Proceedings

of the 4th MIT Portugal Conference

NEW FRONTIERS

FOR A SUSTAINABLE PROSPERITY

4th MIT PORTUGAL CONFERENCE
COIMBRA, JUNE 27th 2014
CONFERENCE CHAIR
Antnio Gomes Martins
CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS
Dava Newman
Paulo Ferro
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Antnio Gomes Martins | University of Coimbra
Antnio Pais Antunes | University of Coimbra
Antnio Torres Marques | University of Porto
Robert Armstrong | MIT
Bruce Tidor | MIT
Chris Zegras | MIT
Dava Newman | MIT
Eugnio Ferreira | University of Minho
Joo Crespo | University Nova of Lisbon
Joo Peas Lopes | University of Porto
Joaquim Sampaio Cabral | University of Lisbon
Lus Picado Santos | University of Lisbon
Manuel Freitas | University of Lisbon
Olga Carneiro | University of Minho
Paulo Ferro | University of Lisbon
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Ana Ramos | University of Coimbra
Anabela Ribeiro | University of Coimbra
Flavia Cardarelli | MIT
Isabel Torres | University of Coimbra
Jennifer Kratochwill | MIT
Joo Neto | University of Coimbra
Lino Ferreira | University of Coimbra
Lus Cruz | University of Coimbra
Miguel Carvalho | MIT Portugal
Slvia Castro | MIT Portugal

CONTENTS
Forward

Conference Program

Doctoral Projects

Bioengineering Systems

Engineering Design and Advanced Manufacturing

57

Sustainable Energy Systems

87

Transportation Systems

135

FORWARD
Dear Conference participants:
The 2014 MIT Portugal Program Conference was conceived as a new, additional occasion for the scientific
community to meet with industry, and discuss the role of knowledge transfer in innovation fostering and technological progress. Special emphasis is given to entrepreneurship, with several moments where it will be the
main theme of debate. It is nowadays considered one important instrument of transforming ideas into social
progress, through new and more effective solutions to problems, helping to create more qualified jobs and to
raise social well being.
The University of Coimbra has a long track record on innovation fostering and on incubating new business
ideas into real companies, now also filling an additional stage, that of accelerating companies development.
The Conference is, therefore, a good combination between a spot and a motto: a spot where consistently new
businesses and value are encouraged and supported and a Conference motto loaded with hope for the future.
This is the first MIT Portugal Conference taking place after the beginning of the second phase of the Program.
It is therefore, also, an important occasion for exchanging ideas and do networking, aiming at stronger bonds
between all the institutions and industry involved, scientists, students, engineers, industry leaders. In this
context, the compilation of the abstracts submitted by PhD students is a token of the creative and dynamic
environment that the MIT Portugal Program has been able to create. It is my pleasure to welcome you and
invite you to explore it.

Antnio Gomes Martins

Conference chairman

University of Coimbra

CONFERENCE PROGRAM
JUNE 27th 2014

8h30
REGISTRATION

13h00
LUNCH

9h00
WELCOME SESSION

14h00 - 16h00
NEW FRONTIERS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Antnio Gomes Martins / Conference Chairman

Luis Godinho / Faculty of Science and Technology, University
of Coimbra
Joo Gabriel Silva / Rector of University of Coimbra
Antnio Cunha / Rector of University of Minho, Council of
Rectors of Portuguese Universities (CRUP) representative
at the MIT Portugal program PGC

9h30 - 11h30
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT MIT PORTUGAL
PROGRAM
9h30 - 10h30
Keynote Speaker: Charles Cooney / MIT
Exploring New Frontiers by Translating Ideas into
Commercial Impact
Introduction to Keynote Speaker: Dava Newman / MIT
Portugal Program Director

10h30 - 11h30
DISCUSSION PANEL
Diana Fernandes / E3 Forum
Gonalo Amorim / Director of the MIT Portugal Innovation &
Entrepreneurship Initiative and Building Global Innovators
Joo Nuno Moreira / University of Coimbra, Treat-U
co-founder
Jos Costa / University of Coimbra, WSBP co-founder
Joseph Shamon / Independent Board Advisor at MIT
Portugal Program Innovation &
Entrepreneurship Initiative, Building Global Innovators
Teresa Mendes / President, Instituto Pedro Nunes, IPN
Moderator: Jorge Figueira / Industry Liason Officer,
University of Coimbra

11h30
STUDENTS' RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
POSTER SESSION

14h00 - 14h50
NEW FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE CITIES
Antnio Gomes Martins / University of Coimbra
Cladia Sousa / MPP student
Lus Seca / MPP Student
Miguel Moreira da Silva / REN & MPP alumnus

14h50 - 15h25
NEW FRONTIERS IN STEM CELL ENGINEERING &
REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
Bruce Tidor / MIT
Francisco Santos / Cell2B Chief Scientific Officer and
Co-Founder
Sezin Aday / MPP Student

15h25 - 16h00
NEW FRONTIERS IN DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING
APPROACHES
Alexandre Silva / Universidade do Minho
Dava Newman / MIT Portugal Program Director
Jos Valente / Managing Director Iber-Oleff
Nuno Valverde / MPP student

16h00
COFFEE BREAK
16h30
BEST POSTER AWARD
16h45
GRADUATION CEREMONY
17h30
CLOSING REMARKS
MIT Portugal Program Directors:
Dava Newman, Paulo Ferro

Doctoral
Projects

Analysis of the gene regulatory network

underlying pluripotenciality in mouse
embryonic stem cells
Ana Marisa Mendes Gonalves Vinhais Guedes
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Instituto de Medicina Molecular and Instituto de
Histologia e Biologia do Desenvolvimento, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa
aguedes@medicina.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Masters in Molecular Biology and Genetics. Faculdade de Cincias da Universidade de Lisboa
Starting year: 2011
Research team: Domingos Henrique1,2; Elsa Abranches1,2
Supervisors:
Domingos Henrique1,2; Elsa Abranches1,2; Claudia L. da Silva3
1

Instituto de Medicina Molecular and Instituto de Histologia e Biologia do Desenvolvimento, Faculdade de Medicina

da Universidade de Lisboa
2

Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown
3

Department of Bioengineering and IBB Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico,

Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Dissect the gene regulatory network underlying
pluripotenciality in mouse Embryonic Stem cells
(mESCs) by investigating the functional role of single-cell fluctuations in NANOG expression and FGF/
ERK signaling, and how this interplay regulates the
responsiveness of mESCs to differentiation cues.
WORK PLAN
Take advantage of a mESC line (Nd) expressing
a fluorescent reporter (VNP) under the control of
Nanog regulatory regions to: (i) assess NANOG heterogeneity in different culture conditions; (ii) quantify
mRNA expression in single-cells of key pluripotency
transcription factors by single molecule FISH; and
(iii) analyze lineage-affiliated gene expression.

RESULTS
We have shown that Nd mESCs cultured in different media conditions display very different NANOG
expression levels (Fig. 1 A-C) correlating with differences in cell morphology (Fig. 1 D-F).
This heterogeneity is also present at the mRNA level
and can be observed when analyzing Oct4 (Fig. 2
D-F) and Nanog (Fig. 2 A-C) mRNA expression in
single cells.
Correlation analysis between Oct4 and Nanog mRNA
expression in individual cells shows that in Serum and
SerumLIF cells with low number of Nanog mRNA molecules express varying levels of Oct4 (Fig. 2 G-H).
In 2iLIF the correlation between Nanog and Oct4
expression is higher with very few cells showing low
levels of expression of either Nanog or Oct4 (Fig. 2 I).

11
FIGURE 1
Nanog heterogeneity in mESCs cultured in different conditions.
(A-C) mESC morphology in different culture conditions (Serum, SerumLIF or 2iLIF). (D-F) FACS histograms of Nd cells, grown in Serum, SerumLIF or
2iLIF showing differences in the percentage of Nanog:VNP positive cells. The negative control cells (E14tg2a) are represented in gray.

Further work is now being performed regarding the

expression of lineageaffiliated genes, in order to
correlate Nanog heterogeneity with the potential of
cells to enter specific differentiation paths in different

environments. This analysis should also shed light

into how different differentiation programs are wired
in mESCs.

FIGURE 2
Single cell analysis of Nanog and Oct4 expression in mESCs grown in different conditions.
(A-C) Histograms showing the distribution of Nanog mRNA molecules per cell. The mean, median and standard deviation are shown for each condition, as well as the number of cells analyzed. (D-F) Same as (A-C) for Oct4 mRNA. (G-I) Dotplots showing the correlation between Nanog and Oct4
expression in each cell for the different conditions. The number of cells analyzed is shown, as well as the Pearson (r(P)) and Spearman (r(S)) correlation coefficients.

12

Generation of cord blood-derived induced

pluripotent stem cells using a non-viral
reprogramming strategy
Ana Lima
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Faculty of Sciences, University Nova de Lisboa
anafranlima@gmail.com
Background:
Degree in Biomedical Sciences/ University of Aveiro/Portugal

Master in Molecular and Cell Biology/ University of Coimbra/ Portugal
Starting year: 2012
Research team: SandraPinto1; Rajeev Gupta2
Supervisors:
Ricardo Neves1; Tariq Enver2
1

Biomaterials and Stem Cell-Based Therapeutics Lab/ CNC, University of Coimbra
2

Cancer Research Institute/ University College of London

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to develop a strategy by
which human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can be efficiently generated from human umbilical cord blood (UCB) derived hematopoietic stem/
progenitor cells avoiding viral manipulation and DNA
integration. The generation of a biodegradable nanotechnology platform that enables a more efficient
reprogramming process and avoiding the use of
virus would be a great step in terms of a future use of
hiPSCs in the clinical context.
WORK PLAN
During the course of this work we will specifically:
(i) identify the compartments of UCB from which
hiPSC can be reprogrammed with greatest efficiency; (ii) develop a non-viral nanoparticle based
system which can deliver reprogramming proteins
and/or microRNAs directly to these cells.
Within the first phase that comprises the identification
of the hematopoietic stem cells (CD34+) compartments of UCB from which iPSC can be generated

with greatest efficiency, the general strategy would

involve the selection of CD34+ specific cell subpopulations by fluorescent activated cell sorting.
Regarding the second phase that comprises the optimization of the nanoparticle delivery system to deliver
of reprogramming factors to the UCB subpopulation
selected in the previous phase, it would involve the
adjustment of the physicochemical properties of the
nanoparticles to provide a good biocompatibility and
efficiency of delivery the different cargo.
RESULTS
The UCB sorting was optimized and CD133 was the
selected marker that provides a sufficient number of
cells to proceed with the reprogramming process. It
was also possible to optimize some reprogramming
conditions within the UCB context. This is shown
in figure 1 where an alkaline phosphatase staining
shows significant differences within different chemical contexts of reprogramming after infecting UCB
cells with a lentiviral vector containing Sox2, Oct4,
Klf-4, c-Myc.

FIGURE 1
Different reprogramming efficiencies outputs from UCB cells in the presence of different chemical modulations.

13

Superhydrophobic surfaces as a platform for

encapsulation of cells and drugs for tissue
engineering purposes
Ana Catarina Lima
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, 3Bs Research Group, University of Minho
catarina.lima@dep.uminho.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc. in Biomedical Engineering/ University of Minho/Portugal

2010
Joo F. Mano1
1
3Bs Research Group, University of Minho

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this work was to use biomimetic low adhesive superhydrohobic surfaces to produce polymeric-based systems for encapsulation of drugs and cells.
A variety of natural polymers (e.g. dextran, chitosan
and alginate), crosslinking processes (ionic gelation
and photocrosslinking) and particle structures were
explored (simple or multilayered systems).

encapsulating drugs and/or cells in mild conditions

(fig. 2). Using this methodology the particles were
obtained in a dry environment, just involved by air
and avoiding the migration of the cells or drugs for
the surrounded medium. This allowed a very high
encapsulation efficiency, known a priori. In addition
the particles were obtained individually (no aggregation). This technique did not required complex and
expensive apparatus as well as organic phases.

WORK PLAN
Polystyrene and copper superhydrophobic surfaces
were obtained by a phase separation and by a chemical-based deposition method, respectively.
The spherical-shaped particles were obtained by dispensing, with controlled volumes, aqueous precursor solutions containing polymer monomers, drugs
or cells and some other agent intervenient in the
crosslinking process (fig. 1). According to the polymer used, the most appropriated crosslinking procedure was applied to harden the particles. Depending
on the application aimed for each developed system,
the appropriated in vitro and a few in vivo tests were
performed to characterize de particle: optical, confocal and scanning electron microscopy, particle size,
water uptake capacity, drug release experiments, cell
viability and proliferation, implants in rats and others.
RESULTS
The obtained results demonstrated that biomimetic
low adhesive superhydrophobic surfaces were suitable platforms to produce polymer-based particles

14
FIGURE 1
Schematic representation of particles preparation.

FIGURE 2
(A) Alginate beads encapsulating fibronectin; (B) Chitosan beads
encapsulating fibroblast cells; (C) Multilayered dextran particles
encapsulating 3 fluorescent molecules as model drugs and (D) coreshell particles composed by dextran and alginate encapsulating fibroblast cells in the shell.

Aerosolized gold-nanodevices for

lung diseases theragnosis
Ana Sofia Silva
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Qumica,
Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
asm.silva@campus.fct.unl.pt
Background:
Masters Degree in Biomedical Sciences, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilh, Portugal
Starting year: 2011
Research team: Ana-Aguiar Ricardo1; Ildio Correia2
Supervisors:
Ana-Aguiar Ricardo1; Ildio Correia2
1

Group of Polymer Synthesis and Processing in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide; REQUIMTE, Departamento de Qumica,

Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa;
2

Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Group, Health Sciences Research Center, Faculdade de Cincias da Sade, Universidade

da Beira Interior.

OBJECTIVES
Although the role of inflammatory signalling and oxidative stress in lung diseases may be apparent, the
lack of efficient drug delivery and real time diagnosis
may result in improper treatment leading to fatal lung
pathophysiology. Therefore, there is an urgent need
to develop new targeted carriers that can provide
sustained delivery of potent therapeutics and molecular probes through airways for real time treatment
and diagnosis (theragnosis).
The project herein presented describes the synthesis of gold nanodevices, their grafting with fluorescent polymers synthesized in supercritical CO2 and
subsequent functionalization with specific peptide
sequences. Moreover, such nanodevices loaded
with specific therapeutics were encapsulated into
chitosan microcarriers using supercritical assisted
atomization (SAA) for future pulmonary delivery.
WORK PLAN
Assembling of biocompatible, targeted and
fluorescent gold-nanodevices (GND) and their
structural, morphological and physico-chemical
characterizations;

Microencapsulation of GND into chitosan

based-dry powder formulations using SAA and
their structural, morphological, physico-chemical, pharmacokinetic and aerodynamic performance characterizations;
In vitro and in vivo evaluation of the produced
nano-in-micro formulations.
RESULTS
New nano-in-micro formulations for the delivery
of biotech products via pulmonary inhalation were
successfully obtained by co-atomization of different
functionalized GND with chitosan. The nanocarriers herein synthetized have the adequate hydrodynamic diameter for intracellular targeting and a
rapid translocation to lymph nodes and blood which
is an added value for pulmonary delivery. GND
were efficiently encapsulated into chitosan carriers
as corroborated by CLSM. Furthermore, the Andersen Cascade Impactor data shows that these new
microcarriers appear to present favorable aerodynamic properties in order to reach the deep lung,
where the release of therapeutics is expected to
occur.

15

Acknowledgments:The authors are grateful to financial support from Fundao Calouste Gulbenkian, Fundao para a
Cincia e a Tecnologia (FC&T), through the projects PEst-C/EQB/

16

LA0006/2013, PTDC/EQU-EQU/116097/2009, SFRH/BD/51584/

2011 and MIT-Portugal Program Bioengineering.

Development of targeted drug carriers

for breast cancer therapy
Andrea Costa e Silva
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho
andrea.c.esilva@gmail.com
Background:
Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal
Starting year: 2012
Supervisor:
Lgia Rodrigues1
Co-Supervisors: Natalie Artzi2; Leon Kluskens1
1

University of Minho, Portugal
2

Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,

USA and the Department of Anesthesiology, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School

OBJECTIVES AND WORK PLAN

Current cancer treatments include surgical intervention, radiation and chemotherapeutic drugs; however these therapies are non-specific resulting in the
destruction of both tumor and healthy cells. In this
sense, the development of a targeted drug delivery
system is highly desirable. This approach consists
essentially in designing smart new anticancer therapeutics meant to specifically target some unique
aspects of tumor biology. Such drug delivery systems
should enable improved biodistribution, tissue uptake
and pharmacokinetics of therapeutic agents. Nanocarrier-based drug delivery offers several advantages
such as an increase of drug stability and bioavailability, by preventing its early degradation, the ability to
deliver therapeutic agents, and thus reduce non-specific toxicity. The aim of this PhD project is to develop
a targeted therapeutic nanocarrier for the treatment
of cancer. The isolation of novel targeting moieties
aptamers - for cancer cells shall be achieved through
the SELEX technique. This methodology consists in
the use of a random library of single-stranded DNA
or RNA, flanked by two primer-binding regions, and
uses an iterative process that specifically amplifies
sequences that have high binding affinity to a given target. In several selection rounds, binders are amplified

and nonspecific binders are removed in a partitioning step. Furthermore, a rationally designed gene
silencing siRNA will be used as a therapeutic agent,
directed to targets in relevant pathways involved in the
development and proliferation of breast cancer cells.
The siRNA will follow conjugation to previously isolated aptamers. This may be achieved either directly
or to an encapsulated form of the therapeutic agent
in a nanocarrier. In the case of nanocarrier encapsulation, these will enhance the stability, bioavailability
and selectivity of these constructs. But more importantly, the ability to design materials with controlled
crosslinking density determining material fate would
enable to program the delivery rate of the therapeutic agents and prolonging its duration in vivo. The
delivery and internalization of the conjugated aptamer-siRNA or nanocarrier will be studied and ultimately,
the optimization of the delivery system is predicted.
These studies will primarily undergo in vitro validation
using various cancer cell models. Eventually, in vivo
studies shall also be conducted.
RESULTS
Ongoing cycles of SELEX. Culture optimization of
different cell lines and establishment of procedures
for siRNA transfection and protein expression.

17

Surface modifications to control drug

release from therapeutic ophthalmic lenses
Andreia Pimenta
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Centro de Qumica Estrutural at Tcnico Lisboa,
University of Lisbon
andreia.pimenta@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc in Biomedical Engineering/Universidade NOVA de Lisboa/Portugal

2012
Rogrio Colao1; Ana Paula Serro1
1
Centro de Qumica Estrutural at Tcnico Lisboa, University of Lisbon

OBJECTIVES
The aim of the work is to develop and optimize surface modified/coated drug-releasing hydrogels to be
used in therapeutic ophthalmic lenses (soft contact
lenses and intraocular lenses). For that, different surface coating/modification strategies will be tested in
order to create drug diffusion barriers, which lead to
a continuous and gradual dispense of medication to
the eye, at adjustable rates, and for extended periods. The drug release kinetics will be investigated
through in vitro tests by using equipment specially
conceived to simulate the eye. Appropriate physical-chemical and biological experimentation will be
performed in view of future (pre)clinical validation.

RESULTS
So far, minimal inhibitory concentrations of two antibiotics for three different bacteria that are associated with endophthalmitis (Staphylococcus aureus,
Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus
pneumonia) were determined by agar diffusion
bioassays.
Release studies of these antibiotics from commercial intraocular lenses (loaded with drug by soaking)
were performed using the infinite sink method and
in hydrodynamic conditions of the aqueous humor
through a microfluidic device.

WORK PLAN
Preparation and characterization of materials
for ophthalmic lenses;
Drug loading & Surface modifications and/or
coating of the ophthalmic material;
In vitro release tests;
Numerical modelling and optimization of drug
release profiles.

18

FIGURE 1
Top: Microfluidic device for simulation of the aqueous humor hydrodynamic conditions.
Bottom: Release kinetics of moxifloxacin hydrochloride in hydrodynamic conditions and in sink conditions.

Mesenchymal stem cells as a means to

expand and select regulatory T cells for
subsequent clinical translation
Antnio Soure
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon
antoniosoure@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:

Starting year:
Supervisors:

Biochemistry/Faculdade de Cincias, Universidade Lisboa/ Portugal

Biotechnology/Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa/ Portugal
2012
Joaquim Sampaio Cabral1; Cludia Lobato da Silva1; Joo Lacerda2
1
Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
2
Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Test the ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC)
from different sources, including bone marrow (BM)
and adipose tissue (AT) to recruit and expand regulatory T cells.

of expanded/induced cells to suppress the proliferation of activated conventional T cells (Tcon).

