Electroceramics Group - Paula Vilarinho research group

03/09/2026

The Jornadas CICECO 2026 will take place on 15 October 2026 at the Casa da Cultura de Ílhavo, under the theme:

“Celebrating CICECO Alumni Excellence, Diversity and Impact”

📅 Deadlines:

4 September – Registration deadline

11 September – PhD Pitch abstract submission (invited participants only)

11 September – Poster abstract submission

21 September – Art in Science competition deadline

The programme, invited speakers, participation guidelines and further information are available on the event website.

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JORNADAS CICECO 2026 will take place on 15 October at Casa da Cultura de Ílhavo, celebrating CICECO Alumni Excellence, Diversity and Impact. Bringing together alumni, researchers, students and partners, this special edition marks 25 years of CICECO, highlighting achievements, strengthening connecti...

02/09/2026

🇪🇺 Europe Can Invent. Can It Industrialize?

Europe is a global leader in materials research — but scientific excellence alone does not guarantee industrial competitiveness.

In their new Comment in Nature Materials, Prof. Paula Maria Vilarinho and Sean Kelly discuss the barriers preventing advanced materials from moving successfully from the laboratory to industrial production and market deployment.

The 2026 Advanced Materials Act could be a crucial opportunity to bridge this gap by strengthening:

🔹 Scale-up infrastructure
🔹 Access to private capital
🔹 Regulatory integration
🔹 Application-driven ecosystems
🔹 Talent and industrial expertise

From invention to impact, Europe needs to strengthen the entire materials innovation pipeline.

📄 Read the full Comment in Nature Materials:
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02713-4

The materials sector in Europe is renowned for its research excellence but scale-up and industrialization of materials is less successful. The 2026 Advanced Materials Act is an opportunity to structurally reposition Europe in the global materials economy.

13/07/2026

👏 Master's Thesis Defense – Gabriel Oliveira
On July 10, Gabriel Machado Oliveira successfully defended his Master's thesis in the Master's Programme in Biomaterials and Nanomedicine at the DEMaC (Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering) of Universidade de Aveiro.
His thesis, entitled "Development of a Functional Intraoral Device", was supervised by Professor Paula Vilarinho and co-supervised by Dr. Maxim Ivanov.
The Electroceramics Group congratulates Gabriel Machado Oliveira on this important academic achievement and wishes him every success in his future professional and scientific endeavors.

13/07/2026

🏆 Congratulations to João Lopes Miranda!

The Electroceramics Group is pleased to congratulate João Lopes Miranda, awarded Winner of the Rapid Fire Presentations – Pitch Your Poster Sessions during the 5th YCN Workshop, held from 6 to 9 July 2026 at Otrębusy Palace, Poland.
This distinction recognizes João's outstanding presentation skills and research! 🦾

13/07/2026

📢 Advanced Materials in AI²: Reflection and Action
On July 10, the Universidade de Aveiro hosted the "Advanced Materials in AI²: Reflection and Action" working meeting, bringing together researchers, institutional leaders, industry representatives, and policymakers to discuss the strategic role of Advanced Materials in Portugal's research and innovation landscape.
The meeting was opened by the Rector of the Universidade de Aveiro (Artur Silva) and the Director of CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (João Rocha), followed by keynote contributions from João Rocha, who introduced the AI² initiative and presented the rationale behind strategic research domains, Paula Vilarinho, who addressed the European Advanced Materials Act, and Rodrigo Martins, who co-presented the position paper "Advanced Materials as a Strategic Domain for AI² – Why Portugal should select Advanced Materials as a national priority for research and innovation".
The event concluded with a panel discussion featuring Rodrigo Martins (i3N), Pedro Salomé (INL - International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory), José Gonçalves (CeNTI) and João Rocha (CICECO), focusing on the recognition of Advanced Materials as a strategic domain and on the creation of a National Advanced Materials Network to strengthen collaboration between academia, research institutions, industry and policymakers.

