Madri+d Awards for UC3M researchers
Aumentar Tamaño del texto Disminuir Tamaño del texto

Several scientists from Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) have received awards in the latest edition of the Premios madri+d (Madri+d Awards), which recognize the best initiatives in research, the creation of new businesses and the dissemination of scientific information.

The Madri+d Award s for the Best European R+D Project in Cooperation was given out for the first time, with the goal being to recognize excellence in the development of collaborative research and international development activities, as well as to award research projects approved by the European Commission and coordinated by research groups from universities or public research centers from the Autonomous Community of Madrid. The projects known as iPHOS (Integrated photonic transceivers at sub-terahertz wave range for ultra-wideband wireless communications), presented by Dr. Guillermo Carpintero del Barrio, a professor in UC3M’s Electronic Technology Department, and MAGDRIVE (Magnetic superconductor cryogenic non-contact harmonic drive), presented by Dr. José Luis Pérez Díaz, a professor in UC3M’s Mechanical Engineering Department, received the ex aequo (jointly awarded) prize. In addition, UC3M’s Professor Raúl Arrabales, general director of Comaware, a company located inUC3M’s Science Park, received a second place prize in the category corresponding to the Madri+d Award for the Best Technology Based Business Idea (Mejor Idea Empresarial de Base Tecnológica).

The IPHOS project develops devices that high capacity wireless communication systems to be built; these devices are able to transmit large volumes of information and high rates of data, 1.000 times faster than those systems currently in use. The objective of the project is to increase the speed of transfer in wireless communication using optic technologies based on integrated photonic circuits, which will allow the work frequency to be increased to over 60 GHz. “This is the special characteristic of this project, the optic synthesis of high frequency signals in what is called the millimetric range – comments the coordinator of the project, Professor Guillermo Carpintero del Barrio -. Photonic technology is currently superior to electronic technology as far as very high frequency generation and processing”.

The objective of the MAGDRIVE project is to design and construct and mechanism to reduce speed without any contact between the parts of the entry axis and those of the exit axis; this mechanism will also be capable of functioning at extraordinarily low temperatures. “We can say that, in some ways, this is a mechanism in which the gear teeth do not touch each other; rather they push each other from a distance”, explains the project’s coordinator, Professor José Luis Pérez Díaz. This is done by using a combination of various magnetic materials and superconductors that produce the necessary magnetic forces with no need for contact among the parts. The objective of the project is to produce a non-contact mechanical transmission technology that can function in cryogenic environments and that will not suffer from wear nor require maintenance. This way, it will meet the European Space Agency’s need for satellite borne mechanisms.

The VIII Madri+d Awards were given out by the President of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, at a ceremony held on June 15th in the Casa de América, to recognize to best patents, ideas and new technology based businesses, as well as the best European R+D in Cooperation projects and scientific communication blogs. With these prizes, created in 2003, the regional government, through the Madri+d Foundation, wishes to recognize talent and the ability to convert research results in activities that generate wealth, well-being and competitiveness in the Community of Madrid, and to reward the internationalization of research and the efforts to disseminate and communicate scientific news.

Spanish version (noticia en español)

-----------------

Volver