RESULTS

WORK PLAN
MSC have been obtained from BM and cultured in
vitro until confluent. PBMC were co-cultured with
MSC in order to examine the ability of MSC to induce
and expand Treg in vitro. Specifically, five different
conditions have been tested thus far:
PBMC co-cultured with MSC at a 5:1 ratio
PBMC co-cultured with MSC at a 3:1 ratio
PBMC co-cultured with MSC at a 5:1 ratio, with
the addition of 10U/mL of IL-2.
PBMC alone
PBMC alone + IL-2 (10U/ml)
In the future, to determine if the mechanism by which
MSC induce/expand Treg is due to cell-cell contact
or due to the release of soluble factors, transwell
experiments will be performed.
The stability of Foxp3 expression will be assessed
by DNA demethylation analysis. Functionality assays
will also be performed in order to determine the ability

FIGURE 1
Phenotypical analysis of the condition in which PBMC were co-cultured
with MSC and in which IL-2 (10U/ml) was added (day 7 of experiment).
Briefly, lymphocytes were defined as being CD3+ cells (not shown). The
gate of CD25bright Foxp3+ cells was defined according to the expression of CD25 and Foxp3 in both the CD4 vs CD25 and CD4 vs Foxp3 dot
plots, respectively.

FIGURE 2
The effect of BM MSC on the expansion and recruitment of regulatory T cells. At days 3 and 7 of the experiment, the percentage of both
(a) CD25+Foxp3+ cells and (b) CD25+Foxp3+CD127+ was assessed. Results show that PBMC co-cultured with MSC seem to yield a higher enrichment
of both CD25+Foxp3+ cells and of CD25+Foxp3+CD127- cells, when compared to PBMC cultured alone, with or without the addition of IL-2. Importantly, the addition of IL-2 to PBMC-MSC co-cultures seems to have a beneficial effect on the enrichment of Tregs, especially on CD25+Foxp3+ cells.

19

Filtration-based strategies for the

downstream processing of human
mesenchymal stem cells
Brbara Cunha1,2
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
bcunha@itqb.unl.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc. Degree in Biotechnology / Universidade Nova de Lisboa - Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia / Portugal
2012
Margarida Serra1,2; Cristina Peixoto1,2; Marta Silva1,2; Manuel Carrondo2,3; Paula M. Alves1,2,3
Margarida Serra (Animal Cell Technology Unit, iBET/ITQB-UNL);
Paula M. Alves (co-supervisor, Animal Cell Technology Unit, iBET/ ITQB-UNL)
1
Instituto de Tecnologia Qumica e Biolgica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
2
iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnolgica, Oeiras, Portugal
3
Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Monte de Caparica, Portugal

OBJECTIVES
The main aim of this work was to develop an efficient
strategy for the downstream processing (DSP) of
human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC).
WORK PLAN
After cell expansion on microcarriers using stirred
tank bioreactor systems, different filtration-based
approaches were evaluated for the DSP of hMSC.
We have focused on the i) clarification step for microcarrier removal using dead end filtration, where the
influence of different filter materials and pore sizes
were evaluated. For the ii) cell concentration/volume
reduction step, tangential flow filtration technology
was investigated, aiming at concentrating hMSC up
to a factor of ten. For this purpose, a wide range of
operating conditions was tested; examples presented
here include the impact of initial cell concentration,
membrane material and pore size on cell recovery
yields and quality attributes.

RESULTS
After hMSC expansion, cells were harvested and
separated from the microcarriers using filters with
two types of materials (nylon and polypropylene)
with pores sizes of 30, 80 and 100 m. Our results
show that both materials have the ability to remove
microcarriers without compromising cells viability
(> 97%). In addition, high pore sizes (> 80 m)
demonstrated to be more suitable for the clarification
step, allowing to recover 94% of viable cells (Fig 1A).
Regarding the concentration step, our results show
that hMSC can be successfully concentrated up to
a factor of ten, recovering 80% of viable cells. Initial cell concentrations higher than 2 x 105 cell/mL
(Fig 1B), and polysulfone membranes have showed
to be key parameters to perform the volume reduction step. Furthermore, at the end of DSP, hMSC
have conserved their characteristics, presenting high
cell viability (over 90%) and maintaining their immunophenotype, metabolic activity and multilineage differentiation potential (Fig 1C).

20
FIGURE 1
Downstream processing of hMSC. A - Clarification of microcarriers from the cell bulk suspension. B - Impact of the initial cell concentration on the
viable cell recovery yield. C - Multipotent differentiation potential of hMSC after processing.

Design and fabrication of zonal

cartilage constructs
Carla Moura
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, CDRsp, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria
carla.moura@ipleiria.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Master degree /Polytechnic Institute of Leiria/ Portugal

2010
Frederico Castelo Ferreira1; Paulo Jorge Brtolo2,3
Frederico Castelo Ferreira1; Paulo Jorge Brtolo2,3
1
Bioengineering systems, MPP, Investigador FCT, Institute of Biotechnology and Bioengineering,
Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
2
Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria
3
Manchester Biomanufacturing Centre, School of Mechanical and Aerospace and Civil Engineering &
Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, UK

OBJECTIVES
Articular cartilage lacks of a sufficient intrinsic repair
response and hence the zonal cartilage structure
and function are commonly and irreversibly lost following trauma or cartilage related disease, such as
with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is characterised by a loss of cartilage, typically
progressing from superficial fibrillation to complete
erosion until the subchondral bone. This condition
affects a large number of patients (9.6% on men and
18% on women), causing pain and debilitation and
hence severe loss in their quality of life. This work
aims to develop a cartilage substitute based on the
combination of 3D high-interconnected porous scaffolds seeded with mesenchymal stem cells (MSC),
which are first expanded in the scaffold to larger numbers and then differentiate into chondrocytes. These
constructs are expected to facilitate regeneration of
articular cartilage. In order to achieve a successful
procedure, it is necessary to select the best strategy
concerning material properties as well as conditions
for cell seeding, culture and differentiation.
WORK PLAN
The work consists on the manipulation of the Bioextruder parameters to manufacture extruded

layer-by-layer poly(-caprolactone) scaffolds with different characteristics concerning pore sizes and fibre
alignments. The scaffolds obtained were assessed
under different conditions for cell seeding, expansion
and differentiation. Expansion and differentiation were
performed using two atmospheric conditions, normoxia
and hypoxia (21% and 5% oxygen, respectively).

FIGURE 1
Culture strategy used for seeding of scaffolds with high chondrocytes
densities.

21
FIGURE 2
SEM image of scaffolds.

RESULTS
Results obtained showed that pore size does not pose
a limitation for cell adhesion and proliferation within
the range of pore sizes studied (190-390m). Fibre
alignment (0-45 and 0-90) also does not influence
cell adhesion and proliferation, however regarding
the differentiation it influences the dimension of the
aggregates that are formed. This study also shows
that the best approach towards cartilage regeneration
involved the use of hypoxia condition, performing cell
expansion in the PCL scaffold before differentiation.
Acknowledge: This research is sponsored by the Portuguese
Foundation for Science and Technology through MIT Portugal
Program, Bioengineering Systems Focus Area, a PhD grant
SFRH/BD/73970/2010 and an Investigator FCT research contract
IF/00442/2012.

22

FIGURE 3
Dapi (blue) and Phalloidin (red) staining of the cells adhered to the
scaffolds.

Light-activatable polymeric nanoparticles

for intracellular delivery in cancer stem cells
Carlos Boto
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology (CNC),
University of Coimbra, Portugal
csmboto@biocant.pt
Background:
MSc. in Materials Engineering, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Starting year: 2009
Research team: Ricardo Neves1; Alberto Martin-Lorenzo2; Isidro Sanchez-Garcia2; Rajeev Gupta3; Tariq Enver3
Supervisors:
Lino Ferreira1
1

Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology (CNC), University of Coimbra, Portugal
2

Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL), University of Salamanca,Spain
3

UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, United Kingdom

OBJECTIVES
Nanoparticles (NPs) may be used as vehicles for the
intracellular delivery of biomolecules and ultimately to
modulate the activity of cancer cells. Here we present
a novel lightdissociable polymeric NP formulation that
has approximately 120 nm in diameter, positive
net charge, and disassemble when exposed to UV
light (365 nm) or blue light (405 nm) releasing nile red
(NR) and retinoic acid (RA) (Fig. 1). These NPs can
be taken up rapidly (4 h) by acute myeloid leukemia
(AML) cells (K562, NB4, U937 and AML stem cells).
Importantly, our results show that the light activation
of NPs contribute for the differentiation of these cells
at levels not observed using formulations that release
passively RA or by conventional chemotherapy. This
study highlights the importance of drug spatial positioning and concentration to treat leukemia.
WORK PLAN
Diameter, counts and zeta potential of NPs in
response to light over time were recorded.
The in vitro effects of retinoic acid (RA)-loaded NPs
on: (i) the erythroid differentiation of K562 at day 9

was assessed by cytochemical staining with benzidine solution, (ii) the granulocytic differentiation at
day 6 and 3 for human NB4 and U937 (PLZF/RARA),
respectively, was assessed by flow cytometry using
CD11b as a marker, (iii) reduction of stem cell colonies
in AML stem cells was assessed by colony-forming
cell (CFC, 2 weeks) and long-term culture initiating
cell assays (LTC-IC, 7 weeks). Three independent
runs were done for each experimental group and for
each run three technical replicates were performed.
RESULTS
The activation of NPs promotes rapid and efficient
RA delivery (80% in 10 min). Lightactivated RA -NPs
induce 1.92 (0.17) times higher levels of erythroid differentiation in K562, 1.19 (0.01) times of
granulocytic differentiation in NB4 and 1.45 (0.03)
times of granulocytic differentiation in U937 cells
as compared to non-activated NPs. In addition,
light-activated RA -NPs induce 1.83 (0.17) times
higher levels of erythroid differentiation in K562, 1.12
(0.01) times of granulocytic differentiation in NB4
and 1.44 (0.04) times of granulocytic differentiation

FIGURE 1
Photo-disassembly of NPs. (A) A suspension of NPs was exposed to UV light (365 nm, 100 Watts) for up to 10 min. At each time, the size, zeta potential and number of NPs (kcps) in the suspension was evaluated by dynamic light scattering. (B) Normalized fluorescence vs. time for the same
NR-loaded NP formulation when exposed or not to UV light (365 nm, 100 Watts), showing the increase in the release rate with UV exposure. Nile Red
in aqueous solution exposed to UV light is presented to demonstrate its photostability.

23

in U937 cells as compared to 1M RA in solution (Fig.

2). It should be noted that RA -NPs contain 10 times
less RA than the one used in solution. This experimental result is particularly important in the RA-low
sensitive cell line U937-PLZF/RARA where the high
RA intracellular release is able to overcome the low
sensitivity of the cell. Finally, AML stem cells treated
with light-activated RA -NPs showed 69.69.2 % and
61.810.1 % less colonies, in CFC and LTC-IC colony assays, respectively (Fig. 3). Next we evaluated
the in vivo effect of our light-activatable RA+ NPs in
human AML cells. Cells treated with light-activated
NPs (blue bar, Fig. 4) present higher differentiation

FIGURE 2
Effect of RA+ NPs on human leukemia cells. Schematic representation
of the methodology. (A) Myelocytic differentiation (CD11b+ cells) of
human Zn-induced U937-B412 cells cultured with light-activated NPs
or soluble RA. Zn-induced U937-B412 cells were cultured for 3 days.
(B) Percentage of CD11b+ cells in Zn-induced U937-B412 cell cultures
after 1 day of culture. Cells cultured with 10 -7 M of vitamin D3 for 1 day
were used as positive control. Results are expressed as Mean SEM (n
=3). *P<0.05, * *P<0.01, * **P<0.001.

24

marker expression than cells treated with RA+ NPs

without light activation.
CONCLUSION
Our results show that our light-activatable NPs
are able to: (i) Quickly release retinoic acid when
exposed to light; (ii) Photo-disassemble within cells;
(iii) Successfully induce differentiation of a retinoic
acid-resistant-leukemia cell line; (iv) Decrease the
clonogenic potential of leukemia stem cells from
human AML bone marrow; (v) Be activated in vivo by
a blue laser and differentiate successfully into myelocytic lineage.

FIGURE 3
Differentiation of AML stem cells cultured with light-activated NPs or
soluble RA. Cell differentiation was evaluated by a colony forming unit
assay at day 14. (A) AML stem cells were cultured for 14 days with RA in
medium (102 - 105 nM) or RA+ NPs (0.01 - 10 g/mL) or blank NPs (10 g/
mL), exposed or not to UV light. Cell differentiation was evaluated by a
colony forming unit assay at day 14. (B) Long-term culture-initiating
cell assay results. AML stem cells were cultured on feeder layers for 5
weeks and then on methylcellulose medium for 14 days with blank NPs
(10 g/mL) or RA+ NPs (10 g/mL) exposed or not to UV light. Results
are expressed as a mean percentage of control plates containing
only AML cells. Results are expressed as Mean SEM (n = 3). * P<0.05,
**P<0.01, ***P<0.001.

FIGURE 4
In vivo differentiation of NB4 cells exposed to light-activatable RA+ NPs. (A) Schematic representation of the in vivo experimental set up. Cells were
treated with blank or RA+ NPs (10 g/mL) for 4 h, washed, and then activated or not with a blue optical fiber (405 nm, 80 mW) for 5 min. Cells were
then resuspended in a 1:1 (v/v) Matrigel solution and subcutaneously injected in a PDMS cylinder construct implanted in the dorsal region of mice.
After 5 days, cells were removed from the construct and characterized by FACS, for CD11b expression. (B) Percentage of CD11b+ cells in human
leukemia NB4 cells collected 5 days after subcutaneously injection. Results are expressed as Mean SEM (n = 4). * P<0.05, * *P<0.01, ***P<0.001.

Delivery of antimicrobial peptides for

the treatment of mycobacteriosis
Csar Oliveira Costa
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Centre of Biological Engineering & Life and Health
Sciences Research Institute, University of Minho
cesaroliveira.costa@gmail.com
Background:
MSc. Bioengineering / Faculty of Engineering - University of Porto / Portugal
Starting year:
2012/2013
Research team:
Joo Pedro Silva1; Jeremy Sousa2; Antnio Gil Castro2; Jorge Pedrosa2; Rui Appelberg3; Miguel Gama1
External collaborators: Fernando Martinez Estrada4; Subhankar Mukhopadhyay4; Siamon Gordon4; Erik de Vries5
Supervisors:
Miguel Gama1; Rui Appelberg3; Jorge Pedrosa2
1

Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal
2

Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, University of Minho, Portugal
3

Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Porto, Portugal
4
University of Oxford, England

5

University of Groningen, The Netherlands

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which resides inside
macrophages, has always been recognized as one
of the most successful pathogens. Standard treatments have already been used for decades and,
therefore, resistances to the first-line medicines are
increasing. Additionally, poor patient compliance with
stringent therapies is often pointed out as a major
reason leading to treatment failure.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), a promising new
class of broad spectrum antibiotics, are less prone
to result in pathogen resistances due to their target (cellular membranes) and rapid action. In our
laboratory we search for AMPs with potent activity
against mycobacteria and try to develop efficient
delivery systems based on self-assembled colloidal
nanocarriers. Additionally, this systems are expected
to reduce peptide toxicity and enhance selective
uptake on infected cells. Finally, the use of encapsulated drugs in mycobacterial therapy may help
reducing drug administration schedules which would
ultimately improve patient compliance.
WORK PLAN
1. Optimization of therapeutic formulations for
AMPs controlled delivery.
2. In vitro and in vivo delivery of AMPs to infected
macrophages; Analysis of mechanisms of therapeutic action and potential side effects.
3. Study binding, internalization mechanisms and
intracellular fate of the nanocarriers (University
of Oxford).
4. In vivo biodistribution of the nanocarrier (University of Groningen).
5. Study the global pharmacoeconomic impact
of AMPs as new therapeutic agents to fight
tuberculosis.

RESULTS
We have used encapsulated AMPs (Fig. 1) to tackle
an infection promoted by M. avium in mouse macrophages in vitro. During 7 days the peptide has
killed more than 99% of initial bacterial burden. The
bactericidal effect has already been confirmed using
infected mice in vivo, by applying the therapeutic formulation via the pulmonary route (Fig. 2). Currently,
we are moving for more potent mycobacteria, such
as M. tuberculosis, which shows identical susceptibility to the antimicrobial formulation.

FIGURE 1
Schematic representation of the peptide nanocarrier.

FIGURE 2
Intratracheal drug delivery using a MicroSprayer aerosolizer in mice.

25

Towards scalable production of functional

iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes
Cludia Correia
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
ccorreia@itqb.unl.pt
Background:
MSc. Degree in Biotecnology / Universidade Nova de Lisboa - Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia / Portugal
Starting year: 2011
Research team: Margarida Serra1,2; Nuno Espinha1,2; Marcos Sousa1,2; Catarina Brito1,2; Karsten Burkert 3; Yunjie Zheng3;

Jurgen Hescheler3; Manuel J. T. Carrondo2,4; Tomo Saric3; Paula M. Alves1,2
Supervisors:
Paula M. Alves1,2, Margarida Serra1,2 (co-supervisor),
1

ITQB-UNL, Instituto de Tecnologia Qumica e Biolgica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
2

iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnolgica, Oeiras, Portugal
3

Institute for Neurophysiology University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
4
Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Monte de Caparica, Portugal

OBJECTIVES
The main aim of this study was to develop a scalable
and robust bioprocess for the production of pure and
functional induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs).
WORK PLAN
Our strategy consisted in designing integrated bioprocesses for CM differentiation and purification by
culturing iPSCs as 3D aggregates in environmentally
controlled bioreactors, where the necessary conditions to control stem cell fate are thoroughly tuned.
Distinct bioreactor systems (stirred tank and Wave
bioreactors) were used and different bioprocess
parameters were tested. In particular, we explored
the impact of the dissolved oxygen (DO) and hydrodynamic forces on CM differentiation.

16 days of culture. Moreover, this study shows for

the first time that wave-induced agitation enhances
further CM differentiation of iPSCs, increasing CM
differentiation yields up to 60 (Fig. 2), while reducing
the time needed for differentiation process. In this
strategy, an earlier and higher expression of mesorderm and cardiac specific genes was detected when
compared to stirred tank bioreactor cultures. In an
11-day differentiation protocol, 2.30.1 x106 CM/
mL were obtained with high purity (97%) and quality
in 1 L bioreactor run. Morphological and functional
characterization analysis confirmed that CMs presented typical cardiac morphology (Fig. 3), calcium
transients, electrophysiological profiles and drug
responsiveness.

RESULTS
Our results showed that DO and agitation type/mode
are key parameters in the bioprocessing of iPSC,
affecting cell differentiation towards functional CMs.
By combining a hypoxia culture (4% O2 tension) with
an intermittent agitation profile in stirred tank bioreactors, we were able to improve about 1000-fold the
differentiation yields (up to 43 CM per initial iPSC)
and achieve high CM purities (>97%, Fig. 1) after
FIGURE 2
Final CM differentiation yield (CMs produced per initial iPSC) achieved
with different bioreactor culture strategies.

26
FIGURE 1
Confocal microscopy of iPSC-derived cardiospheres. The frequency
and distribution of -MHC-positive (green) cells is shown. Nuclei are
labeled with DAPI (blue). Scale bars: 100 m.

FIGURE 3
Structural characterization of iPSC-derived CMs produced in fully controlled bioreactors. Cells stained positive for the CM specific markers:
-MHC (green) and titin (red). Nuclei were counterstained with DAPI
(blue). Scale bars: 50 m.

Neurogenesis in the subventricular zone

is modulated by MicroRNA-124 loaded
nanoparticles
Cludia Saraiva
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Faculty of Science and Technology,
Universidade Nova de Lisboa; Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior
c.m.m.saraiva@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Master in Biochemistry/ University of Coimbra/ Portugal

2012
Cludia Saraiva1,2; Jos Paiva3; Lino Ferreira3,4; Liliana Bernardino2
Liliana Bernardino2
1
Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
2
Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior
3
Biocant - Center of Innovation in Biotechnology, Cantanhede
4
Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra

OBJECTIVE
The subventricular zone (SVZ) lining the lateral
ventricles comprises the largest population of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the adult mammalian brain.
NSCs are multipotent and can give rise to neurons and glia cells. MicroRNA (miR)-124 has been
recently described to trigger neuron commitment of
NSCs. However, current strategies to deliver miRs
into cells or tissues are not efficient. Thus, identifying
new platforms to deliver proneurogenic molecules
such as miR-124 is crucial to boost neurogenesis
of endogenous NSCs. The main goal of this work
is to study the inductive effect of miR-124-loaded
nanoparticles (miR-124 NPs) in the differentiation of
NSCs into new neurons.
WORK PLAN
P1-3 C57BL/6 mice were used to obtain stem/progenitors cell cultures from the SVZ. The resulting
neurospheres were seeded on coverslips and the
cell monolayer obtained was then transfected with
several concentrations (1, 10 and 20g/mL) of NPs
complexed with 200nM of miR-124.

RESULTS
We found that 1g/mL of NPs did not interfere with cell
toxicity (propidium iodide assay), proliferation (BrdU
assay) or oligodendrocyte commitment (olig2-immunoreactivity) of SVZ cells. Interestingly, 1g/mL of
miR-124 NPs was able to increase the differentiation
into neurons (NeuN-immunoreactivity) in about 25%
compared with controls. The relative mRNA amount
of two validated miR-124 targets, sox9 and jagged1,
was also assessed by qPCR. As expected, miR-124
NPs reduced the expression of both genes as compared with controls. Moreover, a significant decrease
in the number of sox9-and jagged1-immunoreactive
cells was also obtained.
Taken together, our results showed that the presence
of miR-124 delivered by NPs increase the neuronal
commitment of SVZ cells, being the 1g/mL of the
miR-124 NPs the most suitable formulation. These
results provide clear evidences to support the use
of miR-124 NPs as a new therapeutic approach to
boost brain repair endogenous mechanisms in the
setting of neurodegenerative diseases.

