnology applied to food, nanomedicine, and toxicity

On November 19th INL hosted a joint workshop with researchers from the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission and INL researchers focused on nanotechnology applications to food, nanomedicine, and toxicity, strategic research areas at International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. The full programme is available here. INL input focussed on the research developed on biosensor platforms, detection of allergenic ingredients on food products, nanoparticles for food and biomedical applications, and the design and characterization of biointerfaces. The invited speakers from the JRC presented ongoing work involving nanomaterials and devices, and in particular covered regulatory aspects, definitions, and testing methodologies. Following a visit to the INL facilities and main laboratories, INL researchers, external experts and JRC members met to exchange experiences and knowledge. Common research subjects were identified, and possible ways of further collaboration between INL and different JRC institutes is expected to start soon. Invited experts from the JRC were Elke Anklam (Director of the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements), Juan Riego Sintes (Nanobiosciences Unit), Josefa Barrero Moreno (Chemical Assessment and Testing Unit), Franz Ulberth (Standards for Food Bioscience Unit), and Aurelie Gommenginger (Interinstitutional and Stakeholder Relation Unit). Experts form research and academia from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Turkey, […]

Brazil, Portugal and Spain Begin Major Collaboration at INL

A call for projects involving Brazilian companies as well as Brazilian research, technology and innovation organisations have been launched. This is the result of the Memorandum of Understanding signed at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), March 8th. The agreement signed between the governments of Brazil, Spain and Portugal is based on previous cooperation agreements and establishes the framework for the role of INL in the development of training and research activities in Nanotechnology. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the visit of the Brazilian and the Portuguese Ministers of Science and Education, Aloizio Mercadante and Nuno Crato, to INL and it will facilitate the access for Brazilian science, technology, and innovation centres as well as for students, researchers and companies to INL state of the art facilities. The main areas of cooperation are nanodevices, nanoelectronics, nanoparticles applied to nanomedicine, environment control and water and food quality monitoring. link to call Photo: (L-R) Jose Rivas, Director General of INL; Aloizio Mercadante, Brazilian Minister of Education and Science; Nuno Crato, Portuguese Minister of Education and Science; and Paulo Freitas, Deputy Director-General of INL – credit – WAPAphoto.

INL involved in EC´s coordinated approach to promote the safety of nanomaterials

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) participates in the European Commission’s NANoREG project on the safety of nanomaterials. At INL, the goal of this four-year project is to establish and test specific measurement and characterization methods and offer a wide set of well‐characterized manufactured or engineered nanomaterials (MNMs). The industrial use of nanomaterials has grown significantly, therefore more knowledge about the health and environmental hazard impacts of nanomaterials is necessary. Interest in the use of nanomaterials is considerable, as they can be used to improve product characteristics; for example, nanoparticles help make a surface self-cleaning through a hydrophobic coat of paint; but the safety of these nanoparticles raises questions. The fast development of nanomaterials and their presence on the market make it necessary to evaluate their environmental and health impacts. The project aims at developing guidelines for safe usage, risk management and safety instructions while assessing the need for new legislation. NANoREG is a FP7 project aiming to deliver the answers needed by regulators and legislators on EHS by linking them to scientific evaluation of data and test methods. The NANoREG consortium joins governmental authorities, research institutes and companies from 14 European countries. With this project, we will get not […]

INL project presented during EU Open Days Week in Brussels

The INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory project was presented during this year’s EU Open Days seminars, by its director-general, José Rivas, included in the panel «Cross-border cooperation boosts innovation», this month (October), in Brussels. The main objective of the project was building a centre of excellence in applied nanotechnology research, with a positive impact in the region’s competitiveness, promotions of qualified employment, creations of companies, but also in the development of the relational model Administration/INL/Company/University. The project submitted by INL comprised the construction of competitive scientific infrastructures, with the objective to attract top researchers in the field of nanotechnology. The installation of the facilities in the North of Portugal, more precisely in Braga, favoured the development of methodologies that enhance an ecosystem of spin-offs, as well as the integration of the INL in Networks of knowledge. The region benefits now from a competitive technological infrastructure, on an international level, increasing the regional competitiveness of companies, universities and technological centres. The construction of the INL facility was co-financed in 30 million euros, by the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Spain Portugal 2007-2013, through the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) . The INL project falls under Priority Axis I «Strengthen Competitiveness and Promoting […]

INL will award 21 COFUND fellowships

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) will award 21 COFUND NanoTRAINforGrowth Fellowships. The fellowship programme supports promising postdoctoral researchers in their academic career development through integration into research groups, facilitating new co-operations in a stimulating and interdisciplinary research environment. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to plan a research project and work on their own research idea, at INL´s facilities. The Cofund fellowships will be awarded in the main focus areas of INL, respectively Nanomedicine (emphasis on cancer research) and Nanotechnologies for food safety and environmental control. The programme will also provide training on leadership and communication skills, project management and on obtaining research funding. INL´s NanoTRAINforGrowth fellowship programme will allow international researchers to develop their work over a period of two years.Researchers will be selected through a competitive call, expected to be launched in January 2013. The NanoTRAINforGrowth fellowship programme will run for four years (2013 – 2016) with an overall budget of 3.3M€ and is co-financed by the Marie Curie Actions of the European Union.

