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Manuel Reis Carneiro‘s thesis “High‑fidelity on‑skin bioelectronics through advanced soft and sustainable materials” has been awarded the 2025 Best Ph.D. Thesis Award by the Applied Sciences MDPI journal. 

Launched in 2021, the Best Ph.D. Thesis Award recognizes young researchers for outstanding doctoral work in applied sciences, encouraging them to continue advancing their field through exceptional scientific contributions.

Manuel enrolled in the CMU Portugal Program in 2020 and graduated in 2025 earning his dual degree Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon and Universidade de Coimbra.

Manuel stated that “working across the Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of Universidade de Coimbra (DEEC), the Institute of Systems and Robotics – Coimbra and the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra (FCTUC) shaped both the scientific direction of this work, and the way I think about soft bioelectronics, materials, and physiological sensing.”

His research was supervised by Professor Mahmoud Tavakoli at the University of Coimbra and Professor  Carmel Majidi at CMU, to whom he expressed deep gratitude  for their “guidance, trust, and scientific vision that made this work possible”.

Manuel is now continuing his research on soft bioelectronics and lecturing at ETH Zürich, in Switzerland.

Read the MPDI’s official announcement here and Manuel’s awarded Ph.D. thesis is available here.

Other articles featuring Manuel Carneiro:

• In the media: Manuel Reis Carneiro featured in “90 segundos de ciência”
• CMU Portugal researchers at UC awarded for their Innovative Research
• Acelera@UC distinguished Manuel Reis Carneiro for innovative idea developed under CMU Portugal Project
• CMU Portugal Inside Story: Manuel Reis Carneiro
• Eco-friendly conductive ink promises to revolutionize the production of soft stretchable electronic circuits
• Stretchtonics’ researcher, Manuel Carneiro, has created a flexible, reusable and low cost electroencephalogram

Afonso Pinho Lourenço, CMU Portugal Ph.D. student in Computer Science at Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto and researcher at ​GECAD, was selected for a “R&D@USA” grant from Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento (FLAD), being among the 8 Master and Ph.D. students that will undertake research internships in the USA, related to innovative scientific or technological topics.

Afonso has enrolled in the CMU Portugal Program in the academic year 2023/2024. His research, supervised by  Professors Goreti Marreiros (Instituto Politécnico do Porto & GECAD) and João Gama (FEUP & INESC TEC), focuses on reinterpreting data stream mining as a form of contextualized learning, where each environment provides a context that modulates the predictive function of models.

From August onwards, Afonso will work closely with Professor Eric Poe Xing at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science, where he intends to explore how foundation models can make this approach scalable.

According to Afonso,”being selected for this grant presents not only an unique opportunity to advance my research in a world-class scientific environment, but also a step toward establishing myself as a contributor to future Portugal–U.S. collaborations and projects with scientific, technological, and societal impact.”

FLAD awards scholarships to Master and doctoral students, and researchers with doctorates of up to 3 years from Portuguese institutions, to develop research internship programs, with a minimum duration of 4 months, in academic and scientific institutions in the USA.

In 2025, Sofia Ferraz, Affiliated Ph.D. student of Computer Science at FEUP & INESC-TEC, was one of the 16 recipients of the R&D@USA grant for the Fall of 2025, having spent a research period at CMU’s School of Computer Science. 

 

 

More information about the 2026’s “R&D@USA” co-hort here.

In 2026, CMU Portugal will host 19 visiting research scholars from Portuguese Institutions at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) field: 7 faculty & researchers and 12 master’s students & recent master’s graduates. The CMU Portugal’s Mobility initiatives “Visiting Students” and “Visiting Faculty & Researchers” are supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT). 

The 7 selected candidates for the Visiting Faculty & Researchers initiative will spend up to two months at CMU, collaborating with peers and engaging in ICT research, education, and innovation. This immersive experience allows them to gain valuable insights into the university’s culture and best practices. Participants will explore a diverse range of ICT topics, such as AI and machine learning, photonic systems, intelligent transportation, and advanced software engineering. The cohort represents 7 Portuguese research institutions: FEUP (1), INESC-ID (2), INESC TEC (1), Instituto de Telecomunicações (2), Instituto Superior Técnico (3), Universidade do Minho (1), and Universidade Lusófona (1). They will be hosted across 6 CMU departments: Electrical and Computer Engineering (two participants), along with one participant each in Computer Science, Engineering and Public Policy, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, Materials Science and Engineering, and the Robotics Institute. To date, this initiative has supported 105 participants from across Portugal.