27

Towards improved predictability in

pre-clinical research: Human dopaminergic
3D in vitro model for development of gene
delivery strategies
Daniel Simo1,2
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
dsimao@itqb.unl.pt
Background:
MSc. Molecular Genetics and Biomedicine; Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa; Portugal
Starting year: 2011
Research team: Catarina Pinto1,2; Margarida Serra1,2; Ana P. Teixeira1,2; Isabella Saggio3,4; Giampietro Schiavo5; Eric J. Kremer 6; Paula M. Alves1,2;

Catarina Brito1,2
1

ITQB-UNL Instituto de Tecnologia Qumica e Biolgica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
2

BET Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnolgica, Oeiras, Portugal
3

Biomedical Science Park San Raffaele, Rome, Italy
4

Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
5
Cancer Research UK, London, United Kingdom

6

Institut de Gntique Molculaire de Montpellier, Montpellier, France

OBJECTIVES
Development of a human 3D neural in vitro model
making use of human midbrain-derived neural progenitor cells (hmNPC) and evaluation of hd-CAV-2
efficacy and safety.
WORK PLAN
Dynamic culture systems strategies were adopted for
hmNPC aggregation and 3D differentiation. Physical
and chemical parameters, such as hydrodynamics,
process duration, media composition and oxygen
levels, were optimized to improve differentiation
efficiency.
The generated 3D model was explored for characterization and better understanding of hd-CAV-2
particular features in human neural cells, enabling
to evaluate its efficacy and safety for gene delivery
strategies.

28

RESULTS
Differentiation of hmNPC neurospheres resulted on
a significant enrichment in neurons, astrocytes and
oligodendrocytes. Global gene expression analysis
revealed the activation of neurogenesis developmental pathways during 3D differentiation. Differentiated cells presented dense filopodia, critical in
axonal development, guidance and synapse formation. Moreover, an increase in the expression of the
dopaminergic (DA) markers along with an increase
in synaptic functionality and ability to synthesize and
release dopamine, strongly indicated the generation
of DA neurons.
Under optimized transduction conditions hd-CAV2-GFP vector transduction led to stable long-term
transgene expression with low toxicity. Assessment of hd-CAV-2 specific tropism in comparison
with hAd serotype 5 (hAd5), showed that hd-CAV-2
have increased neuronal tropism in contrast to

higher transduction of the glial cell population with

hAd5.
The 3D model developed herein, along with a comprehensive toolbox of characterization methods, represents a powerful complementary tool, applicable in
preclinical research for assessing promising genebased therapies and new compounds. Data generated on hd-CAV-2 transduction in a physiologically
relevant 3D cell context, will allow for a better understanding of the impact of viral vectors on human neural cells and complement the in vivo studies on CNS
transduction to improve predictability of clinical trial
outcomes.

FIGURE 1
3D neural differentiation strategy based on dynamic culture systems.
(A) Use of stirred-tank bioreactors enables control over the main
culture parameters. (B) This strategy is amenable to optimization for
multiple human stem cell sources. (C) The 3D differentiation process
is based on sequential steps (expansion, aggregation, differentiation
and maturation), where media composition is the key variable, by adding or removing growth, differentiation or neurotrophic factors.

Modulation of hematopoietic
stem cell (HSC) activity
Emanuel Quartin Costa
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, UC Biotech, Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology,
University of Coimbra, Portugal
emanuelquartin@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Msc in Human Biology and Enviornment, FCUL, Portugal

2012
Ricardo Neves1; Lino Ferreira1; Carlos Boto2
Ricardo Neves1; Lino Ferreira1
1
Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra
2
Universidade de coimbra

OBJECTIVES
Methodologies to increase the number or engraftment efficiency of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)
could provide substantial clinical benefit. We hypothesize that the transient ectopic delivery of HOXB4 in
transplanted HSCs may potentiate their number and
final engraftment. The main goal of this project is to
study the effect of HOXB4 in terms of HSC renewal
and engraftment into an animal model.
RESULTS
As there is no commercial available active HOXB4,
using a prokaryotic protein expression system we
produced and purified a histidine tagged TAT-HOXB4
fusion proteins.
Using a BL21(DE3)pLysS E.coli strain we produced
TAT-HOXB4 that was later purified using a Histrap
column, where we tested different concentrations
of imidazole to obtain more pure fractions. Also different desalting/renaturation methods were tested.
The purity and concentration of the TAT-HoxB4 and
TAT-mutHoxB4 fusion proteins were determined

FIGURE 1
HOXB4 activity confirmation by binding to the DNA probe.
1:HOXB4; 2:Random DNA probe; 3: HOXB4 DNA probe; 4: HOXB4 + DNA
probe; 5- HOXB4 + DNA probe + DTT

by SDS-PAGE and detected with Coomassie Blue

or SYPRO Ruby staining After having the protein
purified, we assessed protein activity by electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) and by cell cycle
studies (G0 induction) in a murine pro-B cell line. For
the EMSA, different concentrations of HOXB4 were
incubated with or without DTT and with a DNA probe
containing the HOXB4 consensus binding sequence
the samples were loaded in a non-denaturing gel
later stained with SYBR green (fig.1). For the cell
cycle studies, cells were treated with different concentrations of HOXB4 and at different time points.
Results showed a nearly 8-fold induction of G0 at
and 48h, after of HOXB4 treatment (fig.2).

FIGURE 2
Cell Cycle study after 48h treatment of BaF3 cells treated with produced HOXB4 and comercial HOXB4.
A- Effect of HOXB4 in the different phases of the cell;
B- G0 fold increase, normalized with the mock treatments.

29

Scalable expansion of human mesenchymal

stem/stromal cells as 3-D aggregates
towards an improved cellular product
Francisco Moreira
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, BERG, Instituto Superior Tcnico
francisco.moreira@ist.utl.pt
Background:

Starting year:
Supervisors:

Masters degree in Biotechnology in Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade Tcnica de Lisboa

Bachelor degree in Biochemistry in Faculdade de Cincias, Universidade de Lisboa
2012
Joaquim Sampaio Cabral1; Cludia Lobato da Silva1
1
BioEngineering Research Group, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universiddade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Isolation and cultivation of human MSC from different sources as 3-D spheroids under xeno-free conditions aims to define optimal culture conditions for
MSC culture as aggregates. Considering the clinical
application of MSC, the use of fetal bovine serum
arises additional problems, mainly focused on product safety. Although BM is the most commonly used
source of MSC, in the last decade the therapeutic
potential of MSC isolated from a variety of tissues
have been also demonstrated, among which AT and
UCM are the best studied. MSC will be cultured as
spheroids (3-D) and compared with adherent monolayers (2-D).
The main two objectives for this first part of the work
are the optimization of static culture conditions for

human MSC (derived from 3 sources - bone marrow

(BM), adipose tissue (AT) and umbilical cord matrix
(UCM)) cultivation as 3-D spheroids, under xenofree conditions; and the in vitro characterization of
human MSC cultured as spheroids.
WORK PLAN
Human MSC were isolated in the laboratory and the
spheroids were formed by aggrewellTM. Three different sources were tested: BM, UCM and AT. These
were cultured under two different media, one containing FBS and another XenoFree. Further more,
from each type of cells two sizes of aggregates were
formed: 100 cells/spheroid and 1000 cells/spheroid.
RESULTS

FIGURE 1
Comparison between the diameters of the spheroids formed from BM M69A07 donor, in the two different media (Blue DMEM; Red XF). A) 100cells/
sph present similar values of diameter for either type of media. B) 1000cells/sph seems to show a tendency of higher diameter for DMEM cultured
spheroids, however the error associated in the measurements prevents to draw a definite conclusions.

30
FIGURE 2
Comparison between the diameters of the spheroids formed from AT L09602 donor, in the two different media (Blue DMEM; Red XF). A) 100cells/
sph present similar values of diameter for either type of media. B) 1000cells/sph seems to show a tendency of higher diameter for XF cultured
spheroids, however the error associated in the measurements prevents to draw a definite conclusions.

One-step transformation of microorganisms

Gabriel Mendes1
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Department of Biological Engineering,
University of Minho
pintomendes.gabriel@deb.uminho.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

PgD in Micro Nanotehcnology/ University of Minho/ Portugal

2010
Gabriel Mendes1; Pedro Viera2; Manuel Mota1 ; Leon Kluskens1 ; Senentxu lanceros-Mendez3; Alan Hatton4
Manuel Mota1; Leon Kluskens1; Senentxu lanceros-Mendez3
1
Department of Biological Engineering, University of Minho
2
Department of Biological Engineering, University
3
Department of Physics, University of Minho
4
Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

OBJECTIVES
This project aims to develop products that simplify the laboratory methods used for the genetic
improvement of microorganisms with commercial
potential that can be applied in biotechnology,
in areas such as food industry, environment or
energy. These products will constitute a new methodological paradigm through its simplicity and
will substitute classical procedures that are more
time-consuming, more expensive and technically
more demanding. Transformation of microorganisms (introducing DNA into microorganisms for a
genetic improvement) is a cumbersome procedure
normally needing three main steps, namely: (1)
preparation of microorganisms (weakening of natural barriers to receive foreign DNA); (2) a shock
step (normally through an electric pulse, jump in
temperature or by using ultrasounds); and finally
the (3) a recovery step in which the microorganisms are grown in rich medium to recover from the
previous step. With our technology we envisage
attaining transformation in a single step through
spreading microorganisms and foreign DNA on
novel transformation petri-dishes.
WORK PLAN
Synthesis of superparamagnetic monodisperse
magnetic nanoparticles (with diameters of less than
10 nm) and functionalization with cationic molecules such as dopamine, 4-aminobenzoic acid and
2-pyrrolidinone. Synthesis and functionalization
of magnetic nanoneedles. Use external magnetic
field or friction forces to induce membrane permeabilization. Synthesized or natural nanomaterials
are used to facilitate entrance of DNA in microorganisms such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis
and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, all of them GRAS
microorganisms. The microorganisms mixed with
plasmids are spread on culture petri dishes in the

Poster

13

presence of nanomaterials and with addition of

adequate markers (for instance ampicinin 100g/
mL, IPTG 1mM and X-Gal 40g/mL for Escherichia
coli.) transformed colonies are produced (Yoshida
& Sato, 2009).
RESULTS
Nanomaterials were synthesized and functionalized
with cationic molecules. First attempts to transform
non-competent JM109 Escherichia coli with pUC19
plasmid and intact BY4741 Saccharomyces cerevisiae with pyes2- isc1 plasmid have succeeded
by using nanoneedles. Maximum transformation
efficiencies obtained for Escherichia coli are on
the order 1.6x105 CFU/g DNA and 5.8x103 CFU/
g DNA for Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Essays on
Bacillus subtilis are in progress.

FIGURE 1
Synthesis by thermal decomposition of mono-dispersed magnetic
nanoparticles with diameters of about 5nm (S. Sun et al., 2004). Nanoparticles are capped by oleic acid and a ligand exchange reaction is
performed with small cationic molecules such as dopamine and 4-aminobenxoic acid to promote dispersion in water and affinity with plasmids. Scale bar is 5 nm.

31

FIGURE 2
Magnetization loop for magnetic nanoparticles capped with oleic acid,
dopamine and 4-aminobenzoic acid. All types of magnetic nanoparticles are superparamagnetic at room temperature. The cationic molecules were used to cap the nanoparticles through ligand exchange
(Lattuada & Hatton, 2007).
References:
1. Lattuada, M., & Hatton, T. A. (2007). Functionalization of
monodisperse magnetic nanoparticles. Langmuir, 23(4),
21582168. doi:Doi 10.1021/La062092x.
2. Sun, H., Chen, B., Jiao, X., Jiang, Z., Qin, Z., & Chen, D.
(2012). Solvothermal Synthesis of Tunable Electroactive
Magnetite Nanorods by Controlling the Side Reaction.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 116(9), 54765481.
doi:10.1021/jp211986a.
3. Sun, S., Zeng, H., Robinson, D. B., Raoux, S., Rice, P. M.,
Wang, S. X., & Li, G. (2004). Monodisperse MFe2O4 (M =

32

FIGURE 3
Synthesis of magnetic nanoneedles by a solvathermal process (H.
Sun et al., 2012). Nanoneedles are capped with oleic acid and a ligand
exchange reaction is performed to improve dispersion in water and
affinity for plasmids. Scale bar is 100 nm.
Fe, Co, Mn) nanoparticles. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 126(1), 2739. doi:10.1021/ja0380852.
4. Yoshida, N., & Sato, M. (2009). Plasmid uptake by bacteria:
a comparison of methods and efficiencies. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 83(5), 7918. doi:10.1007/
s00253-009-2042-4.

Peroxiredoxin/thioredoxin system:
Forecasting the peril
Gianluca Selvaggio
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Faculty of Science and Technology,
New University of Lisbon, Portugal
gianluca.selvaggio@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc. in Biomedical Engineering, University of Bologna, Italy

2011
Pedro Coelho1
Armindo Salvador1
1
Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology University of Coimbra

OBJECTIVES
Cells occasionally have to cope with high H2O2 concentrations for long periods, due to their involvement
in catalysis and folding maintenance, the irreversible
oxidation of reactive thiols is deleterious for organisms. Here we hypothesize that the Peroxiredoxin/
Thioredoxin/Thioredoxin Reductase/Protein-Dithiol
System (PTRTD) drives anticipatory blocking control
(ABC) of dithiols as disulfides thus protecting them.
We examined the design requirements for such
a system to operate effectively and we compared
these requirements to the actual design in human
erythrocytes.

must be lower than the maximum flux of peroxiredoxin disulfide reduction and formation. Additionally,
we identified a trade-off between the robustness of
signal transduction and the NADPH expenditure in
the process.
A comparison of experimental data to the theoretical
predictions above indicates that the design of the
PTRTD system in human erythrocytes accomplishes
effective integration between anticipatory blocking,
antioxidant protection and redox signaling.

WORK PLAN
We applied the approach described in (1; 2) by: i)
scaling the system to reduce the number of parameters, ii) decomposing the design space into phenotypical regions, iii) determining the steady state
behaviors, iv) grading them using a set of quantitative
performance criteria derived from the ideal system
properties, v) seeking for the principles that warrant
the criteria satisfaction vi) comparing the required
design principles with the observed phenotype.
RESULTS
The operating regimes were graded, based on the
following performance criteria: a) efficient scavenging capacity, b) low NADPH consumption, c) effective
signal propagation and d) effective ABC. The design
principles were as follows, for human erythrocytes: i)
the equilibrium constant for thiol-disulfide exchange
between thioredoxin and the protein dithiol should be
in the range 0.03<K<21 to allow the protein full protection; ii) the maximum flux of thioredoxin reduction

FIGURE 1
PTRTD Scheme.

References
1. Savageau, M. A., Design principles for elementary gene
circuits: Elements, methods, and examples, Chaos: An
Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, Vol. 11, No.
1, 2001/03/01, pp. 142159.
2. Pedro M. B. M. Coelho, Armindo Salvador, M. A. S., Quantifying Global Tolerance of Biochemical Systems: Design
Implications for MoietyTransfer Cycles, PLoS Comput
Biol, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 20, 2009, pp. e1000319.

33

Personalized 3D vascular constructs for

toxicity/drug screening assessment
Ins Honrio
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Biomaterials and Stem Cell-Based Therapeutic
Laboratory, UC Biotech - Technologial Park of Cantanhede, FCT-UNL, Portugal
honorio.ines@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Msc. Molecular and Genetics Biology, Faculdade de Cincias da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
2011
Helena Vazo1, Mrio Gros2
Lino Ferreira3
1
UC Biotech - Technologial Park of Cantanhede
2
Biocant
3
Universidade de Coimbra

WORK PLAN
The development of new tools for the rapid toxicological/drug screening assays of chemical substances,
at cellular levels, is of high interest, providing
patient-specific information about the toxicity/therapeutic effect of a pharmaceutical compound. Since
vascular cells control the permeability of blood
vessels, regulate inflammation, immunity and cell
growth, among other key functions, it is of utmost
importance to assess vascular toxicity and develop
new drugs able to modulate the activity of endothelial
cells. The overall aim of this project is the development of personalized vascular kits for risk assessment of chemicals and pharmaceutical compounds
that can be used for high-throughput screening.
Pluripotent stem cells such as human embryonic
stem cells (hESCs) or inducible pluripotent stem cells
(iPSCs) represent a potential source of vascular cells
for the development of vascular kits. Recently, it was
isolated in our lab a population of vascular progenitor cells from hESCs that can give rise to endothelial and smooth muscle cells and form microvessels

34

when injected in vivo. In this project we would like to

extend our differentiation protocol to iPSCs that are
very promising for personalized kits given that they
can be generated from somatic cells isolated from
patients using a seminal technology developed by
Yamanaka and collaborators in 2006.
For the development of the kits, the cells should
form a vessel where the medium can flow. Recently
one of us has engineered constructs with perfusable
microvasculature networks, which will be used for
the development of the vascular kits.
RESULTS
iPSCs has been differentiated in smooth muscle
and endothelial like cells using diferentiation protocols previously established in the lab for the human
embryonic stem cells.
Micro-channels were produced in order to evaluate
the capacity of smooth muscle and endothelial cells
to adhere and react to physiological shear stress
conditions. The same as been done using iPSC
derived cells.

Urinary rhabdosphincter bioengineering

A decellularized matrix for modeling stress
urinary incontinence in vitro
Irina Neves Simes1
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Department of Bioengineering and IBB Institute for
Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
irinansimoes@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:

Supervisors:

Masters in Biotechnology, IST-UL, Portugal

2011
Paulo Vale3; Shay Soker2; Anthony Atala2; Rute M. Noiva4; Belmira M. Carrapio4; M. Conceio Peleteiro 4; Joaquim M. S. Cabral1;
Cludia L. da Silva1; Pedro M. Baptista2,5,6
Cludia L. da Silva1; Joaquim M. S. Cabral1; Pedro M. Baptista2,5,6
1
Department of Bioengineering and IBB Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico,
Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
2
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
3
Servio de Urologia, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Almada, Portugal
4
Interdisciplinary Centre of Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
5
IIS Aragn, CIBERehd., Zaragoza, Spain
6
Aragon Health Sciences Institute (IACS), Zaragoza, Spain

OBJECTIVES
Establish an in vitro urethral model based on acellular
urethral matrices for the screening of new drugs, therapies and the study of stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
WORK PLAN
Piglet urethras were decellularized using different
concentrations of Triton X-100 and SDS and a perfusion- and agitation-based system. Cell removal
was assessed by H&E staining and confirmed by
DNA extraction. The presence of specific ECM proteins was evaluated by immunofluorescent stainings.
Total collagen, elastin and glycosaminoglycans were
quantified by colorimetric assays. 300m thick acellular scaffold sections were repopulated with human
skeletal muscle myoblasts (hSkM) and further differentiated. Cell presence and distribution was
assessed by H&E and immunohistochemistry.
RESULTS
SDS solutions at 0.5% and 1% concentrations successfully decellularized the urethra, as shown by the
absence of purple basophilic staining on H&E (Fig.1).

FIGURE 1
H&E staining of native (a) and acellular (b and c) bioscaffolds (0.5%
SDS, b; 1% SDS, c).

The 0.5% SDS removed 93.42.6% of DNA material, while 1% SDS removed 96.10.0%. Immunofluorescent staining and colorimetric quantification
indicated no major loss or modification in the localization of ECM proteins. Still, elastin was significantly
decreased (~19%) in the acellular ECM. hSkM were

able to repopulate the acellular scaffold and form

myotubes under the appropriate conditions (Fig. 2).

FIGURE 2
H&E staining (a-c) and immunohistochemistry staining (d-h) of the
scaffolds recellularized with hSkM. The presence desmin (d), Myosin
Heavy Chain (e), Actin (f) MyoD (g), and Pax3 (h) was evaluated.

hSkM deposition was mainly observed in the peripheral areas of the scaffold, due to intrinsic limitations
of this cell type. Fibroblasts and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) were able to penetrate the scaffold to a greater extent (Fig. 3).

FIGURE 3
H&E staining recellularized bioscaffolds using hskMyob (a), BM-MSCs
(b) and L929 fibroblasts (c).

Future studies include the optimization of the recellularization process, using a dynamic perfusion system,
assessing cell adhesion, proliferation and function of
the bioengineered urethral rhabdosphincter.

