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In the media: Manuel Reis Carneiro featured in “90 segundos de ciência”

Manuel Reis Carneiro, CMU Portugal Dual Degree Ph.D. student in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Faculty of Science and Technology (FCTUC) of Universidade de Coimbra and Carnegie Mellon’s ECE Department, was interviewed by the “90 segundos de ciência” (90 seconds of science) Podcast on Antena 1 radio. 

In this episode, Manuel shares  his Ph.D. research being carried out at the Institute of Systems and Robotics (ISR) of Universidade de Coimbra, where he developed an eco-friendly water-based conductive ink tailored for producing flexible electronic circuits for use in medical devices.  

This innovative technique is being tested in electronic patches for monitoring health data, (such as heartbeat and brain activity) as part of the “E-skins: Wearable Bio Stickers for Long-Term Electrophysiology” research project, built on the findings of the CMU Portugal’s Large Scale Collaborative Research project WoW

Manuel Reis Carneiro’s Ph.D. research is supervised by  Mahmoud Tavakoli, director of the “Soft and Printed Microelectronics Laboratory” (FCTUC I Universidade de Coimbra) in Portugal, and by Carmel Majidi, director of the Soft Machines Lab at CMU. 

In 2024, Mahmoud Tavakoli and Manuel Reis Carneiro, were awarded the J. Norberto Pires Innovation Prize, for their contributions to the field of wearable electronics.

Listen to the episode here (in Portuguese).

Other articles featuring Manuel Carneiro:

In the Media: “Prometheus-1” satellite will be launched in January 2025

The 5 cm PocketQube satellite PROMETHEUS-1 is set to be launched into space, aboard a Space X rocket, in January 2025. The launch has recently gained significant media attention featuring on TV coverages by Portuguese channels RTP and SIC Notícias

PROMETHEUS-1 was developed at Universidade do Minho in collaboration with Instituto Superior Técnico  and Carnegie Mellon University, under the CMU Portugal’s Exploratory Research Project “Prometheus”. The 2021 project has the main goal of providing easy access to space for the research and education community.  The project aims to test and validate the Pycubed-mini platform designed at CMU’s Rexlab by Zachary Manchester’s team at Carnegie Mellon. 

Alexandre Ferreira da Silva, PI of the project, is using this platform in a classroom as an education tool for Aerospace Engineering students at Universidade do Minho, building replicas of the Prometheus-1 satellite to showcase not only its components and ecosystem, but also what is required to put a satellite into orbit (licensing, certification, and more). 

“We plan to build a constellation of satellites to monitor the Atlantic, and that’s why it is so important to educate students so they can contribute in their future careers to this ever rapidly growing sector, and Portugal has a lot of potential in its development”, shares Alexandre Silva to SIC Notícias.

In the Media:  RTP; SIC Notícias, Eco Sapo, Guimarães Agora, Free Guimarães.

Other articles featuring PROMETHEUS-1:

In the media: Inês Lynce speaks on gender balance following the “World Record for Largest Computer Programming Lesson”

Inês Lynce, CMU Portugal National co-director, was interviewed by Líder Magazine, following the event held on October 12th that earned Instituto Superior Técnico the Guiness’ “World Record for Largest Computer Programming Lesson” with a total of 1668 participants.  

The event included a programming lesson taught by Inês Lynce and Arlindo Oliveira, faculty members  at Instituto Superior Técnico, and alumni Ricardo Girão Serrão. 

Inês Lynce, President of INESC-ID, speaks on the growing interest of girls in technology, who made up 12% of the event’s participants. She highlights how this trend challenges the stereotype that “computers are male.” and emphasizes the responsibility of academic institutions to create an inclusive environment that supports and empowers girls.

Read the interview here (in Portuguese).

In the media: CMU Portugal Large Scale Collaborative Project “Building Hope”

The CMU Portugal Large Scale Collaborative Project “Building Hope” was highlighted in the Portuguese media, showcasing the research work developed under the project. 

Launched in 2020, Building Hope aimed  at developing and validating  a tool for Holistic Optimization of Prosumed Energy (HOPE) of buildings. 

Its primary goal was to leverage data collection and sensing technology, developing AI-driven methodologies to accelerate the transition to a cleaner energy future.

The project  was developed by dstsolar in collaboration with Innovationpoint, Watt-IS, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Coimbra, and Carnegie Mellon University, from 2020 to 2023. It  was one of the 12 flagship projects selected under the 2018 competitive Call launched by COMPETE 2020, ANI – Agência Nacional de Innovation, and Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, under the GO PORTUGAL initiative that was concluded in June 2023.

“With its holistic approach and advanced technology, Building Hope makes it possible to manage energy resources more intelligently and sustainably, demonstrating that technological innovation is crucial to face global environmental challenges”, explains Raúl Cunha, CEO of dstsolar. 

Read the articles:   Diário do Minho I ConstruirI E24Sapo (in Portuguese).

Other CMU Portugal articles:

In the media: Zita Marinho, CMU Portugal Alumna, featured in “45 Graus” podcast

In the #174 episode of the “45 Graus” Podcast, Zita Marinho spoke with the host José Maria Pimentel about ChatGPT algorithms and how Large Language Models work.

Currently a Research Scientist at Google Deep Mind, Zita Marinho earned her  CMU Portugal dual degree Ph.D. in Computer Science/Robotics in 2018 from the Robotics Institute at  Carnegie Mellon University and from the Institute for Robotics and Systems (ISR) at Instituto Superior Técnico. During her Ph.D. she was co-advised by André Martins and João Paulo Costeira (Instituto Superior Técnico I  ISR), and Geoffrey Gordon and Siddhartha Srinivasa at Carnegie Mellon. 