Under the CMU Portugal Visiting Students initiative, 12 Master’s students and recent graduates will spend up to two months conducting ICT research at Carnegie Mellon University. Mentored by leading faculty, these students will fully immerse themselves in CMU’s academic environment. Their research covers a broad spectrum of ICT topics, including AI and machine learning, software testing and formal methods, human-computer interaction, robotics and control systems, and data-driven optimization. The cohort is affiliated with 3 academic institutions: Instituto Superior Técnico (9 students), INESC-ID (1), and NOVA School of Science and Technology (1); and 1 private technology group, GMV (1). The students will be hosted across 6 CMU departments: Computer Science (3), Electrical and Computer Engineering (3), Human-Computer Interaction Institute (2), Language Technologies Institute (2), Civil and Environmental Engineering (1), and Mathematical Sciences (1).

The Visiting Students initiative has supported 88 students or recent graduates, including the 2026 co-hort.

2026 Visiting Faculty & Researchers:

• Ana Bastos, Researcher at Instituto de Telecomunicações (Instituto Superior Técnico), hosted at Department of Materials Science and Engineering, by Elias Towe.
  Research Topic:Optics, photonic systems, and advanced image processing techniques applied to hardware security 
• Auri Vicenzi, Assistant Professor at Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto & INESC-TEC, hosted at the Electrical Computer and Engineering Department, by Leonardo da Silva Sousa.
  Research Topic: AI-driven software testing, quality assurance, and explicability 
• Dushantha Nalin Jayakody, Assistant Professor at Universidade Lusófona, hosted at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, by Jon Peha.
  Research Topic: AI-native vehicular communication systems, integrating deep reinforcement learning, graph-based learning, and predictive interference management for beyond-5G and 6G V2X networks 
• Lília Dias, Post-doctoral researcher at Instituto de Telecomunicações (Instituto Superior Técnico), hosted at the Electrical Computer and Engineering Department, by Elias Towe.
  Research Topic: Design and implement hybrid photonic-digital computing architectures, with particular emphasis on machine learning models and optoelectronic integration 
• Nuno Miguel Luís, Assistant Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, hosted at the Robotics Institute by John Dolan.
  Research Topic: Autonomous intelligent transportation systems, and cooperative vehicular technologies 
• Telmo Pinto, Assistant Professor at Universidade do Minho, hosted at the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, by Peter Zhang.
  Research Topic: Integer programming formulations and decomposition methods for vehicle routing problems 
• Vasco Manquinho, Associate Professor with Habilitation at Instituto Superior Técnico & INESC-ID, hosted at the Computer Science Department, by Ruben Martins.
  Research Topic: Automated reasoning and formal methods in software engineering

Visiting Students:

• Amélia Pinto, Master Sudent at Instituto Superior Técnico, hosted at the Department of Mathematical Sciences, by Florian Frick.
  Research Topic: Topological Methods for Fair Division on Graphs 
• Diana Fernandes, Master Sudent at Instituto Superior Técnico, hosted at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, by Adam Perer.
  Research Topic: Interactive Counterfactual Explanations for AI-Assisted Mammography Screening 
• Diogo Rodrigues, Master Sudent at Instituto Superior Técnico, hosted at the Computer Science Deparment, by Ruben Martins.
  Research Topic: MaxSAT Approaches to Urban Vehicle Routing 
• Hugo Pereira,  Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer at GMV, hosted at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, by Soummya Kar.
  Research Topic:  GPU parallel algorithms for model predictive control 
• Hui Yu, Master Sudent at Instituto Superior Técnico, hosted at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, by Limin Jia.
  Research Topic: Type-Driven Test Generation for JavaScript 
• Luís Martins, Master Sudent at Instituto Superior Técnico, hosted at the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, by Mario Bérges.
  Research Topic: Data-Driven Demand Response and Flexibility Management in Industrial Kitchens. 
• Martim Jales, Master Sudent at Instituto Superior Técnico, hosted at the Computer Science Department by Ruben Martins.
  Research Topic: Scaling Symbolic Classification via Cluster-Guided Preprocessing 
• Miguel Carvalho,  Researcher at INESC-ID, hosted at the Language Technologies Institute, by Chenyan Xiong.
  Research Topic: Discrete Visual Focus for Efficient High-ResolutionVision-Language Models 
• Miguel Marques, Master Sudent at Instituto Superior Técnico, hosted at the Computer Science Department by Aayush Jain.
  Research Topic: Cryptographic constructions based on the Learning Parity with Noise problem
  