35

Affinity ligands for phosphoproteomics

ris Luz Batalha
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia,
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
irisbatalha@gmail.com
Background:

Starting year:
Supervisors:

BSc in Applied Chemistry and MSc in Biotechnology, Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia,

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal
2009
Ana Ceclia Roque1; Christopher Robin Lowe2; Olga Iranzo3
1
Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
2
Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge
3
Instituto de Tecnologia Qumica e Biolgica, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Protein phosphorylation has been vastly associated
with highly incident human diseases, such as cancer
and Alzheimer's. However, it is difficult to identify and
quantify phosphorylated proteins and peptides by
Mass Spectrometry (MS) due to their low stoichiometry and abundance in plasma and serum samples.
Current methodologies used to overcome these
issues are either unspecific or costly.
The aim of this project is to develop novel synthetic
affinity ligands using a high-throughput platform,
which are both target-oriented and inexpensive.
WORK PLAN
Three combinatorial libraries of ligands have been
synthesized in 96-well blocks using agarose as
solid support. Amine, carboxylic acid, and aldehyde
components have been selected in order to mimic
key amino acids involved in phosphate recognition,
such as Arg, Lys, Tyr, Ser, His, Gly, and Asn. After
several steps of optimization, two lead ligands were
selected. These ligands were further synthesized
in magnetic nanoparticles, and screened against a
semi-complex mixture of tryptic digested -casein,
-casein and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Samples
were analysed using MALDI-TOF MS.
RESULTS
232 tailor-made synthetic ligands have been synthesized using three different chemistries. Lead ligands

36

FIGURE 1
Schematic representation of the research strategy followed in the
present work.

presented selective binding towards phosphorylated

species at acidic pH, high binding capacities and up
to 70% recovery yields upon elution. Ligands immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles present higher
binding capacities (100x), but at the cost of lower
selectivity. A mixture of trypsin-digested -casein,
-casein, and BSA was efficiently enriched in monoand multi-phosphorylated peptides, comparable to
the results obtained when employing a conventional
protocol with Ti4+-IMAC.

Human hematopoietic stem cells treated with

lysophosphatidic acid have enhanced survival
in ischemic conditions and preserve cardiac
tissue after myocardial infarction
Ivana Kostic1,2,3
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
ivana_k@mit.edu
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:

Supervisors:

MsC in Human and Animal Physiology/University of Belgrade/Serbia

2010
Isabel Carvalho1*; Helena Vazo1,2; Sezin Aday1,2; Tiago Carvalheiro3; Mrio Gros1,2; Antnio Duarte 4; Lino Gonalves 4;
Artur Paiva3; Lino Ferreira1,2
Lino Ferreira2,3, lino@biocant.pt; Jeffrey Karp5, jeffkarp@mit.edu
1
Biocant, Technology Transfer Association, Cantanhede, Portugal
2
CNC-Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
3
Histocompatibility Center
4
Department of Cardiology, University Hospital of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
5
Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA
*Authors contributed equally.

OBJECTIVES
For clinical efficacy, it is imperative that stem cells
survive and engraft into the host tissue. Unfortunately, most of the cells die a few days after delivery,
mainly due to ischemia. Some methodologies have
been proposed to augment cell survival, but they
have shown limited effectiveness.
Work plan: Our approach was to augment cell survival by preconditioning CD34+ cells isolated from
umbilical cord blood(1) with several pharmacological agents(2). Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) treatment under hypoxia and serum-deprived conditions
showed the most promising results.
RESULTS
The pro-survival effect of LPA is concentration
dependent (from 1-100 M), statistically significant
as compared to the control (untreated cells) at 1 M
of LPA. The pro-survival effect of LPA decreases as
a function of hypoxia time. The percentage of viable cells in LPA-treated CD34+ cells decreased from
78% at day 1 to 40% at day 3. To identify the receptor
that is mediating the pro-survival effect of LPA (100
M), we used several antagonists and inhibitors

where PPARg had the highest effect. It decreased

significantly the number of viable cells induced by
LPA from 77% to 53%. To determine whether LPA
can induce the proliferation of CD34+ cells[3], a
suspension of untreated or LPA-treated cells was
exposed to hypoxia for 24 h and then to normoxia for
6 additional days. LPA-treated cells increased their
number approximately 3-fold over the 7 days period
while untreated cells decreased to half their initial
number. After 1 day of hypoxia, both untreated or
LPA-treated CD34+ cells started to differentiate into
mast cells (14-17%) and neutrophils (5-8%). In the
in vivo studies, the median of the differences in the
fractional shortenings was 7.5 and 2.6 in LPA-treated
cells + gel and sham groups, respectively, being the
differences statistically significant. No statistical differences were observed between hearts treated with
CD34+ cells and sham.
References:
1. Haider, H.; Ashraf, M. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2008, 45, (4),
554-66.
2. Pedroso, D.C., et al., PLoS One, 2011. 6(1): p. e16114.
3. van Corven, E.J., et al., Cell, 1989. 59(1): p. 45-54an.

37

Engineering umbilical cord blood-derived

hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells
microenvironment toward efficient
megakaryo/thrombopoiesis
Javad Hatami
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Department of Bioengineering and IBB - Institute for
Biotechnology and Bioengineering Instituto Superior Tcnico (IST), Lisboa, Portugal
Javad.hatami@ist.utl.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc, Biomedical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology -Tehran Polytechnic, Tehran, Iran
2010
Frederico Castelo Ferreira1; Claudia Lobato da Silva1
1
Department of Bioengineering and IBB - Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering Instituto Superior Tcnico ,
Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

OBJECTIVES
To study the ex-vivo expansion and differentiation of
umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem/progenitor
cells (HSC) toward Megacaryocyctic lineage. The
main idea explored herein is to integrate an optimize HSC expansion stage with an efficient Megakaryocyte differentiation stage and then maturation
into blood platelets. I intend to design a system
that allows a certain degree of independent optimal
conditions for each stage, achieving high yields of
megakaryo/thrombopoiesis.
RESULTS
Co-infusion of ex-vivo generated megakaryocytic
progenitors with hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells
(HSC/HPC) may contribute to a faster platelet recovery upon umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation.
A two stage protocol containing cell expansion and
megakaryocyte (Mk) differentiation was established
using human UCB CD34+-enriched cells. The
expansion stage used a pre-established protocol
supported by a human bone marrow mesenchymal
stem cells (MSC) feeder layer and the differentiation
stage used TPO (100 ng/mL) and IL-3 (10 ng/mL).
18% of culture-derived Mks had higher DNA content
(>4N) and were able to produce platelet-like particles. The proliferation extent of CD34+ cells obtained
in the expansion stage (FI-CD34+), rather than
expansion duration, determined as a key parameter for efficient megakaryocytic differentiation. A
maximum efficiency yield (EY) of 487.7 Mks/input

38

CD34+ cells was obtained for a FI-CD34+ of 172.5,

where a higher FI-CD34+ of 4213 resulted in a less
efficient megakaryocytic differentiation (EY of 226.7
and 194.6 %CD41).

FIGURE 1
Effect of UCB CD34+-enriched cells expansion stage, co-cultured with
a feeder layer, on Megakaryocytic differentiation: EY (A) and %CD41
(C) were evaluated with respect to FI-CD34+ (EY and FI-CD34+ were
significantly different among all groups, p<0.05). EY (B) and %CD41 (D)
were evaluated with respect to the expansion duration (no significant
differences between groups, p>0.3). %CD41 was significantly different between G2 and either G1 or G3, p<0.05), n4 for each group.

Heterologous production of curcuminoids

in E. coli through an artificial biosynthetic
pathway
Joana L. Rodrigues
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Department of Biological Engineering,
School of Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
joana.joanalucia@deb.uminho.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Master in Biological Engineering/ University of Minho/ Portugal

2010
Lgia L. Rodrigues1; Kristala L. J. Prather2; Leon Kluskens1
1
Department of Biological Engineering, University of Minho
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

ABSTRACT
Curcuminoids are natural pigments from plants that
have been reported as potential cancer-fighting
drugs. Nevertheless, they have a poor bioavailability. Cellular uptake is low, and they are quickly
metabolized once inside the cell, requiring repetitive oral doses to achieve sufficient concentration
inside the cell for therapeutic activity. The aim of
this work is to engineer an artificial biosynthetic
pathway for the production of curcuminoids by
Escherichia coli. Starting from the substrate tyrosine, the curcumin pathway involves several enzymatic steps: conversion of tyrosine to p-coumaric
acid; conversion of p-coumaric acid to caffeic acid;
production of caffeoyl-CoA from caffeic acid; production of feruloyl-CoA from caffeoyl-CoA; and
finally the production of curcumin from feruloyl-CoA
and possibly other curcuminoids, due to enzyme
promiscuity. The enzymes involved in the two first
enzymatic steps are tyrosine ammonia lyase from
Rhodotorula glutinis, P450 CYP199A2 from Rhodopseudomonas palustris, and the redox partners pdr from Pseudomonas putida and pux from

R. palustris. Coumaric acid and caffeic acid were

successfully produced. A coumaroyl-CoA ligase
from Arabidopsis thaliana is being explored for the
conversion of the different carboxylic acids into
their corresponding CoA esters. Different combinations of this enzyme and caffeoyl-CoA 3-methyl
transferase may lead to the production of different
curcuminoids. For the last step of the pathway two
approaches are being studied: the use of diketide-CoA synthase and curcuminoid synthase from
Curcuma longa, and curcumin synthase from Oryza
sativa that itself catalyzes both steps. Curcumin and
bisdemethoxycurcumin were produced using both
approaches and their production was confirmed by
HPLC analysis, as well as by the yellow color of
the culture supernatant. Successful construction of
the curcuminoids biosynthetic pathway would mark
a significant step forward in the in situ production of
these poorly soluble, anti-carcinogenic compounds.
Acknowledgments: The author thanks the Master student Rafael
Arajo for the support given in the laboratory.

39

hPin1 WW domain - From production to

engineering applications
Margarida Dias
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science
and Technology - Universidade Nova de Lisboa
amd18816@campus.fct.unl.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc in Biotechnology and BSc in Applied Chemistry at FCT-UNL , Portugal

2010
Olga Iranzo1; Ana Ceclia A. Roque2
1
Institut des Sciences Mol.culaires de Marseille, France
2
Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science and Technology - Universidade Nova de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Development of an affinity support for capture phosphorylated peptides and proteins based on Human
Pin1 WW domain [3].
WORK PLAN
In this work was explored the potential application
of a native binding domain to phosphorylated peptides for purification of proteins. We consider a WW
domain - Pin1, which was produced chemically and
purified, it was immobilized in a solid support and the
affinity studies were preformed.
RESULTS
Human Pin1 (hPin1), a mitotic peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) has been identified as a mitosis cell
cycle regulator [1,2,3]. The WW domain region of this
protein specifically recognizes Pro-rich ligands and
phosphorylated in Ser and Thr residues[4].
In this work, the stability of a point mutated version
of hPin1 at the N and C-terminals (hPin1_mutated)
was studies using Molecular Dynamics (MD) studies.
During MD simulations, hPin1_mutated maintains its
characteristic WW folding (hairpin -sheet motif), in

40
FIGURE 1
Best Docking solution between hPin1 and peptide VPRpTPV. In yellow
are represented the residues in the X-P groove.

addition the stability of -sheets increased. Furthermore, automated molecular docking studies were performed to predict the affinity of hPin1_mutated towards
different phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated peptides, including VPR(pT)PV and PPPPYP. The results
demonstrated a higher affinity for phosphorylated
peptides. The Ka determined in silico is comparable to
what is described in the literature for the native ligand
[4]
, and the best conformation is represented in Fig.1 [5-6].
hPin1_mutated was produced by solid-phase peptide
synthesis using an automated microwave synthesizer
and Fmoc-chemistry with incorporation of Pseudoproline dipeptide units to facilitate the synthesis and
hPin1_mutated was obtained with high purity. The peptide was characterized Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS)
and Circular Dichroism (CD). The CD spectra showed
the characteristic signal of a WW domain folding, as
well as the stability expected for this small domain.
hPin1_WWmutated was immobilized successfully in
solid support and affinity studies were conducted with
peptides and model proteins phosphorylated. The
experimental results demonstrated affinity towards the
phosphorylated peptide and less affinity for non-phosphorylated version. Furthermore, it was possible to
capture a model protein phosphorylated in Ser and Tyr,
and the same protein without phosphorylation was not
capture. In addition, the protein elution was also tested
and it was observed protein recovery.
These results indicate that hPin1 WW domain can be
used in biotechnology applications for recognition and
possible purification of phosphorylated peptides and
proteins.
References:
1. Sudol, M. and T. Hunter, . 103,1001-1004,2000.
2. Macias, M.J., et al., Nat. Struct. Biol.,7, 375-379, 2000
3. Lu, P.J., et al., Science, 283, 1325-1328, 1999
4. Verdecia, M.A., et al., Nat Struct Mol Biol, 7,(8), 639-643,
2000
5. Zarrinpar, A. and W.A. Lim, Nat Struct Mol Biol, 7(8),
611-613,2000
6. Zhang, M., et al.,. ACS Chemical Biology, 7 (8), 1462-1470,
2012

Membrane reactors in process

intensification of mannosylerythritol
lipids production from sugars
Marisa Santos
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Department of Bioengineering and Institute for
Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa;
Laboratrio Nacional de Energia e Geologia, I.P., Unidade de Bioenergia
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Integrated Master in Biological Engineering/Universidade do Algarve/ Portugal

2011
Nuno Faria1,2; Csar Fonseca2; Frederico Castelo Ferreira1
Frederico Castelo Ferreira1; Csar Fonseca2
1
Department of Bioengineering and Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico,
Universidade de Lisboa
2
Laboratrio Nacional de Energia e Geologia, I.P., Unidade de Bioenergia

OBJECTIVES
Mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) are glycolipids with
surface active properties produced by Pseudozyma
sp. strains. These biosurfactants are usually produced from vegetable oils. The use of vegetable oils
in industrial processes will hardly be sustainable,
due to competition with food and feed supply chain
and their increasing prices. Moreover, the use of
vegetable oils for MEL production has the additional
disadvantage of difficult downstream separation
of the glycolipid produced from the remaining substrate. The work herein presents the first attempt to
use yeast cell recycling in fed-batch reactors for MEL
production. This process targets the conceptual use
of lignocellulosic wastes.
WORK PLAN
There is a call to obtain sustainable products, nondependent from fossil fuels and not competing with
food supply chain. Therefore, the development of a
sustainable process for MELs production requires
the use of new carbon sources, acquired at low cost.
This work targets the use of fermentation processes
coupled to ultrafiltration membranes for retention of
yeasts and/or polysaccharides.

FIGURE 1
Scheme for a Fed-batch bioreactor with yeast cell recycling through
an ultrafiltration membrane unit.

RESULTS
Using a membrane system, after 10 days of fermentation we were able to attain higher MEL concentration
than we usually achieve after 16 days using a pulse
system. Also, in the continuous feeding process, it
was observed a gradual increase in MEL production
during entire time of culture, contrary to what was
observed in the pulse feeding process, where MEL
concentration remains constant (or fluctuating) during time. Fatty acids (FA) decreased initially to reach
a plateau, presumable a steady state between production fluxes from carbon source consumption and
FA used for MEL production. A fed-batch and continuous reactor coupled to an ultrafiltration membrane
unit has the potential to contribute to improve the
production of MELs using sugar-based substrates,
namely from lignocellulosic wastes, overcoming the
need of using vegetable oils as carbon source.
Acknowledgements: This work was co-funded by Fundao
para a Cincia e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the following initiatives, MIT-Portugal Program - Bioengineering Systems Focus
Area; NTF, PhD grant (SFRH/BD/33724/2009); MS, PhD grant
(SFRH/BD/78420/2011), FCF, Investigador FCT Program
(IF/00442/2012); CF, Cincia 2008 Program. Moreover, this
work was co-funded by the National Exploratory Project TAKEOFF through FEDER Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade - COMPETE (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-041191) and
national (FCT) funding (EXPL/AAG-TEC/0610/2013). The authors
acknowledge the Portuguese Yeast Culture Collection (PYCC),
CREM-FCT/UNL, for providing the yeast strains.

41

Chemical and physical engineering of

MSC microenvironment to tune their
secretory profile
Marta Costa
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering,
Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
marta.costa@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Biochemistry/FCUL/Portugal; Bioengineering and Nanosystems/IST/Portugal

2012
Frederico Ferreira1; Cludia Lobato da Silva1; Todd McDevitt 2
1
Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
2
Stem Cell Engineering Center, Georgia Tech

OBJECTIVES
The beneficial effects of mesenchymal stem cells
(MSC) on regenerative medicine are not only related
to their differentiation capacity but also to the bioactive molecules secreted by these cells. Microenvironmental stimuli can be explored to modulate MSC
secretory profile and increase their survival, namely
through cells encapsulation and delivery of small
molecules and/or growth factors (GF).

FIGURE 1
Encapsulation of hBM MSC in solid (A) and liquid (B) core alginate beads.

WORK PLAN
Chemical and physical engineering of MSC
microenvironment to tune their secretory profile.
Development of an encapsulation system
capable of increasing MSC survival.
Tailor the angiogenic potential of DMOGtreated MSC.

42

RESULTS
Initial attempts to encapsulate hMSC in solid core-alginate beads showed inhibition of cells proliferation
and, overtime, formation of MSC aggregates with
uncontrollable sizes. To better control MSC size and
promote increased nutrient exchange, encapsulation
of hMSC in liquid core-alginate beads can be performed (Figure 1).
Delivery of small molecules (CHIR99021, BIO, p.e.)
and/or GF (FGF2) was addressed to improve the
survival/proliferation rates of hMSC. Additionally, the
use of heparin MPs was explored to more efficiently
deliver FGF2 to MSC. Over 80% of FGF2 adsorbs
electrostatically to heparin MP, highlighting the
potential of this material to gather important GF for
MSC survival.
Regarding small molecules potential effect on MSC
secretory profile, treatment of MSC with DMOG, a
small molecule that can activate the expression of
HIF-1 in cells at normal oxygen tension, was shown
to enhance VEGF secretion. Its angiogenic activity
might have a positive impact on MSC survival once
transplanted into a diseased model.

FIGURE 2
Delivery of FGF2-conjugated heparin MP to monolayer MSC (A). A
higher number of heparin MP seems to hinder MSC proliferation,
potentially due to GF gathering from the microenvironment (B).

FIGURE 3
VEGF secreted by hMSC treated with DMOG (0 and 500 M) in both
serum and serum-free media.

Patients access to breakthrough innovation:

A regulatory/technology perspective
on clinical translation cases of cell therapy
medicinal products
Miguel Amador
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, IN+, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal
miguel.amador@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Msc. in Biomedical Engineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal

2012
Manuel Heitor1; Frederico Ferreira2; Miguel Amaral1; Kenneth Oye3
1
IN+, Instituto Superior Tecnico, University of Lisbon
2
IBB, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon
3
Political Science and Engineering Systems, Massachusets Institute of Technology

OBJECTIVES
Cell Therapy Medicinal Products (CTMP) are an
emerging Regenerative Medicine field technology,
which holds promising new therapies, for areas
where significant clinical need still exist, but are yet
far from their promising impact, with stakeholders
facing challenges with its inherent complex dynamic
therapeutic action. While access to breakthrough
therapies is a matter of public interest, it is the responsibility of stakeholders to guarantee their safety and
efficacy, expressed in their regulatory environment.
Seen as one of the hurdles taking CTMP to a
broader usage poses a challenge of risk governance
and development of public policies. This research
work aims to contribute with evidences to the debate
regarding the urgency to provide adequate early
access to CTMP to patients by: understanding the
suitability of regulatory frameworks for the clinical
translation of CTMP to provide patients access to
therapies, in a timely manner, and in acceptable levels of efficacy and safety; defining CTMP stakeholders (i.e. promoters, regulators, patients) capability to
provide acceptable levels of efficacy and safety in a
sustainable way.

WORK PLAN
To study the challenges on clinical translation of
CTMP, this work is focused on developing case
studies, involving different stakeholders, in order to:
1) Provide evidence of the urgency of patient early
access to breakthrough CTMP; 2) Provide evidences
of the capability to give proper access to CTMP to
patients under current and alternative regulatory
frameworks; 3) Understand how technologies are
enabling new therapies and an adequate regulatory
evaluation.

FIGURE 2
Towards new Regulations: fast-track approval path? It is possible
without compromising safety and efficacy?

FIGURE 1
Manufacturing cell based products: zero risks at high costs. Is it possible to improve?

RESULTS
On this research work, it was elaborated a report,
gathering multiple Portuguese stakeholders, highlighting the complexity of addressing regulatory
issues in health care, which goes beyond the
changes at the regulatory level and the analysis at
a local level.
Case studies of CTMP clinical translation are being
developed in Europe and planned to be extended
during a research period in Boston.

