8 New Exploratory Research Projects approved in MPP strategic areas

The 8 Exploratory Research Projects were selected from the FCT Call launched in May 2021. The call for proposals featured a total of 22 projects, 8 of which were recommended for funding by FCT under the scope of the MIT Portugal Program. These projects will run at 7 Portuguese research units from all over the country in collaboration with 8 departments at MIT.

They will focus on: Analyzing environmental and climate records in Portuguese speleothems; Plasma-assisted CO2 Recycling; Interface engineering towards a new generation of Li-ion batteries; 3D printing on molecular texture in plastics; Ionic liquids and porous structures for CO2 valorization; Biomimetic-inspired Oceanic Hyperloop Transport Infrastructures; Eutectic Systems as sustainable electrolytes for energy storage; Spatiotemporal Data Models and Algorithms for Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Pedro Arezes, National Director of the MIT Portugal Program highlights the effort that MPP has made to foster productive scientific collaborations between PT institutions and MIT. “Since launching in 2006, MPP has opened 3 calls for exploratory projects, accounting with a total of 36 financed projects in new research frameworks, with global relevance and significant societal impacts such as climate change, oceans and space, sustainable cities, and digital manufacturing, all of which included in the UN agenda for sustainable development”.

The National Director also point out the importance of the collaborative relationship between MIT and Portuguese entities to develop smart solutions and stimulate multidisciplinary approaches, contributing to a more sustainable environment, economy, and society. 

Exploratory research projects are single year-long projects hosted at Portuguese Universities to address emergent research topics. Projects are intended to support teams of researchers from the National Science and Technology System (SCTN) entities, public and private partners, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). All exploratory projects serve as early research for the long-term objective of innovative products and services with high export potential that should spearhead Portugal’s international competitiveness and innovative capacity in science and technology and ultimately contribute to the growth of the Portuguese economy.

FCT Official Announcement 

Projects Approved:

1.Analyzing environmental and climate records in Portuguese Speleothems using ultra-high sensitivity magnetic microscopy
PT PI: Eric Claude Font – Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra (FCTUC)
MIT PI: Eduardo Andrade Lima – Principal Research Scientist Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

2. Plasma-assisted CO2 Recycling: from Earth to Mars
PT PI: Vasco António Dinis Leitão Guerra – Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico
MIT PI: Ahmed F. Ghoniem -Ronald C. Crane (1972) Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Director, Center for Energy and Propulsion Research; Director, Reacting Gas Dynamics Laboratory
and Carmen Guerra-Garcia – Atlantic Richfield Career Development Professor in Energy Studies; Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics

3. Advanced materials and design rules for interface engineering towards a new generation of Li-ion batteries
PT PI: Carlos Miguel da Silva Costa – Universidade do Minho – Centro de Física e Química
MIT PI: C. Cem Taşan – Thomas B. King Associate Professor of Metallurgy

4. Changing the design paradigm – 3d printing on molecular texture in plastics
PT PI: Geoffrey Mitchell – Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development
MIT PI: Gregory C. Rutledge – Lammot du Pont Professor Department of Chemical Engineering

5. Ionic liquids and porous structures for CO2 valorization
PT PI: Ana Vital Morgado Marques Nunes – LAQV-REQUIMTE/FCT-UNL
MIT PI: Mircea Dincă – Associate Professor Department of Chemistry

6. Exploratory Analysis of Biomimetic-inspired Oceanic Hyperloop Transport Infrastructures
PT PI: Rui Artur Bártolo Calçada – Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
MIT PI: Yuming Liu – Senior Research Scientist Center for Ocean Research Department of Mechanical Engineering

7. Eutectic Systems as sustainable electrolytes for energy storage
PT PI: Hugo Gonçalo da Silva Cruz – Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (FCT – UNL)
MIT PI: Donald R. Sadoway – John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry

8. Spatiotemporal Data Models and Algorithms for Earth and Environmental Sciences
PT PI: José Manuel Matos Moreira – Universidade de Aveiro
MIT PI: Justin Solomon – Associate Professor Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

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