  
• Pedro Ferreira,  PhD student at NOVA School of Science and Technology, hosted at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, by Jessica Hammer.
  Research Topic: Enhancing VR Walking with Adaptive Systems: A Procedural Approach to Dynamic Virtual Environments in Cultural Heritage 
• Pedro Teigão, Master Student at Instituto Superior Técnico, hosted at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, by Soummya Kar.
  Research Topics: Neural Operators and Stochastic Dynamics: From Stability Analysis to Epidemiological Modelling 
• Rodrigo Laia, Master Student at Instituto Superior Técnico, hosted at the Language Technologies Institute, by Alon Lavie.
  Research Topic: Generative-AI-based robust and effective automated evaluation framework and system for translation between language variants. 

Mahmoud Tavakoli, director of the “Soft and Printed Microelectronics Laboratory” at the Institute of Systems and Robotics (ISR) of the Faculty of Science and Technology of Universidade de Coimbra (FCTUC), won a Proof of Concept (PoC) grant from the European Research Council (ERC), worth €150,000.

This funding will allow the development of the “KineSense: Stretchable Mechanosensors for Quantitative Musculoskeletal Monitoring and Rehabilitation” project, that aims to create innovative wearable technologies capable of continuously and objectively monitoring muscle activity and joint movements throughout rehabilitation processes.

KineSense combines two complementary systems: ultra-thin patches applied directly to the skin for monitoring muscle activity and a platform based on smart textiles to comfortably and non-invasively track joint movements, both in clinical settings and during users’ daily activities. This technology extends into sports and human performance monitoring, aiding in injury prevention, training optimization, and recovery tracking for athletes. 

Developed from FCTUC’s solid intellectual property portfolio, this project reinforces the team’s position as a European reference in digital health, wearable technologies, and advanced rehabilitation systems.

In January 2023, Takavoli won a 2.8M€ ERC Grant Consolidator to support the research project “Liquid3D: 3D Printed, Bioinspired, Soft-Matter Electronics based on Liquid Metal Composites: Eco-Friendly, Resilient, Recyclable, and Repairable”, to develop a series of innovative printable composites based on liquid metals to print 3D functional cells. 

The ISR team is a long-standing CMU Portugal partner, having collaborated with Carnegie Mellon University’s Soft Machines Lab (College of Engineering) on several key research projects: Stretchtonics, one of CMU Portugal Entrepreneurial Research Initiatives; WoW, one of our Large Scale Collaborative Projects, led by Glintt; and the Exploratory research project Exoskins. 

Mahmoud recently secured funding for a new CMU Portugal Exploratory Research Project (ERP) “SoftBCI: Ultra-Soft Neural Probes for Long-Term Brain-Computer Interfaces.” All of these projects have been developed in partnership with Professor Carmel Majidi from CMU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering as the CMU Principal Investigator (PI).

This long-term research partnership focuses in the fields of stretchable electronics, wearable computing, patient monitoring, printed sensors, digital health, and digital biomarkers.

FCTUC news article (in Portuguese). 

Other CMU Portugal articles featuring Tavakol’s research:

• CMU Portugal Researcher at Universidade de Coimbra wins a 2.8M€ ERC Grant Consolidator
• In the Media: “Components for future robots will be 3D printed” – a project led by CMU researcher 
• Mahmoud Tavakoli features in Nature’s “Where I Work”
• Eco-friendly conductive ink promises to revolutionize the production of soft stretchable electronic circuits

José M. F. Moura, Philip L. and Marsha Dowd University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the CMU Portugal Program at CMU, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering (Canada) during its June 12th convocation ceremony.

Following this distinction, Amir Asif, York University’s Vice-President Research and Innovation, praised Moura for embodying the spirit of discovery and impact: “We celebrate a career defined not only by excellence but by impact, passing knowledge, fostering collaboration and helping create solutions for a better world for our graduates.” 