43

Yeast mannosylerythritol lipids from

lignocellulose: A novel strategy for the
production of jet biofuel
Nuno Faria
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Department of Bioengineering, IBB-Institute for
Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
nunosek@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Master degree/ University of Minho/ Portugal

2009
Marisa Santos1; Bruce Tidor2; Csar Fonseca3; Frederico Castelo Ferreira1
Frederico Castelo Ferreira1; Csar Fonseca3; Bruce Tidor2
1
Department of Bioengineering, IBB-Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico,
Universidade de Lisboa
2
Biological Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3
Laboratrio Nacional de Energia e Geologia, I.P., Unidade de Bioenergia

OBJECTIVES
Biofuels and bio-based chemicals have gained
attention as renewable alternatives to liquid transportation fuels and chemicals derived from petroleum. This work aimed to explore the natural ability
of non-conventional yeast, Pseudozyma spp., to
convert lignocellulose sugars into mannosylerythritol
lipids (MEL), towards the sustainable production of a
biosurfactant, at low substrate cost and direct product recovery. Moreover, MEL is explored as a novel
biological precursor for the sustainable production of
jet biofuel, exploiting the characteristic size of their
lipidic chains.
WORK PLAN
To accomplish the goals, the work consisted in exploration of process configurations to produce MEL from
lignocellulose or lignocellulosic derived sugars and/
or co-production of other interesting molecules (e.g.
enzymes), exploration of yeast metabolism and characterization of physical-chemical properties of blends
of conventional fuel and MEL-derived molecules.
RESULTS
The performed work demonstrated the capacity of
Pseudozyma spp. in converting pentoses, D-xylose/D-glucose mixtures, cellulose and xylan into
MEL. While different process configurations were

44

developed for MEL production from cellulosic substrates combining commercial enzyme cocktails and
Pseudozyma spp., the ability to produce own xylanolytic enzymes allowed the direct conversion of xylan
into MEL. Dynamic mathematical models describing
the metabolic pathways for the conversion of lignocellulosic sugars into MEL were developed, as tools
for improving bioprocesses and for future metabolic
engineering and synthetic biology approaches. The
experimental design for 13C-NMR studies was established, allowing the determination of flux distribution
at branch points of metabolism. Finally, the utilization
of MEL as a biofuel precursor was assessed through
the characterization of physicochemical properties of
products obtained from the lipidic chains of lignocellulosic MEL, and in their blend with conventional jet
fuel, against specifications for jet fuels.
Acknowledgements: This work was co-funded by Fundao
para a Cincia e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the following initiatives, MIT-Portugal Program - Bioengineering Systems Focus
Area; NTF, PhD grant (SFRH/BD/33724/2009); MS, PhD grant
(SFRH/BD/78420/2011), FCF, Investigador FCT Program
(IF/00442/2012); CF, Cincia 2008 Program. Moreover, this work
was co-funded by the National Exploratory Project TAKE-OFF
through FEDER Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade - COMPETE (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-041191) and
national (FCT) funding (EXPL/AAG-TEC/0610/2013). The authors
acknowledge the Portuguese Yeast Culture Collection (PYCC),
CREM-FCT/UNL.

Development of hydrogel-based dressings

for skin wound regeneration
Patrcia Morgado
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Departamento de Qumica, REQUIMTE,
Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (FCT-UNL),
Campus de Caparica, Portugal
patriciaicmorgado@gmail.com
Background:

Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc in Biomedical Sciences, Faculdade de Cincias da Sade da Universidade da Beira Interior (FCS-UBI),
Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilh, Portugal.
January 2012
Ana Aguiar-Ricardo1; Ildio J. Correia2
Ana Aguiar-Ricardo1; Ildio J. Correia2
1
Departamento de Qu.mica, REQUIMTE, Faculdade de Ci.ncias e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (FCT-UNL),
Campus de Caparica, Portugal;
2
Centro de Investigao em Cincias da Sade (CICS), Faculdade de Cincias da Sade da Universidade da Beira Interior
(FCS-UBI), Covilh. Portugal.

OBJECTIVES
Among the many diseases that affect the skin, burns
are responsible for thousands of deaths every year
worldwide. To overcome this health problem, this
work plan aims to develop hydrogel-based matrices able to perform a controlled release of biologic
active agents essential for restoring skin barrier and
functions.
WORK PLAN:
1. Development hydrogel-based wound dressings
(WD) loaded with bioactive nano/microcarriers.
2. Characterization of the carriers and WD: morphology; mechanical properties; water uptake
and contact angle analysis; water vapour permeability; in vitro release studies.
3. Evaluation of the suitability of the systems for
the biomedical application proposed, through in
vitro and in vivo studies.

RESULTS
Asymmetric membranes have been reported as
ideal WD for skin regeneration. Thus in this study
supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) phase inversion
technique was applied to prepare poly(vinyl alcohol)/
chitosan (PVA/CS) asymmetric membranes.
The PVA/CS dressings produced are recovered in a
dry state but, due to their high swelling capacity, they
can be used to produce hydrogels able to maintain
the moisturized environment needed for wound healing (WH). The ibuprofen (IBP) loaded membranes
showed a fast release profile, which is a huge drawback for its application in the WH process. An ideal
WD should allow drug delivery over 12h, since the
peak of the inflammatory phase only occurs after this
period.
To overcome this handicap, microcarriers (poly(glyceroldimethacrylate) (PGDMA) and -cyclodextrins (B-CD)) loaded with IBP were introduced into
the matrices. The drug release was extended when
B-CD were added to membranes. Furthermore, the
loading of the carriers did not change membranes
properties, making them suitable to be used as WD
in skin wound regeneration.
Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to financial support
from Fundao para a Cincia e a Tecnologia (FC&T), through the
projects PEst-C/EQB/LA0006/2013, SFRH/BD/80648/2011 and
MIT-Portugal Program Bioengineering.

FIGURE 1
Schematic representation of the two main approaches followed to
prepare the hydrogel-based wound dressings.

45

Vascular cells derived from HutchinsonGilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) inducible

pluripotent stem cells
Patricia R. Pitrez
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Biological Engineering, IBB Institute for Biotechnology
and Bioengineering, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal
pitrezpatricia@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc. in Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Portugal

2010
Helena Vazo1 , Xavier Nissan2
Lino Ferreira1, Isabel Rocha3
1
CNC - Center of Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
2
CECS, I-STEM, AFM, Institute for Stem cell Therapy and Exploration of Monogenic diseases, Evry cedex, France
3
IBB Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

OBJECTIVES
To study the vulnerability of smooth muscle cells
(SMCs) in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome
(HGPS).
WORK PLAN
Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome is a rare,
progressive premature aging disease in children that
leads to vascular SMCs degeneration and premature
atherosclerosis.
Death occurs at a mean age of 13 years, usually
from heart attack or stroke. One of the hallmarks of
the disease is the dramatic loss of vascular SMCs in
large arteries. In consequence, the arteries undergo
vascular remodeling and calcification. So far, it is
unclear the reason underlining the sensitivity of
SMCs in the context of the disease.
To clarify the mechanisms behind SMCs loss, its
important to have human HGPSSMC; however, these
cells are difficult to obtain from Progeria patients.

46

Therefore, we derived HGPS induced pluripotent stem

cells (iPSCs) from skin fibroblasts and then differentiate them into SMCs.
RESULTS
In this work, iPSCs obtained from HGPS fibroblast patients were successfully differentiated
into HGPS-SMCs. These HGPS-SMCs showed
impaired maturation and an upregulation of progeria markers when comparing with SMCs differentiated from healthy iPSCs. HGPS-SMCs shared
similar features observed on progerin-expressing cells such as activation of several effectors
of NOTCH signaling pathway and response to
farnesyltransferase inhibitors. Therefore we have
developed a cell model that is suitable for drug
screening and to study the mechanism of SMC
loss. This finding opens new opportunities for the
treatment of HGPS disease and diseases related
to vascular ageing.

A model-based approach to correct drop

foot using electrical stimulation
P. L. Melo
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, IDMEC, Mechanical Engineering,
Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal, Portugal
paulo.de.melo@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc. in Biomedical Engineering, Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
2008
Miguel Tavares da Silva1; Dava Newman2; Jorge Martins1
Miguel Tavares da Silva1; Dava Newman2; Jorge Martins1
1
Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal
2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

OBJECTIVES
Drop foot patients are among one of the groups that
has largely benefited from FES over the last decades, with several successful generations of the peroneal nerve stimulator currently available (1). These
systems are often based in the use of a sensor, such
as a foot switch or a tilt sensor, which times the swing
phase and delivers a preset stimulation envelope to
the dorsiflexors, enabling toe clearance (2). Within
this scope, a new method to model the dynamics of
the electrically stimulated dorsiflexors is proposed,
to help chart the way towards, even more integrated,
patient-specific model-based approaches to correct
drop foot.
WORK PLAN
A novel model-based approach to correct drop foot
is implemented as a two-stage process: two experimental trials tailored to address specific gait phases
affected by drop foot; and a black-box modeling
procedure, using the trials input-output data sets,
to model the dynamics of the electrically stimulated
muscles. These, easy to implement clinically, mimic
the two phases mostly affected by drop foot, swing
and controlled plantarflexion. Using system identification techniques, linear autoregressive models
(specifically the Output-Error, OE, structure) are
identified for each phase using different types of
excitation inputs.
RESULTS
First evidences showed high prediction rates using
OE linear models, but also that the excitation inputs
of triangular nature have the highest accuracy for
these types of movements and are therefore recommended for the development of patient-specific
modelbased controllers to be used under the clinical

rehabilitation setting, where cycling motions are often

important. On the other hand, pseudo-random multi-level excitation inputs were the most robust across
all conditions, and still maintained a good prediction
performance, making these types of inputs the best
candidates for the development of gait neuroprostheses (see Figure 1).

FIGURE 1
Left upper plot: Identification result using a FRN data set (model
orders: nb= 2, nf = 2, nd = 1). Right upper plot: validation result using
the previous model on another FRN data set. Lower left plot: identification result using a STR data set (model orders: nb = 4, nf = 4, nd =
1). Right lower plot: validation result using the previous model on
another STR data set.

References
1. Peckham, P., Functional electrical stimulation for neuromuscular applications, Vol. 7, Annual Review of Biomedical
Engineering, 2005.
2. Cameron, M., The walkaide R functional electrical stimulation system A novel therapeutic approach for foot drop in
central nervous system disorders, European Neurological
Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2010, pp. 1820.

47

Investigating regulatory T cells by

single cell RNA-sequencing
Ricardo Jdice Miragaia
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Department of Biological Engineering,
University of Minho
miragaia@ebi.ac.uk
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Masters degree in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Portugal
2012
Sarah Teichmann1; Eugnio Ferreira2
1
European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI)/Wellcome Trust Institute, University of Cambridge
2
Department of Biological Engineering, University of Minho)

OBJECTIVES
Single-cell transcriptomics is an emergent and
powerful approach to understand the complexity
inherent in many cell populations. Its relevance has
been growing as increasing evidence supports the
existence of marked heterogeneity within cell populations previously considered as homogeneous. This
is particularly important for many immune cell types,
where single cell RNA-sequencing has the potential
to provide profound new insights into subpopulation
structure.
This project focuses on a particular immune lineage
- Regulatory T (Treg) cells which play a central role
in peripheral tolerance to self- and non-self-antigens.
By single-cell mRNA sequencing of Treg cells, we
intend to address their remarkable gene expression
plasticity, determine Treg identity, define subsets,
and investigate their functions, surface markers and
key features. Results from this work will provide a
more comprehensive overview of how immune
homeostasis is regulated.
WORK PLAN
The initial phase of this project consists of characterizing Treg identity at the single-cell level. As a first
step, we are focusing on Treg isolation protocols from
diverse tissues in collaboration with research groups
with previous expertise on the field. The resulting
single cell suspensions are then run on the C1
microfluidics systems (Fluidigm) for single cell capture, reverse transcription and cDNA amplification.
Next, we barcode and prepare the Illumina libraries
for sequencing. Using this methodology, we plan to
get single-cell transcriptomics data from immunologically relevant tissues. Extensive bioinformatics

48

analysis on these data will provide new insights into

Treg biology.
In a second stage, the most interesting features
of Treg biology will be extracted and prioritised for
further study. A combination of adoptive transfers of
newly discovered Treg subsets and manipulations
targeting newly identified Treg genes will be used as
validation assays.

FIGURE 1
Project Workflow. (A) Regulatory T (Treg) cell suspensions are
obtained from mouse tissues. (B) Single cells are then captured in
separate compartments on C1 chips and lysed. The C1 system is
responsible for the reverse-transcription of the mRNA released from
each cell, as well as the amplification of the resultant cDNA. After
appropriate Library Prep, (C) the cDNA is sequenced on the Illumina
platforms. (D) The single-cell transcriptomics data obtained presents
itself as a brand new open window to Treg biology. After thourough
analysis, interesting findings will be tested in vivo and/or in vitro.

Novel methodology to predict septic shock

outcome using fuzzy modeling
Rben Duarte Pereira
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Institute of Mechanical Engineering,
CIS/IDMEC-LAETA, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
rubens.dmap@gmail.com
Background:

Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc in Biomedical Engineering / Instituto Superior Tcnico and Faculdade de Medicina,

Universidade de Lisboa / Portugal
2009
Joo Miguel da Costa Sousa1; Stan N. Finkelstein2
1
Institute of Mechanical Engineering, CIS/IDMEC-LAETA, Instituto Superior T.cnico, Universidade de Lisboa
2
Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

OBJECTIVES
Severe sepsis and septic shock constitute major
clinical and economic healthcare problems, and
early therapy is suggested to influence outcome of
the patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Though,
medical scores for risk assessment in the ICU are
complex and sparsely calculated.
The aim of this work is to use computer algorithms
that are able to model relations in data to improve the
outcome of septic shock patients in the ICU.
WORK PLAN
A retrospective study using a cohort of adult septic
shock patients from a publicly available database
was performed. Only patients comprising data for a
pre-determined set of physiological variables considered were included. From a total of 583 patients that
underwent septic shock, 117 met inclusion criteria
for this study. Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy modeling was
used to model predictors of septic shock outcome
(deceased or survived).
RESULTS
We developed a classifier for septic shock outcome
based only on 1 hour of measurements of 4 physiological variables (BPpHT set): Arterial blood pressures, blood pH and thrombocytes levels.

The model correlates more than 0.79 (p < 0.05) with

at least one of the medical risk scores studied along
the ICU stay of each patient, see Figures 1 and 2,
and achieves 81% accuracy when compared to
medical decision, see Figure 3.
The model provides accurate hourly risk of death in
septic shock patients and enables highly dynamic
interpretation of the clinical situation.

FIGURE 2
Variation of the medical scores for the patients in Figure 1 during the
ICU stay (the X-axis, time, is common to both graphics).

FIGURE 3
Comparison of the classification of risk between the classifier
developed and the medical decision model. Value 1 means risk of
decease and value 0 means not at risk.

49
FIGURE 1
Variation of the output of the classification model developed, purple,
for one of the patients during the ICU stay (outcome is deceased).
Variations of the physiological variables used are also shown.

Bulk fluorescence long-term monitoring

of serotonergic neuronal activity in
behaving mice
Sara Matias
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme,
Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown
sara.matias@neuro.fchampalimaud.org
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Biomedical Engineering/ Instituto Superior Tcnico/ Portugal

2008
Eran Lottem1; Guillaume P. Dugu2 ; Zachary F. Mainen1
Zachary F. Mainen1; Manuel Nunes da Ponte3
1
Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown
2
CNRS UMR, INSERM, Paris, France
3
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Qumica, Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Serotonin (5-HT) is a neuromodulator involved in a
wide range of brain functions and diseases. We want
to investigate the dynamics of 5-HT neuronal activity
in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) during behavior.
WORK PLAN
We used viral infection of the Cre-dependent genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP6s in specific neurons using cre-expressing mouse lines and
implanted single multimode optical fibers in the targeted areas. Fluorescence emission was collected
using a PMT. We validated the setup using EYFP
expressed in 5-HT neurons. We found that we could
measure protein expression levels over a period of
weeks. Subsequently, we monitored 5-HT activity
in the dorsal raphe nucleus of anesthetized mice in
response to electrical stimulation and found rapid
and reliable calcium transients that scaled in magnitude with the number of stimulation pulses.
RESULTS
In behaving mice, we found robust calcium signals
in the dorsal striatum of D1-cre (n=4) and of D2-Cre
(n=4) mice that corresponded to contraversive turning (D1-Cre: 4% deltaF/F; D2-Cre: 2% deltaF/F) but
not to ispiversive turning, which was not observed
in EYFP controls. To identify the stimuli or events

50
FIGURE 1
Schematics of fiber optic- based setup used for fluorescence measurement of neuronal activity.

that activate 5-HT neurons we designed an olfactory-guided decision-making task in which head-fixed
mice have to discriminate between various odors
in order to decide whether to lick a water spout to
receive reward or not to lick to avoid air-puff punishment. Besides GCaMP6s we are now also expressing tdTomato in 5-HT cells to control for movement
artifacts. Using these two approaches we are studying specifically the function of the serotonergic neurons of the DRN during sensory, motor and reward
events.

FIGURE 2
Both the D1 and the D2 pathways are active during contraversive turning.
a) and c) Representation of the contraversive (green) and ipsiversive
(blue) turns in freely moving mice for the D1 (a) and the D2 (c) pathways. b)
and d) Fluorescence measurement of neuronal activity during the turns
represented in a) and c) respectively; insets: YFP controls.

FIGURE 3
Serotonergic activity during a classical pavlovian task in behaving
mice. Neural activity was measured with the setup shown in figure
1 during a an olfactory-guided decision-making task. Serotonergic
activity during the conditioned stimulus seems to be correlated with
the value of the outcome.

Design of cell-instructive interfaces

resorting to marine-origin resources
and human platelets
Sara M. Oliveira
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, 3Bs Research Group, University of Minho
oliveiramsara@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:

Supervisors:

Biomedical Engineering/University of Minho/Portugal

2010
Sara M. Oliveira1,2,3; Rogrio R. Pirraco2,3; Tiago H. Silva2,3; Vitor E. Santo2,3; Manuela E. Gomes2,3; Alexandra P. Marques 2,3;
Rui L. Reis2,3; Joo F. Mano2,3
Joo F. Mano2; Rui L. Reis2
1
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, 3Bs Research Group, University of Minho
2
3Bs Research Group Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, AvePark, Zona Industrial da Gandra S. Cladio do Barco,
4806-909 Caldas das Taipas, Guimares, Portugal
3
ICVS/3Bs PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimares, Portugal

OBJECTIVES
The main objective was to develop tunable cost-effective cell instructive interfaces resorting to marine
polysaccharides/polyelectrolytes (PEs) and autologous bioactive factors from human platelets lysate
(PL) through layer-by-layer (LbL) assembling, a bottom-up approach for 2D/3D structures modification.
The main objective was to verify whether the PL
could be incorporated in the multilayered structures,
and investigate how to tune the effect of the interface
on several cell phenotypes.
WORK PLAN
Several 2D and 3D multilayered nano/sub-micron
structures containing PL and marine origin PE such:
-, -, -carrageenan (Car), chitosan and alginate,
among other LbL parameters varied, were developed. Coatings were characterized and cell-inductive potential assessed.
RESULTS
Briefly, some of the major achievements are stated
in this section.
Mitogenesis. The nanocoating affected morphology
and increased by 2-fold the proliferation of adipose
derived stem cells (hASCs) Fig.1.

FIGURE 1
hASCs morphology.

Angiogenesis. The nanocoatings could induce

endothelial cells to form tube-like structures mediated

by the interaction of VEGF/FGF cell receptors and

the growth factors incorporated Fig.2.

FIGURE 2
Cell morphology, in presence and absence of VEGF/FGF receptors
inhibitor.

Osteogenesis. In absence of the most common osteogenic inducer (dexamethasone, Dex), the multilayered structures could induce osteogenesis of hASC
which effect varied with the assembling parameters
Fig. 3.

FIGURE 3
Calcium deposited (red) after 32 days.

Overall, results indicate that PL can be incorporated

and the final cell instruction is tunable, which is an
important feature to reduce variability associated
with patient platelets and the own cells regeneration
potential. With this methodology highly bioactive
cell interfaces for several TERM applications can be
developed.
Provisional Patent Request n20141000042365:Layer-by-Layer with Platelets Derivatives and Uses
Thereof
51

A three-dimensional multibody model of

the human ankle-foot complex
Srgio Gonalves
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, IDMEC-IST, Instituto Superior Tcnico,
Universidade de Lisboa
sergio.goncalves@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Biomedical Engineering, IST, Portugal

2011
Tiago Malaquias1
Miguel Tavares da Silva1
1
IDMEC-IST, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
The human movement, in particular the human
gait, has been studied over time to understand the
complex relation between the musculoskeletal and
neurologic systems. Some of the most common
neuromuscular disorders result in variations of the
movement patterns, hindering the performance of
daily tasks, such as walking, climbing stairs, etc.
Multibody based methodologies have been applied
in the study of the kinematics and dynamics of these
patterns, enabling the development of new therapeutic approaches and medical devices optimized for
each subject and each pathology. This way, a proper
ankle-foot complex model is crucial to understand
the interactions between the body and the ground
and their influence in locomotion.
WORK PLAN
In this work, a novel three-dimensional foot-leg model
with thirteen degrees-of-freedom, which includes
four segments (toes, mid-forefoot, rear-foot and leg)
modelled using six rigid bodies and five kinematic
pairs, is proposed (see Fig. 1). A multibody formulation with natural coordinates is applied to describe
the biomechanical system. The required anthropometric parameters were estimated to allow the
anatomic modelling of this complex. The kinematic

description of the ankle considers the inclusion of the

non-intersecting axes of the talocrural and talocalcaneal joints; a massless link formulation is applied
to depict the offset between both joints, avoiding the
modelling of the talus bone.
RESULTS
The reliability of the model was tested by applying it
in the inverse dynamics study of the gait patterns of
a male subject. The kinematic and dynamic outcome
of these simulations are presented in Figs. 2a) and
2b). The obtained results are consistent with the literature, attesting the applicability and reliability of the
model. The introduction of the Midtarsal joint allowed
the analysis of other DOFs, which are usually not
considered in the current models. The obtained patterns for this joint evidenced that the motion at this
level is significant, as well as they enable the study
of the foot spring behavior.[1][3]

FIGURE 2
a) Joint angular displacement (Left); b) Moment of force (Right).

