CMU Portugal researcher wins ERC Studentship

Researcher Mahmoud Tavakoli, director of Soft and Printed Microelectronics at the Institute of Systems and Robotics (ISR) of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC), has been awarded a Studentship Consolidator from the European Research Council (ERC) worth €2.8 million for five years. The announcement was made this week.

Mahmoud Tavakoli leads a multidisciplinary research team in electronics, chemistry, biomedicine, and mechanics, combining expertise in nanomaterials, polymers, and liquid conductors for applications in lightweight robotics, lightweight electronics, smart textiles, smart plastics, and health monitoring. His research work has been developed with the support of the CMU Portugal Program, through funding from FCT, where he is involved in several research projects in the areas of wearable electronics, flexible electronic devices, production of elastic circuits and electronic textiles for health monitoring and digital biomarkers, among others.

Studentships Consolidator Studentships are intended to support researchers of any nationality, with 7 to 12 years of experience since completing their PhD, who have a promising scientific career and an excellent research proposal. They will support the development of the project "Liquid3D – Bio-inspiredsoft-matter electronics printed in 3D based on liquid metal compounds: ecological, resilient, recyclable, and repairable," which is already underway.

Liquid3D aims to provide scientists with design freedom, allowing them to print futuristic electronic circuits. It began this January and, with the funding now obtained, will enable the implementation of three new laboratories at FCTUC: the Printed Electronic Materials Laboratory, which aims to develop new materials for the next generation of electronics and robotics; the Digital Manufacturing Laboratory, which aims to create and validate technologies for the additive manufacturing of the materials developed; and the Microscience and Characterization Laboratory, where the electrical, mechanical, and optical properties of the materials and systems produced will be characterized.

According to Mahmoud Tavakoli, "the most impressive thing about these systems is that they will enable a new level of bio-inspiration in man-made devices, which is not yet possible."This project also aims to develop fundamental understanding and lightweight robotics of liquid metal-based biphasic composites and methods for recycling the developed composites.

Through the CMU Portugal Program, the FCTUC team also collaborated with Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering Soft Machines Lab on three projects funded by FCT: Stretchtonics, WoW, led by Glintt and funded through the CoPromotion Call in collaboration with AMI, and Exoskins. The research developed under this partnership includes stretchable electronics, wearable computing, wearable patient monitoring, printed and electronic sensors, digital health, and digital biomarkers.

*Quote published in news by FCTUC.

Photo © Cristina Pinto