José M. F. Moura,  serves as CMU Portugal Program’s Director at CMU since its inception in 2006.  Holding  19 patents, he is a leading expert in signal processing and machine learning.   The technology of two of his patents (co-inventor A. Kavcic) is found in over 3 billion disk drives (60% of all computers sold since 2003) and was the subject of a 750 million dollar settlement between CMU and Marvell in 2016. 

In his speech, Moura  addressed the quick rise of technology, such as AI and robotics, emphasizing that the world still deeply depends on human values and ethical leadership to guide these developments into creating positive global change.

Reflecting on his own journey from Mozambique to Europe and the U.S., Moura delivered an empowering final message to the Class of 2026: “Where you start does not determine where you can go.” 

Read the full article here. 

CMU Portugal Articles featuring José M.F. Moura:

• José Fonseca de Moura: The vision behind a transatlantic transformation
• José M. F. Moura Receives IEEE Haraden Pratt Award
• José M.F. Moura awarded with prestigious Doctor Honoris Causa by Universidade de Lisboa
• Carnegie Mellon’s José M.F. Moura Receives Dowd Professorship in Engineering

 

 

The CMU Portugal Program has selected 9 new candidates for the Dual Degree Ph.D. programs. The new Ph.D. students, funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, will start their journey in Fall 2026, pursuing  a full-time program consisting of 2 years at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and 3 years at a Portuguese university. 

This year’s scholarship awardees will cover diverse areas of study, specializing in  Computer Science (2), Electrical and Computer Engineering (3), Engineering and Public Policy (1), Human-Computer Interaction (1), Language Technologies (1), and Software Engineering (1). This year’s cohort represents an international group, with students from Portugal (6), Iran (1), Kenya (1) and Uganda (1).

In Portugal, the students will be enrolled at the Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (3) and Instituto Superior Técnico (6). While at CMU, the candidates will be welcomed across 6 departments in the College of Engineering and School of Computer Science:  Computer Science (2), Engineering and Public Policy (1), Electrical and Computer Engineering (3), Human-Computer Interaction Institute (1),  Language Technologies Institute (1), and at the Software and Societal Systems Department (1).

Since its launch in 2006, 184 students have enrolled at Portuguese Universities through CMU Portugal Program, fostering a dynamic academic community. Today, 43 students are actively engaged in the Dual Degree programs, supported by a growing network of more than 100 alumni.

Here is a complete list of all the new Ph.D. students admitted for the 2026/2027 academic year: 

Ph.D. Program in Computer Science 

• João Matos  (Portugal) – Instituto Superior Técnico / Computer Science Department at CMU
• Vitória Cruz  (Portugal) –  Instituto Superior Técnico / Computer Science Department at CMU

Ph.D. Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering 

• Brian Ebiyau (Uganda) – Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto / Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at CMU
• Brian Kipkirui (Kenya) – Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto / Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at CMU
• Duarte Silva (Portugal)  – Instituto Superior Técnico / Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at CMU

Ph.D. Program in Engineering and Public Policy 

• André Guerreiro  (Portugal)  – Instituto Superior Técnico / Engineering and Public Policy Department at CMU

Ph.D. Program in Human-Computer Interaction

• Sandra Andrade (Portugal)  – Instituto Superior Técnico / Human-Computer Interaction Institute at CMU

Ph.D. Program in Language Technologies 

• Mahsa Zamani Tarashandeh (Iran) – Instituto Superior Técnico / Language Technologies Institute at CMU

Ph.D. Program in Software Engineering

• André Catarino  (Portugal)  –  Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto / Software and Societal Systems Department at CMU

 

Updated in July 2026.

The CMU Portugal Academy is accepting  applications for its Advanced Programs: AI, Data Science, and Machine Learning; AI Product Management; and AI for User Experience Design. The deadline for applications is August 31st, 2026, and each program has 25 available positions. 

Launching in September 2026, each program will run for nine months (September to June) and feature 190 contact hours delivered by a coordinated faculty from partner institutions to ensure academic excellence. Thanks to the partnership with Fundação Santander Portugal, tuition is offered at a reduced rate of €2,250 to €2,650, compared with a market value of approximately €10,000, and all applications are submitted through the Santander Open Academy platform.

In addition to the Advanced Programs, CMU Portugal Academy expanded its portfolio this year to include Short Courses, Executive Intensive Courses, and Corporate Programs.