The Electroceramics Group was pleased to participate in this important initiative and remains committed to supporting collaborative actions that reinforce the role of Advanced Materials in shaping a more innovative and competitive future for Portugal. Go, go, Portugal! 🦾

09/07/2026

👏 Congratulations to Maria João Almeida Ribeiro on the successful defense of her Master's thesis in Materials Engineering, held on July 8 at the DEMaC at Universidade de Aveiro.

We congratulate Maria João on reaching this important milestone and wish her continued success in her future career and research.

03/06/2026

Students from the first year of the Master's Programme in Materials Engineering (Universidade de Aveiro - DEMaC) recently participated in a special session of the Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies course, coordinated by Professor Paula Vilarinho (vice director of CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials).

Organized around case studies in nanomaterials and nanotechnology, the activity encouraged students to work collaboratively, develop innovative solutions, and present their ideas in a professional setting. Through this experience, students strengthened essential skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, scientific communication, and problem-solving.

The initiative was supported by a panel of evaluators that brought together researchers, PhD students, and faculty members, including Cláudia Lopes, Alexandre Bastos, Ricardo Manuel Silva, Indrani Coondoo, Daniela V. R. Lopes, Oleksandr Tkach, Pedro Santos, Artur Baeta, Simão Santos, João Lopes Miranda, Ricardo Mineiro, Noelle Cardoso Zanini, and Francisco Leite. Their participation provided valuable feedback and contributed to a dynamic exchange of ideas between different academic levels.

Activities like this reinforce the importance of active learning and help students connect scientific knowledge with real challenges faced by society and industry.

21/05/2026

🗣️ ScienceCast episode with Prof. Paula Vilarinho

Our group coordinator, Prof. Paula Vilarinho (CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials), recently appeared on the podcast ScienceCast. In an interview with science journalist Vasco Matos Trigo, produced by PlaySolutions Audiovisuais and supported by CESAM (Universidade de Aveiro), they discussed the strategic importance of Materials Engineering in reclaiming Europe’s industrial strength.
Key highlights from the discussion include:
❗ Strategic Autonomy: Geopolitical shifts have proven that Europe must return to manufacturing to end total dependency on external supply chains.
❗ The Upcoming "Materials Act": Expected by the end of this year, the Materials Act will define the roadmap and key strategic areas for advanced materials production in the EU.
❗ Sustainable by Design: Innovation must be green from the start. We are committed to developing materials and processes that are circular and fully recoverable by design.
❗ The "De-risking" Challenge: To transform world-class science into market value, Europe must invest in pilot-scale testing to prove technological robustness before full industrial rollout.
We invite you to listen to this conversation about the future of European industry.
🎧 Available on all major podcast platforms and in video format on the ScienceCast YouTube channel:

Paula Vilarinho é investigadora no CICECO – Instituto de Materiais de Aveiro e professora associada na Universidade de Aveiro, no Departamento de Engenharia ...

22/04/2026

Today, April 22, 2026, Camila Ribeiro, an FCT grant holder and PhD student at the Universidade de Aveiro, successfully defended her doctoral thesis:

“Non-Conventional Sintering Processes for Dielectric Ceramic Manufacturing”

Her research was developed within the Doctoral Program in Materials Science and Engineering, under the supervision of Prof. Paula Vilarinho and Prof. Elisabete Costa.

Camila was awarded her PhD with merit and distinction, highlighting the excellence of her work.

Congratulations on this important milestone — we wish you all the best for the future! 👏🔬

10/04/2026

The REFLEX Workshop on Responsive Polymer Systems for Next-Generation Flexible Electronics was held on April 9–10, 2026, at CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Universidade de Aveiro.

This event brought together researchers working on responsive and electroactive (bio)polymers, creating a space for discussion on topics such as materials design, processing, characterization, and applications in energy and flexible electronics.

The workshop also served as a starting point for building a European network on responsive polymers, encouraging collaboration and new research opportunities—especially for Early-Stage Researchers.

The event was chaired by Dr. Paula Ferreira and Dr. Bernd Wicklein.

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to this inspiring event! 🌍🔬