References:

52
FIGURE 1
Schematic representation of the axes of rotation (red) and the DOFs
of the model and the corresponding multibody formulation (blue and
black).

[1] T. M. Malaquias, S. B. Gonalves, and M. T. Silva, A Three-dimensional Multibody Model of the Human Ankle-Foot Complex,
in EUCOMES - 5th European Conference on Mechanism Science, 2014, pp. 18.
[2] T. M. Malaquias, S. B. Gonalves, and M. T. Silva, Development of a Three-dimensional Multibody Model of the Human Leg
and Foot for application in Movement Analysis, in IMSD - 3rd
Joint International Conference on Multibody System Dynamics,
2014, pp. 110.
[3] S. B. Gonalves, T. M. Malaquias, and M. T. Silva, Development of a Three-dimensional Multibody Model of the Human Leg
and Foot for application in Movement Analysis (in preparation),
2014.

Development of 3D in vitro models for

prediction of hepatic metabolism and toxicity
Sofia Rebelo1,2
MIT Portugal Degree Program, Faculdade de Cincias, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
sofiarebelo@itqb.unl.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc/ University of Lisbon/Portugal

2010
Rita Costa1,2; Catarina Brito1,2; Paula Alves1,2
Paula M. Alves1,2; Catarina Brito1,2
1
Instituto de Tecnologia Qumica e Biolgica (ITQB) Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL), Oeiras, Portugal;
2
Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnolgica (IBET), Oeiras, Portugal

OBJECTIVES
In vitro recapitulation of liver function is a valuable
tool for the pharmaceutical industry, for toxicology
testing, drug screening and target validation at early
stages of the drug development. Moreover, humanbased in vitro systems play an important role in the
clinics, for disease modeling and external support in
patients with hepatic failure. The goal of my thesis
was to develop physiologically relevant in vitro models of hepatic function, combining three-dimensional
(3D) configuration with stirred tank bioreactors to
attain a controlled, in-vivo like culture system.

Additionally, isolation of human hepatocytes

obtained from ressected liver tissue of hepatectomized patients was optimized. Freshly isolated HH
were cultured as spheroids in stirred tank bioreactors
under physiological conditions (low oxygen and perfusion operation mode). As spheroids were formed,
human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs) were
inoculated and its effects on hepatocytic function
were assessed (Fig. 2).

WORK PLAN
Two human hepatic models were used: HepaRG, a
hepatoma-derived cell line, and primary cultures of
human hepatocytes (HH). HepaRG is a bipotent line
which differentiation is achieved after DMSO supplementation, despite its inherent effects on modulation
of mechanisms of hepatic function. A DMSO-free
strategy was developed for the differentiation of HepaRG, based on aggregation, alginate microencapsulation and culture in stirred conditions (Fig. 1).

RESULTS
HepaRG microencapsulated spheroids present
polarized hepatocyte-like cells and interconnected
biliary network, while maintaining drug metabolism
activity and biosynthetic functions. HH co-cultures
with hMSC exhibit higher viability and maintenance
of hepatocyte-specific functions. The work herein
developed delivers systems with enhanced/sustained hepatic functions, suitable to predict hepatic
metabolism. These newly developed 3D in vitro
models contribute to the collection of tools available
for preclinical drug development, increasing its efficiency and accelerating drug development pipelines.

FIGURE 1
Schematic representation of the strategy applied to develop a 3D
model of HepaRG cell line.

FIGURE 2
Schematic representation of the strategy for the co-culture 3D model
of human hepatocytes and hMSC.

53

Design of magnetic nanoparticles for

cancer diagnostics and therapy
Susana Palma
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Departamento de Qumica, Faculdade de Cincias e
Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
s.palma@campus.fct.unl.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc. Biomedical Engineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Portugal

2010
A. Ceclia Roque1
1
REQUIMTE, Departamento de Qumica, Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Production and characterization of iron oxide superparamagnetic nanoparticles (MNP) for biomedical
applications such as cell labeling and cancer-theranostics with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
WORK PLAN
Synthesis of MNP by the thermal decomposition
of Fe(acac)3 in organic solvent followed by ligand
exchange reaction to render the MNP hydrophilic;
Functionalization of hydrophilic MNP with biocompatible and bioactive molecules;
Characterization of the physiochemical, magnetic and
relaxometric properties of the developed systems using
transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic
light scattering (DLS), Fourier Transform Infrared
spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermogravimetric Analysis
(TGA), Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM), magnetic relaxometry and MRI phantom images;
In-vitro evaluation of cell-particle interactions using
the MTT assay, Prussian Blue staining, and characterization of the cell-labeling efficiency by Inductively
Coupled Plasma and in-vitro MRI.

54

RESULTS
Two natural hydrophilic polysaccharides were
explored as stabilizing agents for MNP: gum arabic
(GA) and a fucose-rich exopolysaccharide (EPS)
produced by a in-house isolated bacterial strain
(Enterobacter A47 (DSM 23139)). The resulting
nanosystems consist of several 8 nm magnetic cores
entrapped in a network of biopolymer, totalizing a
hydrodynamic diameter of 235 nm for MNP-DMSA-GA and 160 nm for MNP-DMSA-EPS. These
particles are efficient T2 MRI contrast agents (Fig.
1B) and possess a high r2/r1 value (350 for MNP-DMSA-GA and 132 for MNP-DMSA-EPS). In vitro experiments with HCT116 cell line show the effect of the
MNP in cell viability (Fig. 1C) and yielded IC50 values of 110, 60 and 80 g/(Fe)/ml for MNP-DMSA,
MNP-DMSA-GA and MNP-DMSA-EPS, respectively.
MNP-DMSA-GA are the most internalized particles,
inducing a Fe concentration-dependent variation of
contrast in in vitro MRI images.

FIGURE 1
(A) MNP production routes; (B) MRI phantom images of water dispersions of MNP-DMSA-GA (a) and MNP-DMSA-EPS (b) at increasing iron concentrations; (C) Evaluation of MNPs citotoxicity by MTT assay.

Rational design of bacteriophages as

a platform for cancer therapy
Tnia Mendes
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho
taniamendes@ceb.uminho.pt
Background:
MSc in Biological Engineering/ School of Engineering, Department of Biological Engineering,

University of Minho / Portugal
Starting year: 2012
Supervisors:
Lgia Rodrigues1; Leon Kluskens1
1

Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this work is to engineer a bacteriophage-based platform to specifically target, invade
and control cancer.
WORK PLAN
Firstly, a targeted drug-carrying bacteriophage will be
constructed. Genetic manipulation to endow phages
with cancer-specificity-conferring ligands, as well as
chemical conjugation to load the targeted phages
with cytotoxic drugs will be performed. Secondly,
novel ligand peptides will be screened and selected
to inhibit cell proliferation and induce cell death when
coupled with drug-carrying phages. Phage display
and iPhage technology to screen surface- and internalizing-peptide libraries will be applied. Thirdly, a
phage-based gene therapy approach will be developed to regulate cancer proliferation and metastasis.
Specifically, phages will carry zinc finger nucleases
specific for mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)
and ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) pathways. Fourthly,
the effect of temperature will be studied to induce
modifications of portal and protein capsid conformation on phages, triggering nanoparticle disassembly

and cargo delivery. Finally, the mechanisms underlying internalization and trafficking of engineered
phages will be elucidated.
RESULTS
Using molecular biology tools a filamentous phage,
M13KE, was engineered to display a target-specific
(231 peptide) and cell-penetrating peptides (Penetratin and TAT-HIV) in the pIII minor capsid protein
in order to promote specific internalization, thereby
facilitating the direct delivery of the drug. Engineered phages were conjugated with doxorubicin,
an anti-carcinogenic drug, and incubated with breast
cancer (MDA-MB-231) and breast epithelium (MCF10-2A) cell lines to evaluate internalization of phage
particles and cytotoxicity. Up to now, there are good
indicators that drug-carrying phages equipped with
specific peptides for cancer cells can be specifically
internalized promoting cell death.
Acknowledgement: The author acknowledges the LipidNPPhage
project team (PTDC/SAU-BMA/121028/2010) for support given in
the laboratory.

55

Development of a new nanostructured

scaffold for neural stem/progenitor cell
transplantation
Tnia Vieira
MIT Portugal Bioengineering Systems, Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologias (FCT)
Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL)
tssvieira@gmail.com
Background:
MSc. Biomedical Sciences, Universidade da Beira Interior, Portugal
Starting year: 2012/2013
Supervisors:
Clia Henriques1; Joo Paulo Borges1; Ana Sofia Falco2
1

CEFITEC , Faculdade de Cincias e Tecnologias,Universidade Nova de Lisboa
2

iMED, Faculadade de Farmcia Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
The complexity of the CNS and of its response to a
SCI makes recovery of functionalities an unsolved
clinical problem. The present investigation is supported by promising reports regarding the potential
success of neural stem progenitor cells (NSPC)
transplantation assisted by a scaffold. The work will
be focused on the synthesis of new biodegradable
polyurethanes, which will be used as the raw materials for the production of scaffolds through the electrospinning technique. The produced scaffolds will
be evaluated in vitro.
WORK PLAN
The work will be divided into several tasks including
(1) the production and characterization of new polyurethanes extended with natural polymers (chitosan
and gelatin), (2) the fabrication and characterization
of nanofibrous mats with different morphologies (by
electrospinning), and (3) the evaluation of primary
NSPCs adhesion, differentiation and viability on the
produced fibrous mats.
RESULTS
Polyurethane based on chitosan (PU-CS) was successfully produced and characterized through 1H
NMR (Figure 1), demonstrating the involvement of
the CS on the final polyurethane structure.
The synthetized PU-CS was used to produce nanofibers matrices through the electrospinning technique. The solvent system used to produce the
solutions of PU-CS was tetrahidrofuran/dimethylformamide. Several solution concentrations, from 4 to
8%, were tested to verify their effect on the final fiber
morphology (figure 2 A-C). For both concentrations
the fibers possess a regular morphology without
beads defects. The fibers diameter increased with
the increase in solution concentration (figure 2 D).
56

FIGURE 1
1H NMR spectra of the synthetized PU-CS.

FIGURE 2
SEM images of electrospun nanofibrous matrices produced from several solution concentrations: (A) 4 %, (B) 6 % and (C) 8 %. (D) Average
fiber diameter of the produced fibers.

Multidisciplinary optimization
of wind turbine blade
Abdolrasoul Sohouli
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Mechanical Engineering Department
Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon
abdolrasoul.sohouli@ist.utl.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Mechanical Engineering
2012
Afzal Suleman1
1
Mechanical Engineering Department, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon)

OBJECTIVES
This research seeks the development of a multidisciplinary optimization design approach by considering
variable stiffness composite laminates in wind turbine blade.
In this research, the effects of main wind turbine
blades uncertainties and risk will be also studied
to assure the design is less conservative and more
cost-efficient.
WORK PLAN
The project will be divided in four tasks:
Task 1: Development of Multidisciplinary Optimization Design
A methodology and computational environment will
be developed to obtain multidisciplinary optimization
design for wind turbine blade by variable stiffness
composites.
The design drivers will be:
Design for structural performance (tip deflection, fatigue failure, frequency constraints, and
light weight);
Design for manufacturability (Continuity of fiber
path and curvature of paths);
Design for Cost.
The wind turbine blade will be designed in two distinct levels:
Microstructure and macro-structure (constituents, ply, laminate);
Sub-structures (spar cap, skin).

Task 2: Reliability Analysis

A set of ultimate designs from the Pareto frontier will
be selected and then a reliability assessment will be
performed for these designs against different failure
modes. The selected designs should not be in highrisk region.
Task 3: Cost Model
A comprehensive cost model will be developed to
analysis and compare with conventional components for making decision. The cost involves material, manufacturing and operating cost.
Task 4: Decision Tree
A decision tree will be modeled as decision support
tool to review possible scenarios to ease judge for
decision maker.
RESULTS
The outcomes of the work will be:
99 Fiber paths: Continues fiber paths of each components of wind turbine blade will be obtained
as input for fiber placement machine.
99 A reliability assessment: The probability of
failure for the new conceptual design will be
calculated.
99 A cost model analysis.
99 Decision Analysis.

59

Improved methodologies for the design

of extrusion forming tools
Ananth Rajkumar
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Institute for Polymers and
Composites (IPC), University of Minho
rajkananth@gmail.com
Background:


Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

European Masters in Material Science (University of Aveiro , Portugal. Aalburg University,

Denmark. Hamburg University, Germany)
Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering (Kanuya Institute of Technology,TamilNadu, India)
2012
Ananth Rajkumar1; Joo Miguel Nbrega1; Olga Sousa Carneiro2
Joo Miguel Nbrega1; Olga Sousa Carneiro1
1
Institute for Polymers and Composites, University of Minho
2
Soprefa, Componentes Industriais SA, Portugal

OBJECTIVES
The main objective of this work is the establishment
of new design procedures for the forming tools
employed in the extrusion of thermoplastic profiles,
namely the extrusion die and the calibration/cooling
system. The usual experimental-based trial-and-error design approach will be improved through the
employment of numerical modeling tools in combination with automatic design procedures. These aims
require the development of adequate numerical tools
to model the processes involved, and will be done
in the framework of the open source computational
library OpenFOAM. The work will be undertaken
in close cooperation with Soprefa, Componentes
Industriais SA, a Portuguese company that has been
designing and producing thermoplastic profiles for
more than two decades.
WORK PLAN
The plan is to develop numerical routines based on
the Finite Volume Method, to perform multi domain
simulations for modelling the flow in the extrusion die
and the cooling process in the calibrator. This methodology should handle complex geometries and also
to take into account the shape changes occurring

in the extrudate between the extrusion die and the

calibrator. This requires the implementation of proper
free surface (interface tracking) boundary conditions,
which will be done in the OpenFOAM framework,
taking advantage of the built in parallelized computations, and will be then associated with optimization
procedures. The developed numerical routines will
be assessed by experienced designers from Soprefa,
using industrial case studies, in order to validate /
improve the developed codes. The whole system
will be then tested by less experienced designers,
to assess its potential to minimize the resources and
time spent on the design process, and to guarantee
a better performance for the extruded profile.
RESULTS
The main zones and the parallel zone cross section
of an extrusion die designed to produce T-shaped
profile are shown in (Fig 1). The cross section of
the profile comprises two areas (Elemental Sections ES) with different thicknesses. Due to the
differential flow restriction inherent to each ES it is
difficult to achieve an even flow distribution, which
will depend on the flow channel geometry (FCG).
In order to facilitate the search of a FCG that promotes

60
FIGURE 1
(a) Lateral view of the flow channel of the profile extrusion die (indication of the main zones), (b) Cross section of the parallel zone of the extrusion
die flow channel.

a balanced flow, the geometry was parameterized,

and adequate geometry and mesh generators were
developed. Having in mind the future implementation of automatic optimization approaches, an objective function (Fobj) is considered. This Fobj has a

minimum value of zero and its value decreases

with the increase of the FCG performance. These
effects were exemplified in a case study were the
effect of the geometrical parameter L1 (shown in Fig
1.a) was illustrated. As shown in Fig. 2 and 3, both
the Fobj and the velocity distribution are significantly
affected by the value of L1, being the most balanced
flow distributions associated with the lowest values
of the Fobj.

FIGURE 2
Magnitude of the Fobj for different values of the geometry parameter
L1.

FIGURE 3
Velocity contours at the flow channel outlet for different values of the
geometry parameter L1.

61

Development of lightweight and

cost-efficient exterior automotive
body panels for electric vehicles
Andr Camboa
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
andrecamboa@outlook.com
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

M.Sc. Industrial Design and Technology/ University of Beira Interior/ Covilh

2010
Joo Nunes1; Fernando Alves2
1
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries
2
INEGI, Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto

OBJECTIVES
Current electric vehicles still present a considerable
low autonomy range as major disadvantage, which
with higher car price leads to a low public demand
and, consequently, to very small production volumes. A problem that might be solved through several improvements, among them, the reduction of
vehicles weight by recurring to low density materials and cost-efficient manufacturing processes.
Relatively to the automotive exterior body panels,
such problem narrows the available materials and
manufacturing technologies, once those conventional are associated to higher tooling and manufacturing costs. Thus, polymer-metal hybrid (PMH)
configurations based on polydicyclopentadiene

(PDCPD) arises as a relevant solution for both

weight and cost reduction.
WORK PLAN
The development of PDCPD based PMH exterior
body panels are followed by the early stages of
design till their manufacturing. Several designs,
mechanical simulations, mechanical tests, manufacturing tests and cost analysis were performed.
RESULTS
The preliminary cost results shows, for instance, that
adhesive bonding is a promising assembly process
beyond 5000 till a 35000 units, considering the component geometry analyzed in this research work.

FIGURE 1
Process-based cost model diagram.

62
FIGURE 2
Cost comparison by assembly type (Left); Maximum acceptable production volume by gluing.

Decision tool for sustainable

supply chain design and planning
Bruna Mota
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Department of Management
and Engineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon
bruna.mota@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Master of Biomedical Engineering from Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal
2012
Ana Paula Barbosa-Pvoa1; Maria Isabel Gomes2
1
Department of Management and Engineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon
2
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Nova University of Lisbon

OBJECTIVES
The growing awareness of the limited availability
of resources and the continued population growth
are pressing governments and companies to work
towards sustainable development. Due to the complexity of such problem very little research has been
done on both the environmental and social components of sustainability within supply chain design
context. This research aims to contribute to filling this
gap through the development of a decision tool for
the design and planning of supply chains that integrates the three pillars of sustainability: economic,
environmental and social.
WORK PLAN
In a first phase of this research the development of a
mathematical optimization model is expected. Due
to the socio-economic complexity of the problem,
as well as to the number of stakeholders involved,
the mathematical optimization model is expected
to be complemented with a multicriteria decision
analysis.
The main phases of this research are:
1. Literature review and preliminary research;
2. Supply chain modeling;
3. Development and integration of sustainability
indicators;
4. Model validation through case-studies;
5. Multicriteria decision analysis.

RESULTS
Literature review has shown that social indicators,
which can be integrated in the mathematical optimization model, are nonexistent.
In a preliminary research case study, a Social Benefit
indicator which prefers the location of the network
facilities in less developed regions was developed
and introduced in a supply chain design and planning model as an objective function. A Pareto efficient frontier was established between the social and
economic objectives, as shown in Figure 1.

FIGURE 1
Multi-objective approach for the maximization of Social Benefit with
Cost limitation.

The results show how much an improvement in the

social objective would cost to implement. This type
of results is expected to provide important insights to
both governments and companies in how to evaluate
economic incentives for facility location.

63

The use of advanced technologies on

lifecycle assessment of infrastructures
Bruno Gonalves
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries School of Engineering, University of Minho
brunosfg@gmail.com
Background:

Starting year:
Supervisors:

64

Masters in Industrial and Management Engineering, Production and Systems Department,

University of Minho, Portugal)
2010
Paulo Loureno1; Jos Matos1
1
ISISE Civil Engineering Department, University of Minho

OBJECTIVES
This PhD has 3 main phases/objectives: development of a mobile platform to streamline field inspections and infrastructures assessment; development
of a probabilistic condition state index prediction
model based on Markovian processes; integrate
previous objectives and apply optimization tools for
generation of scenarios and decision-making.

inspections classification. The inspection results

will be converted into normalized indexes to be
used in optimization models (considering the infrastructures performance and constraints) to trace the
best scenarios for maintenance/intervention. These
scenarios will help managers in the decision-making process, but the final decision will be always
responsibility of the managers.

WORK PLAN
Infrastructure management must be based in a
whole-life costing model, which consists in determining the total cost of any infrastructure from its initial
conception to the end of its service life. Whole-life
costing models rely on the treatment of infrastructures data by application of several methods, analyses and tools. The quality of a WLC model will
heavily depend on the quality of available data. Thus
the quality of data gathered in field inspections is a
key element of WLC models. Although great developments were made by scientific community to provide
tools for data gathering, there are still problems with
data quality due to subjectivity on field inspections,
as it depends from who realizes it. Proper inspections may lead to lower costs in maintenance, repair
and rehabilitation during the lifecycle of an infrastructure. In conditions of limited budget a good schedule
of high quality inspections is required. An effective
inspection system must be able to be operated by
different type of users.
A platform, for a tablet pc, was developed for
inspection tasks in order to expedite the processes
of storing and using information. The platform is
remotely connected to the main database and
presents standard inspection files, combined with
the possibility of obtaining technical information
of the element being inspected (such as historical
data, previous inspections data, theoretical-technical information, etc.) in order to increase the
inspections objectivity. This platform aims to make
information available in real-time and aims to be
a step forward to standardize and automatize the

RESULTS
The objective of developing a mobile device application to standardize and streamline field inspections
was successfully accomplished. The MIP although
being a technical tool has a user-friendly interface
design. It combines a very clean, simple and easyto-use interface design with technical information
gathering and management.
The Mobile Inspection Platform (MIP) (Figure 1
and Figure 2) implements a relational information
scheme that correlates all the information gathered
in field inspections allowing for detailed traceability.
It also enables the desired one-step data handling
being the collected data automatically stored. The
MIP provides technical information to inspectors
so that they can better assess the infrastructures.
It also provides normalized inspection forms that
lead to the same inspections type of outputs. The
MIP enables inspectors to gather geo-referenced
multimedia information (images and videos with
GPS information) . The MIP introduces the 5-step
process to detailed assess the condition state index
for bridges that significantly reduces the degree of
objectivity. In fact, all the implementations in the
MIP lead to better inspections reducing the degree
of objectivity, enabling inspections direct comparison through CS indexes, streamlining the flow of
information with a clean, easy-to-use and effective
user interface design.
A mobile platform has always room for further developments triggered by scientific knowledge advancement and technical equipment advancements. So is
the MIP.