Short Courses include AI for Business Transformation,” a seven-session course delivered over four weeks, with cohorts starting in September 2026, November 2026, February 2027, and April 2027”.

Executive Intensive Courses include a 3-day “Leadership Sprint: AI Strategy,” a 3-day “Leadership Sprint: Product Leadership,” and a 5-day “AI Intensives” course covering AI for Marketing, Operations, Finance, Product, Sales, and Customer Success.

In addition, customizable Corporate Programs are now available for organizations seeking to develop 3- to 5-day or 6- to 8-week programs for teams of 10 to 15 participants. Three tracks are available: AI Integration, Product Management, and UX/Service Design.

More information about the available courses here. 

About CMU Portugal  Academy

The CMU Portugal Academy is a collaborative initiative between Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (FCUL), Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA FCT), Instituto Superior Técnico (Técnico), and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), with the support of Fundação Santander Portugal and the Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade de Lisboa (FBAUL). 

The Academy was launched in 2024/25, and currently has 36 students enrolled, selected from 385 applications received in 2025, and has engaged over 50 senior professors, teaching assistants, and industry leaders, both national and international, in the development of the three programs.

The CMU Portugal Academy hosted talks and masterclasses with faculty guests from Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University, and industry experts from companies such as Feedzai, AppsFlyer, Farfetch, Waze, and WY Group. 

For more information on the applications, faculty, and structure, please visit the CMU Portugal Academy website.

Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) has announced the results of the Exploratory Research Projects. Seven new CMU Portugal exploratory projects were selected for funding.

The 2025 call for proposals received 36 submissions, 7 of which were recommended for funding under the scope of the CMU Portugal Program by FCT’s independent panel of evaluators. The research spans five broad areas:  two Neuroscience & brain interfaces projects (Safe RL for neural control and SoftBCI) explore cutting-edge brain-computer interface technologies, while a third examines how neural vision models align with human cognition; Robotics at lunar teleoperation and children’s group engagement; and one AI & software project targets LLM code quality through program analysis and another addresses multimodal alignment in AI-generated medical reports.

The awarded projects will be led by 7 Portuguese academic and research Institutions: FCiências.ID, i3S, INESC-ID, ISR, IST-ID, Universidade de Coimbra, and Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL).

The projects will collaborate with 5 different departments at Carnegie Mellon University: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Robotics with two projects,  Psychology, Mechanical Engineering, and Computational Biology, each with one project. 

CMU Portugal is providing through FCT €389,834.05 in support of the Portuguese teams. These projects are scheduled to last 12 months, allowing the scientific community to identify and explore novel ideas.

The CMU Portugal Program regularly supports the launch of Exploratory Research Projects (ERPs), with the main objective of promoting Portugal’s international competitiveness and innovation capacity in Science and Technology (S&T) in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Since 2017, the Program has launched 6 Calls for Exploratory Projects and funded 42 projects.

In 2026, seven (7) new projects were recommended for funding by the FCT under the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program, including:

• Safe Reinforcement Learning for Closed-Loop Neural Control Using Brain-on-Chip Platforms

Principal Investigator in Portugal: Paulo de Castro Aguiar
Principal Investigator at CMU: Yorie Nakahira
Partner Institutions: i3S, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (CMU)

• Assessing learning and internal geometry of neural vision models through human data

Principal Investigator in Portugal: Jorge Manuel Almeida
Principal Investigator at CMU: Michael Tarr
Partner Institutions: UCoimbra, Psychology Department (CMU)

• New Space meets Moon Robots: novel multimodal teleoperation interfaces for semi-autonomous lunar exploration rovers

Principal Investigator in Portugal: José Luís Silva
Principal Investigator at CMU: David Wettergreen
Partner Institutions: IST-ID,  Robotics Department (CMU)

• ChildrEngage: Measuring Real-Time Children Group Engagement

Principal Investigator in Portugal:  Ana Isabel Caniço Neto
Principal Investigator at CMU: Reid Simmons
Partner Institutions:  FCiências.ID, IST-ID, Robotics Department (CMU); 

• SoftBCI: Ultra-Soft Neural Probes for long-term Brain Computer-Interface

Principal Investigator in Portugal: Mahmoud Tavakoli
Principal Investigator at CMU: Carmel Majidi
Partner Institutions: ISR-UC, Mechanical Engineering Department (CMU); 

• QSHIELD: Quantitative Program Analysis for Improving LLM Code Generation

Principal Investigator in Portugal: José Fragoso Santos
Principal Investigator at CMU: Limin Jia
Partner Institutions: INESC-ID, Instituto de Telecomunicações,  Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (CMU)

• MED-CONGRUENT: Enhancing Multimodal Alignment and Physician Perception in Generative Medical Reports 

Principal Investigator in Portugal: Qiwei Han
Principal Investigator at CMU: Jian Ma
Partner Institutions: UNL, Computational Biology Department (CMU)

More information on FCT website.
The final results are available here. 