Workshop on Nanotechnology in Food at INL

The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) hosted an International Workshop on Nanotechnology Applications in Food – Challenges and Opportunities, last September 3rd and 4th, in Braga. This two-day workshop aimed to present the impact of nanotechnology in the food sector. The potential applications of Nanotechnology in subjects such as food safety, traceability, packaging performance and processing, among others, are expected to significantly improve the quality of food products in the near future. With the development of Nanotechnology, new nanoscale science, materials and structures, and nano-enabled devices and systems can be very beneficial and important in the food industry. The meeting enabled attendants to hear opinions from experts on nanotechnology applied to the food sector. For more information, please contact isabel.machado(at)inl.int

Ministers of Science of Portugal and People’s Republic of China visited the INL

The Portuguese Minister of Education and Science of Portugal, Nuno Crato, and the Minister of Science and Technology, of the People’s Republic of China, Wan Gang, visited the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. After a short meeting with the aim of presenting to the Chinese delegation the INL project, a state-of-the-art facility, fully dedicated to nanotechnology and nanosciences, the two ministers visited the laboratories dedicated to nanomaterial’s, energy storage and conversion, nanochemistry and nanoparticle synthesis , spintronics and magnetometry. In the last two laboratories the Chinese Minister of Science had the chance to meet two Chinese researchers who are developing their work at INESC-MN, in collaboration with INL. The tour through the facilities, guided by INL’s the director-general, José Rivas, and deputy director general, Paulo Freitas included also the high accuracy laboratories where the Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang took a closer look at the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the scanning electron microscopy (STEM), as well as the focus ion beam (FIB). Nanotechnology is one of the areas included in the memorandum of understanding signed between the government of People’s Republic of China and Portugal to promote collaborative research.

Nobel Laureate Harold Kroto gave lecture at INL

Sir Harold Kroto, one of the co-recipients of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry delivered (June 1st) at INL, in Braga (Portugal) a lecture entitled «Carbon in Nano and Outer Space». The Nobel laureate stressed the importance of improving the general level of scientific understanding and awareness worldwide. «Acceptance of the truth» should go hand in hand with «understanding the truth». Harold Kroto invited the young scientists in the audience to address present challenges and to think out of the box, to focus their creativity and commitment in the subject they feel genuinely passionate about. Referring to the importance of the discovery of penicillin and anaesthetics and its impact on the improvement of human well-being, Kroto directed the attention to a present challenge: the decreasing effectiveness of antibiotics. Prof. Kroto began his lecture telling the story of his and his colleagues’ odyssey towards the discovery of C60. In 1970 his research group conducted laboratory began spectroscopic studies on long linear carbon chain molecules with colleague David Walton. This research led to radio astronomy searches with Takeshi Oka and Canadian astronomers (Lorne Avery, Norman Broten and John McLeod) at the National Research Council in Canada which made the surprising discovery that […]

FINLAND OPEN TO ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRIAL COLABORATION IN NANOTECHNOLOGY

The Director-General of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), José Rivas, was pleased with the interest shown by the Finish academic and industrial institutions visited during the stay organized by the President of the Republic of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, to Helsinki, last week. Erkki Ormala, Vice-President for Business Environment at Nokia, one of the world leaders in communication technologies, showed interest in visiting the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, with its headquarters in Braga. The future visit of Nokia representatives will allow establishing collaborations in strategic areas like electronic devices and sensors. INL also visited Micronova, the Centre for Micro and Nanotechnology Nanofabrication, on the Otaniemi Campus of Aalto University, where the delegation was hosted by Ilkka Niemela, Dean of the School of Science. The Research, Technology and Development activities of the finish nanotechnology cluster were made known through several presentations. From these presentations, Prof. Rivas concluded that there are groups of excellence working on nanomedicine and materials research. «The academic quality is remarkable and the way research and industry are connected in an example to be considered», said José Rivas. One of the strategic goals of INL is to stand out as a scientific organization of excellence, with an […]

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