Results of Calls for Exploratory Projects of MIT Portugal and CMU Portugal

FCT published this week the results of applications to Calls for Exploratory Projects under the MIT Portugal 2021 and CMU Portugal 2021 Programs. In the Call of the MIT Portugal 2021 Program, which had 22 eligible applications, 8 projects were indicated for funding, with a total investment of 386.795€. The Call of the CMU Portugal Program, with 33 eligible applications, ended with 6 projects proposed for funding, for a total investment of 390,580€.

The exploratory research projects under the MIT Portugal 2021 Program are aimed at developing products and services with high technological performance, between public and private partners and entities of the National Scientific and Technological System (SCTN). The approved projects will further develop research in the following areas: analysis of the environmental and climatic record of Portuguese speleothems; CO2 recycling with plasmas; space-time data models and algorithms for earth sciences; ionic liquids and porous structures for CO2 valorization; eutectic systems as sustainable electrolytes for energy storage, biomimetic-inspired hyperloop oceanic transportation infrastructures, interface engineering for a new generation of lithium-ion batteries, and 3D printing of molecular texture in plastics.

The Carnegie Mellon Portugal 2021 Exploratory Research Projects are intended to support teams of researchers from Portuguese institutions, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and business partners, to initiate research activities with high potential impact and strategic relevance to the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program (CMU Portugal). The projects will develop research in subjects as diverse as: data science applied to health care, the creation of satellites (PocketQube), human-robot interaction, traffic supervision for cybercrime investigation, artificial intelligence applied to the design of customizable robotic exoskins, and the detection of injection vulnerabilities in node applications.

The MIT Portugal and CMU Portugal Programs are part of a network of international cooperation programs of Portugal with institutions from several countries under the goPORTUGAL - Global Partnerships in Science and Technology initiative, promoted by FCT. It includes partnerships with other leading US universities, such as UT Austin-Portugal and Harvard Medical School, but also with institutions from other countries, such as Imperial College London and Fraunhofer. Cooperation with international institutions under this initiative enhances the internationalization of scientific and technological research, boosting innovation in research and the mobility of researchers and creating opportunities for the emergence and growth of new scientific and technological based companies.