Updated in July 2026.

Marta Freitas, CMU Portugal Dual Ph.D. student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the first co-author of a paper recently published in the Nature NPJ Flexible Electronics.

The paper titled “Liquid metal nano-gyroid stretchable transparent conductor for ultra-resilient optoelectronics and electroluminescence” describes a newly developed class of stretchable transparent conductor inspired by the nanostructure of dragonfly wings, an innovation that could enable a new generation of flexible and stretchable displays, wearable and foldable screens, electronic skins, soft robots, and energy-harvesting devices. The study was led by Mahmoud Tavakoli, CMU Portugal ‘s Faculty and Marta Freita’ s Ph.D. supervisor . 

Marta Freitas, together with the other co-first author, Pedro Lopes, led the experimental work behind this study, from conceiving and performing the experiments to analyzing the data and contributing to the manuscript. Marta adds “we developed a transparent conductor inspired by the nanostructures found in insect wings, combining exceptional stretchability, durability, and transparency. The technology can withstand strains of up to 1400% and over 100,000 deformation cycles, while remaining low-cost, scalable, and recyclable”. These results open the door to a new generation of ultra-resilient stretchable electronics, with applications ranging from stretchable displays and wearable devices to soft robotics and energy harvesting.“ 

Unlike conventional transparent conductors based on brittle indium tin oxide or fragile silver nanowires, the new material relies on the deformability of liquid metal and a bioinspired nano-gyroid architecture formed through self-assembly — a structure that would be extremely difficult to fabricate using conventional lithographic techniques.

According to Mahmoud Tavakoli, “today’s displays, touchscreens, and solar cells are still fundamentally brittle. Our goal is to create electronics that are soft, resilient, and environmentally sustainable, capable of withstanding bending, stretching, impact, and even punctures without losing functionality.One of the biggest scientific challenges is combining transparency with stretchability”.

The researchers demonstrated several applications using the new material, including stretchable electroluminescent displays, wearable e-textiles, transparent heaters, UV sensors, pressure-sensitive films, and light-emitting soft robotic actuators. One demonstrated concept allows any display to become pressure-sensitive through the addition of a transparent sensing layer, enabling richer human-machine interaction for gaming, music, and interactive interfaces. The work also highlights sustainability aspects. The fabrication process is low-cost, scalable, and compatible with recycling approaches for recovering the liquid-metal-based conductive material.

The research, carried out under the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant “Liquid3D”, was led by Mahmoud Tavakoli, Director of the Soft and Printed Microelectronics Laboratory at the Institute of Systems and Robotics of Universidade de Coimbra (UC), in collaboration with Miguel Morgado from the Department of Physics (UC) and LIBPhys. 

Marta Freitas enrolled in the Dual Ph.D. program in Electrical and Computer Engineering in the  2023/2024 academic year, after pursuing a M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering at Universidade de Coimbra. In 2022, she participated in the “Visiting Students Program”, hosted by the Mechanical Engineering Department. Impressed with her experience, she felt motivated to apply to the Dual Degree Ph.D. Program. 

Currently in her 3rd year, she is at Carnegie Mellon University, since the fall of 2024, integrated in the Soft Machines Lab working alongside Carmel Majidi, a long-time CMU Portugal collaborator. In August 2026, she will return to Universidade de Coimbra, for the last 2 years of the program. 

Her Ph.D. research focuses on developing soft machines with integrated sensors, batteries, and actuators, and aims to create autonomous soft robotic systems capable of sensing, actuation, and energy storage within the same deformable platform, enabling more adaptable and multifunctional devices for applications such as wearable technologies, biomedical devices, and soft robotics.

Other articles featuring this research:

• In the Media: “Components for future robots will be 3D printed” – a project led by CMU researcher
• Mahmoud Tavakoli features in Nature’s “Where I Work”