ICAI flexes its technological muscle at European Researchers' Night

     VER GALERÍA FOTOGRÁFICA   

     VER VIDEONOTICIA   

The ICAI School of Engineering - Comillas ICAI - once again held its European Researchers’ Night. This edition was dedicated to the energy transition under the topic “Roadmap to a Green Europe”. Attendees, of which there were around one hundred, were able to participate in demonstrations by the different Chairs at Comillas ICAI in the School's laboratories.

After being welcomed by the Vice-Rector for Research, Mariano Ventosa, participants were offered the inaugural conference “The Future of Energy”, delivered by Professor Pedro Linares (BP Chair for Technology and Sustainability) He spoke on the inevitability of the energy transition to maintain a sustainable planet. Professor Linares also explained to attendees that the most developed parts of the world, Europe and North America, must achieve carbon neutrality - that its, remove as much carbon dioxide as they emit – by the year 2050, if we are to avoid having the climate experience irreversible consequences.

After the lecture, participants were invited to visit the laboratories guided by the Chairs.

Álvaro López (Chair on Connected Industry) demonstrated how a robotic arm works in industry, in the Electrical Engineering Laboratory. Participants showed interest in the applications of this technology both in industry and in the research undertaken by the Chair.

In the courtyard of ICAI, Rafael Cossent (Chair for Hydrogen Studies) showed a novel vehicle powered solely by hydrogen, the Toyota Mirai. Cossent explained the refuelling of this type of vehicle, as well as its low pollution: it only emits water from condensation in the engine.

In the Fluids and Heat Laboratory, José Ignacio Linares (Repsol Foundation Chair on Energy Transition) and Eva Arenas (Rafael Mariño Chair on New Energy Technologies) explained how work is being done on efficient energy conversion and new technologies to further develop renewable energy sources.

From the Chair for the Training of Women in STEM Professions in Vocational Training for Sustainable Mobility, student Ignacio Gómez-Cambronero spoke of how few students in both vocational and university studies choose STEM studies. And among them, very few women.

The specific aim of the Chair is to promote and incentivise more students to choose this type of studies. One example of how to incentivise them is the ICAI Technological Campus, which has been held 8 times with more than 8500 participants, in the last 8 years.

The ISC Racing Team of the ICAI Speed Club also displayed their prototype for motorbike competitions, where they are working on the balance between using electric engines and being competitive on the race track.

The activities for the Madrid European Researchers’ Night were coordinated by the Madri+d Foundation, with funding from the European Union within Horizon 2020 for Research and Innovation, under grant agreement number 101036010.

VIDEONOTICIA