FIGURE 1
MIP General Description screen and Components Selection screen.

FIGURE 2
MIP Condition State Inspection screen and Standard Damages Identification screen.

65

Integration of engineering, manufacturing

and economic issues in design against impact
of polymer automotive components
Carlos Nuno Veiga Barbosa
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Institute for Polymers and Composite,
School of Engineering, University of Minho
cbnuno@dep.uminho.pt | nnunext@hotmial.com
Background:
Master in Polymer Engineering/School of Engineering/University of Minho, Portugal
Starting year:
2011/2012
Scientific supervisors: Ricardo Simes1; Julio Viana2
Technical supervisors: Markus Franzen3; Thomas Baranowski3
1

Polytechnic Institute of Cavado and Ave
2

Institute for Polymers and Composites, University of Minho
3

Ford Research & Advanced Engineering Europe

OBJECTIVES
It is well established that the thermomechanical
conditions imposed during injection molding (IM)
process affect the morphological development of
a plastic part, thus determining its final mechanical
properties. Also, the cost of the final part is a function
of the processing conditions, geometry and material
of the part and tooling. Along these lines, this work
aims at developing an integrative methodology to
establish relatively faster and accurately the most
reliable and cost-effective design alternatives based
on functional performance and manufacturing costs
of IM plastic components.
WORK PLAN
The work plan with a timeline and milestones is
shown in Figure 1.

FIGURE 1
Project schedule.

66

RESULTS
The IM of the tensile-impact test specimens of two
different polypropylene automotive grade materials was completed following a predefined design
of experiment (DOE) plan. The mechanical characterization was carried out using state of the art
equipment for static and dynamic (high-speed) tensile testing. Regarding the morphological characterization of the moldings, several techniques were
applied to assess the main microstructural features:
differential scanning calorimetry; polarized light
microscopy; x-ray diffraction technique; and Raman
spectroscopy. Flow simulations of the tensile-impact
test specimens were replicated with the software
Autodesk Moldflow Insight (AMI) 2012, according to
the predefined DOE. The outputs of those simulations were used to calculate the thermomechanical
indices through a dedicated computer application.
This developed software offers a predictive capacity
in terms of local mechanical properties.
Further work encompasses the buildup of a cost
model to predict manufacturing costs as well as a
decision making approach at part level design. The
integration of the flow simulation results with the
structural analysis software packages (e.g. Radioss) and the respective experimental validation of
the integrative methodology represent the final challenge of this work.

Selection of composite materials considering

cost and environmental factors in the early
phases of the design process
Elin Calado
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Mechanical Engineering Department, IST,
University of Lisbon
elcin.calado@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Industrial Engineer/ Istanbul Technical University/ Turkey

2012
Arlindo Silva1; Marco Leite1; Tnia Estvo2; Filipe Maia3; Marta Henriques3; Sara Perez Lopez3; Cristiana Perreira3
Arlindo Silva1; Marco Leite1
1
Mechanical Engineering Department, IST, University of Lisbon
2
CEIIA Prototype & Tests Unit
3
CEIIA Aeronautical Platform

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study is to create a material selection framework that will lead the designer to select the
most suitable composite material for the aerospace
applications based on the targets related to product
performance, economic achievements and environmental impacts over a products life-cycle in a multi-disciplinary and multi-objective optimization scenario.
WORK PLAN
The material selection framework (Figure 1) requires
three main tasks to be achieved.

orientation) that are non-dominated with the Pareto

front concept. For that, the Direct Multi Search (DMS)
[1] optimization is chosen as the solver.
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
This research study is performed with collaboration
between CEIIA and Instituto Superior Tcnico.
The first and second tasks were done in a preliminary way with simplified methods. The study will continue with real case scenarios from CEIIAs ongoing
projects. A process based cost model(PBCM)[2] was
developed specifically for the pre-impregnated composite fibers. After validating the link between FEM
and DMS, the process based cost model of composite prototyping will be integrated to the material
selection interface. In this way, second task will also
be accomplished. The final algorithm of the material
selection interface will be as shown below (Figure 2).

FIGURE 1
Material Selection Framework.

The first and second tasks, linking technical performance and economic performance to the material
selection interface, have been completed.
The third task is to calculate the environmental performance of the design such as EI99, total energy
consumption, recyclability during the products life
cycle. The calculations performed by Eco Audit
(TBD) module will be integrated with the material
selection interface as well.
The framework will therefore analyze, from a database of materials and processes, what are the
solutions (material, process, ply thickness and ply

FIGURE 2
Material Selection Interface Algorithm.
Bibliography
1. A. Custdio, J. Madeira, A. Vaz, and L. Vicente, Direct multisearch for multiobjective optimization, SIAM J. Optim.,
vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 11091140, 2011.
2. M. Johnson and R. Kirchain, Quantifying the effects of
parts consolidation and development costs on material
selection decisions: A process-based costing approach,
Int. J. Prod. Econ., vol. 119, no. 1, pp. 174186, May 2009.

67

Integrating comfort in air-vents design

Ins Costa
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Instituto Superior Tcnico,
Universidade de Lisboa
ines.b.f.costa@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
MSc in Biological Engineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa,
Portugal
Starting year: 2011
Supervisors:
Antnio Ribeiro1; Mihail Fontil2
1

Mechanical Engineering Department, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
2

Iber-Oleff, Portugal

OBJECTIVES
Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) are
becoming more interested in the sense of brand
and comfort perception of clients, as differentiation
strategy. However, these issues are highly subjective
and difficult to define, thus the comfort requirements
provided to suppliers are generally ill-defined. OEM
suppliers usually perform several iterations in a trial
and error base, before the approval of the final prototype. The current product development methods
are not very systematic, require a lot of resources
and do not assure a successful outcome. The main
objective of this project is to develop a methodology
to assist OEM suppliers in product development projects, leading to a higher rate of design project success and less iterations.

68

performance parameters. The results are schematically represented in Figure 2. In a second stage, we
interviewed a panel of experts (open interview), in
order to identify the percepts associated to the actuation feature.
(More detailed results are under non-disclosure
agreement)

WORK PLAN
To achieve the proposed objective, we will create a
model of comfort, which will correlate the physical
performance of the product under development with
the perception of the user. Therefore, the first phase
of the work comprised: the identification and measurement of the performance parameters, through
physical methods; and the identification and measurement of the percept, through survey methods. We
will then use the identified parameters to model the
user comfort perception.

FIGURE 1
Actuation feature of the air-vent.

RESULTS
In this project, we are following the development of a
new air-vent. Air-vent comfort can be divided in airflow (e.g. air dispersion) and actuation features (e.g.
haptic feedback).
We present here the results of the analysis of an
actuation feature (Figure 1). This feature can be
rotated and haptic and acoustic feedbacks indicate
a specific position. We measured the performance of
this actuation feature and we selected the important

FIGURE 2
Performance measurement and parameters identification.

New opportunities in vehicles design

and development to improve efficient
energy use An engineering systems
approach to improve vehicles eco-efficacy
Irene Carvalho
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Mechanical Engineering,
Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
irene.carvalho@ist.utl.pt
Background:
Materials Engineering/ Instituto Superior Tcnico/ Portugal
Starting year: 2009
Research Team: Arlindo Silva1; Ricardo Simes2,3
Supervisors:
Arlindo Silva1; Ricardo Simes2,3
1

EDAM, Instituto de Cincia e Engenharia de Materiais e Superfcies, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa,

Avenida Rovisco Pais, 1 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal, arlindo.silva@ist.utl.pt
2

Escola Superior de Tecnologia, Instituto Politcnico do Cvado e do Ave, Campus do IPCA, 4750-810 Barcelos, Portugal,
rsimoes@ipca.pt
3
EDAM, Institute for Polymers and Composites IPC/I3N, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimares, Portugal,

rsimoes@dep.uminho.pt

OBJECTIVES
i. Understand in which extend a modular design
of a passenger car plays a role in avoiding fuel
consumption. The modular design of a vehicle
is defined as a passenger car allowing a flexible removal/inclusion of rear parts of a vehicle,
allowing minimum structural mass being used
for passengers mobility, according to the load
factor needs, per trip and during the useful life
of the vehicle.
ii. Bring new insights to the field of automotive
innovation and European legislation aiming
at reducing fuel consumption, and CO2 emissions, of passenger cars.
iii. Conceive a modular vehicle design for personal
mobility for validation.
WORK PLAN
i.
Mathematical modeling: an analytical model
has been developed to compute the potential
effects in fuel consumption through a modular
concept of a vehicle, quantifying their dependence on vehicle design parameters (the vehicle
mass), and user behavior parameters (driving
patterns of car use and driving cycles);
ii. Car use and type choice behaviors: in order
to understand if modular designs of a vehicle
would be a market need (and type of need) and
a want, four focus groups were conducted; a
questionnaire is about to be launched;
iii.
Front-end design of a modular concept of a
vehicle, for validation.

RESULTS

FIGURE 1
Variation of fuel consumption as function of use and design dependent parameters, for the use case of high use of the modular car in the
lightest mode in urban cycle.

FIGURE 2
Relative values of m+ and m-, in kg, obtained for particular vehicle and
user behavior.

Other results may be found in:

1. Carvalho, I., Baier, T., Simoes, R., & Silva, A.
(2012). Reducing fuel consumption through modular vehicle architectures. Applied Energy, 93,
556563. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.12.004.
2. Carvalho, I., Baier, T., Arajo, A., Kirchain, R.,
Simoes, R., & Silva, A. (2012). Reengineering the concept of urban cars: A case study. In
15th International Conference on Experimental
Mechanics (Vol. 1, pp. 683684). Porto, Portugal.

69

New roles for engineering and industrial

design in the multidisciplinary development
of highly complex products
Joo Filipe Figueiredo
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
figueiredo.joao@fe.up.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Industrial Design & Technology, University of Beira Interior

2011
Nuno Correia1; Ins Secca Ruivo2
1
INEGI, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
2
Visual Arts Department, University of vora

ABSTRACT
The interdisciplinary relationship between industrial
design and mechanical engineering has always been
sensitive. The present research aims to develop a
multidisciplinary methodological understanding of this
relationship, taking into account a historical retrospective of engineering, industrial design and technology,
in order to build a framework in tight accordance with
current technological trends and social paradigms.
Several relevant design processes are under
detailed study and analysis, as their discussion

70

and comparison form the basis for the framework.

Once this is completed, the work in association with
research partners, concerning the ongoing methodologys application, will begin, within a product development environment.
Within this research, technology is proposed as the
mediator between engineering and industrial design,
in processes that have led to innovation. Moreover,
in the conflict between technology and society lied
the reform and regulation for design practice, in its
broadest sense.

Hybrid CFRP/Steel composite bolted joints

Joo Ribeiro Lopes
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Instituto Superior Tcnico,
Universidade de Lisboa
joao.ribeiro.lopes@ist.utl.pt
Background:


Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc in Mechanical Engineering - Instituto Superior Tcnico Universidade de Lisboa - Portugal

BSc in Mechanical Engineering - Instituto Superior Tcnico Universidade de Lisboa Portugal
Ten years professional experience in aeronautic industry.
2011
Manuel de Freitas1; Pedro Ponces Camanho2
1
Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
2
Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

OBJECTIVES
Recent research in the space industry has shown a
significant increase in bearing strength of composite
bolted joints can be achieved by a lay-up of metallic
plies and composite plies in bolted areas, or a hybrid
CFRP/Steel laminate. The objective of this research
is to develop this technology to an aeronautical application where it will have to cope with new problems
like fatigue, reparability, inspectability and cost-effective design.
WORK PLAN
The first part of the research deals with the mechanical adhesion between CFRP and austenitic steel. Two
test programs were performed: Inter-Laminar Shear
Stress and Single Lap Shear Stress. In both cases
numerical models using the Finite Element Method
(FEM) were built where the numerical results were
compared with the experimental data. The available
results show that the shear strength of the CFRP/
Steel interface is very close to the shear strength of
the conventional CFRP/CFRP interface.
The second part of the research deals with fatigue

tests of hybrid bolted joints. The objective is to compare the fatigue behavior of the hybrid CFRP/Steel with
the conventional CFRP specimens. A FEM numerical
model will be built and the experimental results will be
compared with the numerical simulations.
The third part of the research deals with cost.
The objective is to measure the impact that this new
technology has on manufacturing cost. The Process
Based Cost Model (PCBM) will be applied in an aeronautical component in an industrial context. Two cost
models will be built: A cost-model with the new hybrid
CFRP/Steel joint and a similar cost-model with the
conventional technology.
RESULTS
The overall result is to increase the Technology
Readiness Level of this technology by assessing:
The mechanical performance of the hybrid
joints, namely the static and fatigue strength
when compared with conventional solutions.
The impact on cost of this technology;
Operational issues like inspectability and
reparability.

71

Automatic detection of drusen associated

with age-related macular degeneration
in optical coherence tomography:
A graph-based approach
Jorge Miguel Gomes de Oliveira
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, School of Engineering - Industrial Electronics
Department, University of Minho, Portugal
id4327@alunos.uminho.pt
Background:

Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc in Biomedical Engineering - Medical Electronics , University of Minho - School of Engineering - Industrial Electronics
Department, Portugal
2012
Carlos Silva1, Manuel Ferreira2
1
Centro Algoritmi, University of Minho; 2Enermeter - Sistemas de Medicao, Lda / Centro Algoritmi - Universidade do Minho

OBJECTIVES
The main objective of this work is the development
of an automatic algorithm for drusen segmentation
in Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) volumes.
Drusen are accumulations of materials at the bottom
of the retina. Drusens volume can give valuable
information to the physicians about the progress of
the age-related macular degeneration, a hazardous
and widespread disease.
WORK PLAN
This work is divided into four main tasks: literature
review; implementation of a denoising method;
development of a segmentation algorithm; building
of a database.
The main objective of the thesis is to develop a segmentation technique, implying that the implementation of the denoising method needs to be swift. Thus,
some previous work, present in the literature, will be
adapted for this problem. In this work, a graph-based
technique will be developed. This technique will be
based on graph cuts. The main reasons are: flexibility
of the framework (can incorporate soft and hard constraints), immunity to local minima, trivial incorporation
of 3D information and provable good results for similar
problems. The previous works on graph cuts are not

specifically meant for handling drusen and that will

be of one the contributions that this work will aim at.
Another contribution is the utilization of new kinds of
energy functions that can better model the problem
(e.g. non-submodular functions). Additionally, new features might be integrated in the energy function (e.g.
shape priors), always with the goal of improving the
segmentation. To test the algorithm it will be necessary
to construct a database that contains OCT volumes
and respective manual segmentations by an expert.
The database will be used to test the performance of
the algorithm in conditions similar to clinical practice.
RESULTS
Quite a significant literature review has been performed and some denoising methods have been
adapted to this problem (Figure 1). At the moment,
options for the segmentation algorithm are being
studied, implying that no segmentation results are
available.
An example of the results of a drusen segmentation
algorithm is presented in Figure 2 to provide some
insight of the objective of this work.

72
FIGURE 1
OCT image (a) and respective denoised version (b).

FIGURE 2
OCT image with large drusen (a) and the respective automatic segmentation result (b).

Development of 3D chitosan pieces

for medical applications
Lgia Figueiredo
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Instituto Superior Tcnico
lmjfigueiredo@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Master in Biomedical Engineering/Instituto Superior Tcnico, Portugal

2012
Alexandra Rodrigues1; Frederico Ferreira2; Lus Pinto3
1
Institute of Materials and Surfaces Science and Engineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico
2
Department of Bioengineering and IBB, Instituto Superior Tcnico
3
Altakitin, S.A.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this research is to produce chitosan-based
products to be used as (internal) bioasborbable fixation devices for orthopedic applications. To do so,
it is necessary to find out relevant processing methodologies to produce chitosan-based products with
predictable mechanical properties, while keeping the
chemical functionalities intact. Those devices need
to have the right strength, stiffness and hardness,
which are necessary to allow the correct implant
positioning, the movement and comfort of the patient
until the biological tissue is reconstructed. Additionally, the constructed devices must be biocompatible,
induce the bone formation and degrade over time
while maintaining suitable properties profile.

be their mechanical strength, degradation profile and

biocompatibility.
Phase 2:
To produce bioabsorbable implants based on chitosan,
a production process was previously developed. However, it still needs improvements in order to be stable
and produce implants with predictable properties.
Therefore, methods to reduce the amount of bubbles
generated during the dissolution were studied, which
included the reduction of viscosity using temperature. Furthermore, the molds were optimized, which
involved the usage of cellulose dialysis membranes
(Figure 1 to Figure 2). The produced specimens will
now start to be tested mechanically and analyzed by
SEM to compare with the previous produced.

WORK PLAN
This PhD work is divided in four main phases, which
are complementary to each other. The Phase 1
consists in the market analysis; Phase 2 consists in
the improvement of the current production process;
Phase 3 will involve the addition of other materials
(blends) to the chitosan; Phase 4 will correspond to
the CE approval and Cost-effectiveness analysis of
the implant.
RESULTS
Phase 1:
Analyzing the global market of orthopedic implants, it
was concluded that it is projected to reach US$ 46.5
billion by 2017 from an estimated US$ 21.1 billion in
2007. The largest segment of the orthopedic implant
market is the reconstructive joint segment, where the
knee reconstruction is the largest segment.
An intensive literature review was made in order
to analyze the mechanical and biologic properties of the materials that compose the current bioasbsorbable implants as well as to understand the
advantages and limitations of such implants. The
information gathered allowed to conclude that there
are problems with the performance of the current
implants and the main points of improvement should

FIGURE 1
Precipitation of the chitosan solution under an alkaline environment
(NaOH).

73
FIGURE 2
Dense chitosan pieces obtained after the precipitation phase.

Reconfiguring facilities and logistics in

dynamic supply networks of SMEs
Maria Manuela Azevedo
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Faculdade de Engenharia da
Universidade do Porto
mmanuazevedo@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Production Engineer / University of Minho / Portugal

2009
Jorge Pinho de Sousa1; Jos Crispim2; Stanley Gershwin3; Jaime S4; Paulo Oliveira5
Jorge Pinho de Sousa1; Jos Crispim2; Stanley Gershwin6
1
EDAM / Transportation System, FEUP
2
School of Economics and Management, University of Minho
3
EDAM/Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
4
General Management, Simoldes Plsticos
5
Logistic Management, Simoldes Plsticos
6
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

ABSTRACT
In a world with increasing uncertainty and with accelerated changes, companies need advanced and
innovative tools to deal with these situations and
to respond quickly and efficiently. This is particular
critical with SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises)
as they are very vulnerable to changes in normal
business environments. Given the high variety of
products manufactured simultaneously and the ever
decreasing lifetime of these products, the need for
adjustments in the layout of the companies also
grows proportionally. Quite often machines are big
and difficult to move, most of the time these changes
do not happen or are continually being postponed.
New machines are often located in sites creating
difficult material flows, and thus decreasing their efficiency. At the same time it is important to look at the
whole supply network, and not only at the company
itself, as a way to understand how similar equipments are or can be used by others, or how they can
be shared, to be used in an efficient way.

74

This project aims to develop a methodology or a set

of tools to facilitate collaboration and information
sharing between different entities (SME), to support
the reconfiguration of facilities and logistic systems.
This tools will guarantee higher levels of efficiency,
flexibility and control of supply networks of SMEs,
operating with complex, large added value products,
characterized by low volume, large variety and customer centered production.
With this project we expect to create a decision support framework capable of analyzing and assessing
different policies and solutions in what concerns the
reconfiguration of facilities, in particular by the redesigning currently layouts, and logistic systems, taking into account multiple criteria and perspectives.
Such framework will help SMEs in the formation and
operation of dynamic networks, able to quickly and
efficiently respond to emerging market opportunities.
Research results will be fully assessed and validated
at Simoldes Plsticos Group.

Use of HP-RTM as a new possible

manufacturing process for production of
continues carbon fibre reinforced polymer
Masoud Bodaghi
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Porto
Masoud.bodaghi@fe.up.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Master of Material science - school of materials science and engineering / Iran

2011
Nuno Correia1
1
INEGI, University of Porto

OBJECTIVES
Use of HP-RTM as a new possible manufacturing
process for production of Continues Carbon Fibre
Reinforced Polymer: (1)Determine effect of process
parameters, such as resin velocity, viscosity, and
location of gates and vents on mechanical performance of HP-RTM composite parts, (2) The compaction response of fibrous preforms subjected to
the high pressure is of importance to understand
this technique. Among other things, the compaction
behaviour of reinforcement specifies thickness variation of the composite part, mould deflection and
fibre volume fraction as well as the permeability.
However, no analytical model of the compacted
reinforcement under the high pressure has been
published to date. It is expected that having an
understanding of compaction behaviour will provide
increased awareness of the process definition in
order to simplify mould tool design. Furthermore,
enhanced finished product quality will be plausible
as a result of greater knowledge of micromechanical response of the reinforcement. (3) Among the
parameters that influence resin flow, permeability of
fibrous preform has a key role due to its importance
for optimization of molding and infusion process: A
quantitative evaluation of the uncertainty of permeability measurments in varaible thickness fibre reinforcements. (4) HP-RTM is a process that works
under high flow rate and low viscosity. Because this
is such a novel process no one has yet postulated a
model for the description of its flow. One way to deal
with the problem is to create a number of piecewise
functions that, as a whole, work to describe the phenomena that occur inside the mould.

