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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! […]

September 29, marked the return of the European Researchers’ Night

Last Friday, September 29, marked the return of the European Researchers’ Night — the annual celebration of innovative research taking place simultaneously in more than 30 countries and 300 cities throughout Europe. The diverse programme gathered more than 400 researchers and included games, hands-on activities, interactive experiences, a ‘nano-quizz’ and ‘workshops’, where different areas such as chemistry, biology, physics, geology, mathematics, optometry, and biotechnology were crossed. These were just a few of the possible applications that ECUM – University of Minho and International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), many other partners introduced to more than 1400 visitors at Altice Fórum Braga. The audience defied all researchers with relevant questions and expressed genuine wonder as they saw “magic” happening before their eyes. This year, ‘Science for Everyone – Sustainability and Inclusion’ was the motto that framed an event committed to raising awareness about the role of science in achieving sustainability and inclusion goals among school students and different audiences, while identifying key societal concerns about climate change and sustainable growth and linking them to science-oriented solutions and proposals. This European project consortium includes as partners the National Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon, the Nova School of […]

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