Her research focuses on machine learning and optimization with applications on Robotics and Natural Language Processing. 

Listen to the episode here (in Portuguese).

 

CMU Portugal articles featuring Zita Marinho

In the media: CMU Portugal Faculty Justine Sherry and students reflect on US Elections

Cristina Lai Men/TSF

Justine Sherry, CMU Portugal Faculty and Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon, and CMU Portugal Ph.D. students, currently in the U.S., were featured in the Portuguese media outlets Jornal de Notícias and TSF to speak on the U.S. Elections. The state of Pennsylvania represents 19 votes in the Electoral College, playing a pivotal role in the elections. 

The professor, who resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Carnegie Mellon University is located, shares that she received many vote appeals, admitting that it has been a “stressful process” and that “the country has its eyes on us”. She adds that “Pennsylvania is in the middle of everything,”. Among the students of the classes Justine Sherry teaches, there are a few of CMU Portugal students that are “very well prepared, intelligent and creative”, praise Sherry. 

Hugo Sadok, CMU Ph.D. student, states that Pittsburgh is under a “blue bubble” alluding to the Democrats’ symbolic color. However, in counties far from the urban centers, “many choose Republicans.” Duarte Sousa, an Affiliated Ph.D. student in Human-Computer Interaction currently at CMU, states that “the [electoral campaign] process takes a long time, and people are tired. They want the elections to happen, to go back to their lives and have discussions about useless things”. 

Hugo Sadok predicts that “the world will change” if Donald Trump wins the election, but there will be fewer changes if Kamala Harris wins. The elections will take place on November 5th. 

Read the articles Jornal de Notícias and hear the news piece at TSF (in Portuguese).

In the Media: “Components for future robots will be 3D printed” – a project led by CMU researcher

Mahmoud Tavakoli, CMU Portugal researcher and director of the Soft and Printed Microelectronics Laboratory of the Institute of Systems and Robotics (ISR) of Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) was featured in Notícias Magazine

In the article, Mahmoud Tavakoli speaks on the project “Liquid3D” that will enable printing of self-powered and recyclable robotic components, transitioning from battery-dependent and pollutable electronics.

In 2023, Tavakoli obtained a 2.8m€ grant from the European Research Council to develop “Liquid3D: 3D Printed, Bioinspired, Soft-Matter Electronics based on Liquid Metal Composites: Eco-Friendly, Resilient, Recyclable, and Repairable”, that aims to provide design freedom to scientists, allowing them to print futuristic soft electronics and soft machines. The project will develop a series of innovative printable composites based on liquid metals to print 3D functional cells for sensing, stimulating, processing, and storing energy that is entangled in a distributed system and in a three-dimensional architecture.

Within the CMU Portugal Program, Mahmoud Tavakoli has collaborated on several research projects: Stretchtonics, an entrepreneurial research initiative; WoW, a large-scale collaborative project led by Glintt; and the exploratory research project Exoskins. He is advisor to the Dual Degree students Manuel Carneiro and Marta Freitas

Read the article here (in Portuguese).

CMU Portugal articles featuring Mahmoud Tavakoli:

In the media: Prometheus-1 with green light from Anacom to fly into space

The 5cm Pocketqube Satellite,  Prometheus-1, developed at Universidade do Minho under the CMU Portugal project PROMETHEUS  was featured in Sapo Tek, a Portuguese website about the latest technology advancements. 

The satellite secured the space launch and command and control operations license from Anacom, the Portuguese regulatory authority for the communications sector. 

The launch of the Prometheus-1 satellite is scheduled for November, from the Vanderberg spaceport, in the USA, hitching a ride on a Falcon 9 rocket, from Space X.

The Prometheus-1 satellite is the result of the Exploratory Research Project “PROMETHEUS – PocketQube Framework Designed for Research and Educational Access to Space“, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, within the scope of the CMU Portugal Program, in a consortium led by the University of Minho and in cooperation with Instituto Superior Técnico and Carnegie Mellon University. The Principal Investigators of this project are Alexandre Ferreira da Silva, Universidade do Minho, and Zachary Manchester, from Carnegie Mellon University. 

Read the article here (in Portuguese). 

Other CMU Portugal articles featuring Prometheus-1:

Prometheus-1 In the media: Exame Informática, Expresso, Rádio Universitária do Minho

In the Media: Research Project led by Jorge Fernandes in “90 Segundos de Ciência”

Jorge Fernandes, CMU Portugal Faculty member at Instituto Superior Técnico and researcher at INESC ID, was interviewed by the “90 Segundos de Ciência” Podcast on Antena 1 about CMU Portugal’s Exploratory Research Project “mm-Size Stimulator Implants”. The project’s main goal is to develop a new generation of battery-free medical microelectronic implants.

The main idea behind this project is to create subdermal or deep implants with millimeter dimensions that are autonomous and biocompatible.

“We believe that these implants can revolutionize medical practice and change the use of therapies that are typically administered through medication, replacing them with others that interact with the nervous system through electrical stimulation,” shares the researcher.

The main feature of this new generation of implants is avoiding the use of batteries, which eliminates the need to encapsulate the implant in titanium, thereby avoiding the need to power the circuit. As a result, the implant can be smaller, making it much less intrusive and more comfortable to apply to the patient.

The final goal is to create integrated circuits with very low energy consumption, suitable for monitoring or applying electrical stimulation therapies.

The project is funded under the CMU Portugal 2022 Call for Exploratory Research projects, supported by Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT).

Listen do the Podcast at 90 Segundos de Ciência website.