WORK PLAN

RESULTS

Sources of error resulting to systematic uncertainty in measured

permeability

75

Planning and scheduling optimization in

biopharmaceutical facilities
Miguel Vieira
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Instituto Superior Tcnico,
Universidade de Lisboa
migueljvieira@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Masters in Chemical Engineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

2011
Tnia Pinto Varela1; Ana Paula Barbosa Pvoa1
1
CEG-IST, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa)

OBJECTIVES
The optimal scheduling of industrial operations is
crucial for improving performance and adjust production flexibility to market demand. The application
of modeling optimization to real industrial problems
often stumbles either to represent the complex
requirements of the manufacturing process, to tackle
large temporal horizons or even to address operational parameters uncertainty. This research aims to
develop efficient modeling techniques to solve large
scale scheduling problems, able to identify optimal
scheduling of tasks and resources.
WORK PLAN
The pharmaceutical sector has been dominated by
chemically synthesized drugs. However, bio-based
pharmaceuticals have been gathering particular
attention recently due to its results in the treatment of
diseases such as cancer, diabetes or growth disturbances. Biopharmaceuticals processes are mainly
composed by two steps refereed as upstream and
downstream processing. The mathematical formulation of scheduling problems has to accurately address
the specific constraints of these steps, for example,
the uncertainty associated with upstream processes
parameters, or the complex operating conditions of
downstream operations. The work plan consists in
the identification of these different biopharmaceutical
process constraints and the development of efficient
model formulations for scheduling problems.
RESULTS
The initial study explored the identified gap within
the scheduling of multi-stage multi-product biopharmaceutical processes, proposing the development

76

of a mixed integer linear programing model based

on a continuous-time representation of the Resource
Task Network formulation. The model addressed
some of the main scheduling constraints of bioprocesses, mainly, the traceability of different production
lots and the storage constraints of intermediate products regarding inherent shelf-life limitations. Figure 2
exemplifies the optimal model results of a scheduling
problem, outlined by the biopharmaceutical production process of Figure 1, for the profit maximization.

FIGURE 1
Example of a two-stages biopharmaceutical production process.

FIGURE 2
Production schedule example.

Applying systems engineering

approaches for quality improvement
of manufacturing systems
Muhammad Arsalan Farooq
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Porto
farooq.arsalan@fe.up.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Masters in Industrial Engineering, Erasmus Mundus Exchange Master Program, Germany Romania Italy.
2011
Sergio Tavares1
Henriqueta Nvoa2; Antnio Arajo2; Randolph Kirchain3
1
Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Management INEGI, Porto
2
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Porto
3
Engineering Systems Division Lab, MIT

OBJECTIVES
An international consumer goods packaging industry
is facing a strong challenge to improve the quality of its
products. Although the industry is producing products
with a quality already above the international rules
and regulations, customers are always in the quest
of even higher quality and defect free products. Solving this problem is a big challenge for this company,
not only due to the high production rates of assembly
lines, but also due to the low cost of the final product.
Considering the problem definition, the objective of
the PhD research is to develop novel methodology to
better understand relations between different manufacturing activities, with the final goal of reducing the
risk of product failure as well as improving the final
product quality.
WORK PLAN
Based on the objectives, the research has the following work plan.
1. State-of-the-art review;
2. Internship at aerosol manufacturing industry;
a) Develop a new methodology of engineering
system approach to quality management;
b) Process mapping or modeling;
c) Develop a tool based on Design Structure
Matrix concepts.
3.
Measuring system complexity using components modularity metrics;
4. Quantification of system components for the
new tool;
5.
Application of quality improvement tools and
techniques;
6. Process and/or technology based cost modeling;
7. Thesis preparation.
RESULTS
In order to reduce system complexity and highlight
critical manufacturing process points, a new tool
the Non Conformity Matrix (NCM) - was developed
based on Design Structure Matrix (DSM) principles.

A 10-step methodology to apply NCM to industrial

problems was proposed as shown in table 1. Also,
Figure 1 shows NCM built (a) based on available information in the industry, (b) based on experts knowledge and (c) based on systems engineers knowledge.
Simultaneously, engineering analysis together with
quality improvement tools were applied, which
resulted in highlighting a specific region of the system.
In order to further explore the specific region pointed
out in the previous analysis, Design of Experiments
(DoE) was applied. The results from DoE showed
significant factors that affect the product quality and
recommended combinations of factors that could
improve the manufacturing process.
i. I dentification and definition of the defect or
problem to be analyzed;
ii. Identification of all NCs along the production
line of a product;
iii. Collection and analysis of all relations
between NCs with clear explanations about
each dependency (including interviews to
operators, quality controllers, managers and
engineers);
iv. Transfer all the data to a NCM, parsed by
manufacturing process, and evaluation of the
final NCM;
v. Apply mathematical operations (e.g. clustering and sequencing algorithms) to the NCM;
vi. Evaluate and characterize the final NCM;
vii. Apply quality improvement tools based on
the previous selection of what are the critical
quality characteristics (response variable)
under analysis;
viii. Improve the manufacturing process, according to the results;
ix. Evaluate again the relations of NCs, deleting
the NCs that were eliminated;
x. Update and evaluate NCM.
TABLE 1
10 step methodology for NCM implementation

77

FIGURE 1
The three NCMs.

78

Advanced in mould assembling

technologies for high precision polymer
based optical components
Nelson Oliveira
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, University of Minho
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Master Integrated in Polymer Engineer/ Minho University/ Portugal

2009
Antnio Pontes1
1
Polymer Department, Minho University

OBJECTIVES
Mapping of the technologic development needs
and scientific base support in the in-mould
assembling technologies;
To study the feasibility of the use of a laser head
operating inside a mould for different operations
and specifically for welding;
Development of an adequate cost model for
in-mould assembling technology;
Development of a prototype mould including
in-mould laser operating head and in-mould
welding using the injection of a welding ring
sealing, and
Tested with optical components for lightening
automotive systems.

FIGURE 1
The laser laser head system.

WORK PLAN

Task 1. Mapping of in-mould assembling technologies

Task 2. Development of a laser head system
Task 3. Development of a prototype mould
Task 4. In-mould assembling technologies validation
RESULTS
Task 2. Development of a laser head system
To do the development of the welding process was
used an IA20 robot controlled by a control unit NX100
and a diode laser Laser LM100 (Mergenthaler Laser
Technology), equipped with a pyrometer LH500. The
laser source and the control system of the robot are
presented in the following figure 1.
With this technology were welded several materials
as PMMA with PC (mixed with carbon black). In the
following figure 2 is presented the mechanical resistance of the seam.

FIGURE 2
Resistance of the welded PC/PMMA specimens.

Were also welded PP with PP (mixed with carbon

black). In the following figure 3 is presented the
mechanical resistance of the seam.

FIGURE 3
A new analysis for evaluate the resistance of the PP/PP seam

79

After the NIR analysis, was decided to study different material combinations. This had the objective of
analyzing their implementation on the case study.
The first material combination analyzed was the PC/
PMMA. They presented a good
seam resistance. Different PPs were also studied.
They presented a seam with smaller resistance
compared to PC/PMMA. All the materials presented
higher standard deviation.

Task 4. In-mould assembling technologies

validation
The main objective of this thesis was the development of a manufacturing cell with the capability of
producing on the same moulding cycle a complete
and functional subsystem. To accomplish this objective, several technologies were combined. In the following figure 4 is presented the equipments used in
the manufacturing cell.

Task 3. Development of a prototype mould

In the design of the mold was considered the laser
welding and the in-mold assembling. To do these
two processes in the same cycle was necessary to
design an assembling system. The system uses a
two the rotary plates that had the objective to transport the different parts to the assembling and welding
zone. The plates had also the objective to eject the
final subsystem. In the following figure 4 is presented
the two halves of the mould.

FIGURE 5
Manufacture cell.

The case study produced with this technology is presented in the figure 6.

FIGURE 4
The mould.

FIGURE 6
Final rear lamp.

80

Transition from Product-focused and

Service-focused design methods to a
Product-Service Systems design method:
using a user-centered design approach
in the front-end phase
Nina Costa
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Mechanical Engineering Department,
Faculty of Engineering, University of Oporto
ninacosta89@hotmail.com
Background:

Starting year:
Supervisors:

Bachelor in Technology and Product Design/ University of Aveiro/ Aveiro/ Portugal.

Master in Industrial Design/ Faculty of Engineering, University of Oporto/ Porto/ Portugal
2011
Lia Patrcio1
1
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Faculty of Engineering University of Oporto

OBJECTIVES
Study and develop a Product-Service System
(PSS) method that can support both manufacturing and service companies in moving from
traditional product-focused or service-focused
methods, to the design of integrated PSS
solutions;
Facilitate communication between stakeholders
with different backgrounds through visualization tools capable of supporting the co-creation
process and definition of requirements for new
PSS solutions.

4. R
eflection and systematization of the results
obtained through the PSS methods and tools
tested in real context and creation of a new
PSS method;
5. Overall, the above mentioned stages follow a
design research approach through in which new
methods are developed and validated, through
an iterative process of conceptualization, application and reflection.

FIGURE 1
From customer contextual analysis to PSS Requirements and design
of Solutions.

RESULTS
Create a framework with existing PSS methods
and tools;
Provide a new method applicable for different
types of industry, for supporting the co-creation
process, definition of requirements and design
of new PSS solutions;
Clarify the new designers role and value within
the co-creation process;
Create a visual toolbox that enhances constructive thinking and enables interaction with
customers and stakeholders with different
backgrounds.

WORK PLAN
1. Literature review and systematization of existing methods and tools for designing Product-Service Systems (PSS): analyzing their
advantages, disadvantages, and potential
applications in industry;
2. Development of a new PSS method that incorporates product-design and service-design methods for the design of integrated PSS solutions;
3.
Apply the PSS methods developed through
case studies in product-focused design and service-focused design companies for the development of concrete solid new PSS solutions;

FIGURE 2
General guideline to design integrates PSS in the front-end phase of
the design and development process.

81

An engineering model to address kinesthetic

and acoustic percept requirements in
automotive human-machine interfaces design
Nuno Miguel Pereira dos Anjos Valverde
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Instituto Superior Tcnico,
Universidade de Lisboa
nuno.miguel.valverde@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, IST-UL

2011
Antnio Relgio Ribeiro1; Mihail Fontul2
1
Grupo de Vibraes e Rudo, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
2
IBER-OLEFF, SA

OBJECTIVES
In the automotive industry, manufacturers are trending their marketing in the sense of pleasure and emotion. Moreover, automotive OEMs seek to establish
their specific brand feeling: not only a perception of
quality but individuality in the usage of their cars that
distinguishes them from competition.
As shown in Figure 1, we are developing a research
in the framework of designing Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) for automotive applications. We aim
to achieve an engineering model for assisting the
design of automotive dash-board interfaces when
psychophysical and subjective perceptual requirements are given.
The case-study is a product from a Portuguese manufacturer, supplier to a foreign OEM, where the client
has imposed such ill-defined requirements.
WORK PLAN
We developed a Design of Experiment (DOE),
obtaining a set of mechanical push-buttons where
design variables have been changed. The sample
set has perceptible differences in tactile and acoustic
behaviors, but remains visually identical to the user.
Measured data and other engineering parameters
are measured and paired along subjective evaluations in a Kansei Engineering methodology.

We aim at translating perceptions and feelings into

adequate physical properties to the case-study in
order to satisfy kinesthetic and acoustic percept
requirements for the final product. The knowledge
areas and overall workflow are summarized in
Figure 2.
RESULTS
Weve measured the kinesthetic behavior (force-displacement curves) for actuating the sample push-buttons and recorded their sound in a full anechoic
chamber. From this measured data, we identified and
obtained values for engineering parameters. Further,
weve treated acoustical parameters with psychoacoustics, focusing in very short (burst) sounds.
We are performing a set of interviews with expert
and non-expert population to evaluate the samples.
Our further work aims at using adequate data analysis techniques, including adapting and applying
evolutionary algorithms, establishing a model that
contributes to the design of automotive HMIs.

82
FIGURE 1
Research problem and main research goals.

FIGURE 2
Research study-case, knowledge areas and overall workflow.

On the development of internal legitimacy

in intentional innovation networks
Ricardo Greenfield
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries Mechanical Engineering
Design Studio / CESE, Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto / INESC-TEC
ricardo.greenfield@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc Electrical and Computer Engineering / Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto/ Portugal
2011
Antnio Lucas Soares1; Ana Barros2
1Department of Informatics Engineering / UESP, FEUP / INESC-TEC
2
UESP, INESC-TEC

OBJECTIVES
Due to their positive effects on firm and regional
performance, many attempts to create intentional
innovation networks have been undertaken by policy
makers, groups of SMEs, large hub-firms, universities and research institutes. However, intentional
innovation networks tend to have a smaller success
rate than innovation networks that emerge naturally,
and further insights in how to increase the success of
intentional innovation networks are therefore desired
but still lacking in both academia and practice. Previous research indicates that the establishment of early
internal legitimacy in intentional networks is a good
indicator of future network success. Despite this, the
development of internal network legitimacy in intentional network formation remains under- researched.
This PhD project aims to: 1) Identify the drivers
influencing the development of internal network legitimacy; 2) Identify in which contexts these drivers can
be influenced by human action; 3) Develop a measurement instrument for the assessment of internal

network legitimacy; and finally 4) Develop a methodology supporting the application of best practices
for the establishment internal network legitimacy.
WORK PLAN
The methodology employed to accomplish these
goals will be that of case studies for theory building,
along with a quantitative study to create the internal
legitimacy measurement instrument. Two embedded
multi-case studies shall be conducted at the network
level with networks in the German and Portuguese
industrial context. Each of the two embedded multi-case studies shall consist of multiple network cases.
RESULTS
Findings are expected to generate knowledge
regarding how to adjust intentional innovation network operations to increase chance of future network
success. Finally the measurement instrument may
be used in future as a generally applicable metric for
the comparison of different networks.

83

The user's emotions and experience problem:

Guidelines to support the development of
new institutions centered on users emotions
and experiences
Rita Rodrigues
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Mechanical Engineering Department,
Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
mdi11015@fe.up.pt/dli12002@fe.up.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Master degree in Industrial Design, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Portugal

2012
Joo Manuel R. S. Tavares1
1
Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to study the user experience and emotions inside a specific institution, and
see their relation with the facility layout and other elements, such as, for example, the signage and informational symbols. The objective is to investigate the
factors of the layout and other physical elements that
can be improved to provide positive emotions and a
better experience to the user.
WORK PLAN
Literature Review phase 1st year
Collect scientific papers, books and other types of
literature, and study those documents in order to
define a course of action for the project depending
on the gaps identified.
Observation and Information collection phase
2nd year 1st semester
The type of institution to be studied will be selected;
when access to the institution is granted, the aim will
be to get in touch with the users and employees and
to collect the information important to this research.
Some research methodologies will be used in order
to collect their experiences and its relation with the
facilitys environment.

84

Definition and evaluation of guidelines | Thesis

Development 2nd semester of 2nd year and 1st
semester of 3rd year
The information collected will be used to produce
the expected main out coming of this project: a set
of guidelines. These guidelines will be established
according to the information collected that indicates
that there can be improvements in some of the elements of the institution, and then, if possible, the
intention is trying to evaluate those guidelines.
Thesis Development 2nd semester of 3rd year
This semester will be dedicated to the thesis development and writing.
RESULTS
The aimed main result of this research will be to
define a set of guidelines that can be used by the
developers of new institutions, and that can help
them on avoiding problems that the existing institutions have. These guidelines will help them to build
the best environment in the institution that will lead to
a better experience and better emotions felt by the
users when using the services provided.

NetWave: Managing dynamic networks

through SME collaboration
Senay Sad
MIT Portugal EDAM Leaders for Technical Industries, Faculdade de Engenharia da
Universidade do Porto
ssadic@inescporto.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc. in Industrial Engineering / Istanbul Technical University / Turkey

2009
Jorge Manuel Pinho de Sousa1; Jos Antnio Crispim2
1
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Porto
2
Department of Management, University of Minho

OBJECTIVES
As an emerging business form derived from supply
chain collaboration Dynamic manufacturing networks (DMN) represents goal-oriented networks
of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that utilize rapid network formation tools to quickly respond
immediate business opportunities. Forming DMNs is
frequently addressed as a survival and sustainability
tool in to operate in global markets.
This thesis aims to develop a methodology and several tools to support SME Networks in DMN formation
process. Our objective in this work is not to just come
up with a DMN formation tool to assist production
assignment and lot sizing decisions but more of a
Decision Support platform that tracks performances
of partner SMEs and maintain a fair, sustainable
and profitable collaboration with optimal operational
decisions.

Netwave Project plans to add insight into Dynamic

Manufacturing Formation and SME Collaboration literature streams, by developing new methodologies,
processes and ICT decision support tools.
RESULTS
A framework to support order promising process
of SME manufacturing networks in and track
individual and network-wide performances.
A multi-objective DMN formation and operational planning tool to help SMEs in managing manufacturing and logistics processes.
Preliminary tests of the new methods.

WORK PLAN
The thesis basically has 3 main components:
Literature Review:
Identifying the current state of art and research
opportunities in dispersed SME networks and
DMN formation
Order Promising Module
Designing an Order Promising Process to Support formation of DMNs.
Supporting performance tracking, rescheduling modules and provide a platform that aligns
operational and strategic decisions
Dynamic Network Formation and Operations Tracking Module
A Multi Objective MILP Model to support DMN
formation and Operational Plans in SME
networks

85

Integrated management of residential

energy resources (Energy Box)
Ana Soares
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, University of Coimbra
argsoares@inescc.pt
Background:
M.Sc. Energy for Sustainability/ University of Coimbra/ Portugal and

M.Sc. Electrical and Computers Engineering/ University of Coimbra/ Portugal
Starting year: 2010
Research Team: The ongoing research, of which some results are presented here, is part of the Energy Box project.

This project is a cooperation between the University of Coimbra and the ESD-MIT and aims to develop, redesign and

extend the concept of Energy Box initially proposed in Livengood and Larson (The Energy Box: Locally Automated

Optimal Control of Residential Electricity Usage, Service Science, 1, 1-16, 2009).
http://www.uc.pt/en/org/inescc/Projects/ongoing_projects_pub/Energy_Box
Supervisors:
Carlos Henggeler Antunes1; lvaro Gomes1
1

Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Coimbra and INESC Coimbra

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this research is to design a methodology to be implemented in an energy management
system for controlling domestic energy resources in
a smart grid scenario in order to minimize domestic
end-users electricity bill, and maximize end-users
satisfaction and the integration of local generation.
The methodology takes into account the existence of
dynamic tariffs, indicative or emergency signals, and
quality of service constraints as well as the uncertainty associated with demand and renewable generation in order to obtain robust decisions.
WORK PLAN
In order to accomplish the aims of this research, the
following steps have been defined:
analysis of the characteristics that allow part of
the demand to be treated as a manageable and
responsive resource;
analysis of technical issues associated with
each energy resource (loads, local generation,
storage);
categorization of loads to be the target of automated demand response actions and analysis of
the characteristics of those actions (short time
interruptions, re-set of temperature parameters,
postponement or anticipation of working cycles);
characterization of the different input signals
(electricity prices, indicative and emergency signals, users preferences, etc.) to be considered;
development of models able to reproduce electricity demand, micro-generation and energy
storage systems;
design and implementation of management
algorithms (e.g. using evolutionary algorithms
to cope with the combinatorial and nonlinear
features of the models) to schedule the use
of diverse end-use resources with economic
and/or quality of service advantages to the
consumer.

assessment of the impacts on the load diagram and comfort conditions caused by the
implementation of the actions performed by the
energy management system.
RESULTS
The methodology being developed is expected to
help users to take advantage of different alternatives
of using energy services to reduce the electricity bill
while keeping the desirable levels of comfort and the
quality of the energy services provided (Figure 1 and
Figure 2).

FIGURE 1
Example of a Pareto optimal front obtained using genetic algorithms
to solve the multi-objective problem considering energy cost and
end-user dissatisfaction as objective functions.

FIGURE 2
Example of a solution displaying the schedule of the operating cycle of
loads in a planning period.

89

A model for an aggregator of energy

management systems a meta-heuristic
approach
Andreia M. Carreiro
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, DEEC-FCT, University of Coimbra
andreia.melo.carreiro@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Biomedical Engineer
2010
Carlos H. Antunes1; Humberto M. Jorge1
1
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Coimbra and INESC Coimbra

ABSTRACT/OBJECTIVES
The increased penetration of renewable generation
in the electric power system has been leading to
a higher complexity of grid management due to its
inherent intermittency, also with impact on the volatility of electricity prices. Setting the adequate operating reserve levels is one of the main concerns of
the System Operator (SO), since the integration of
a large share of intermittent generation requires an
increased amount of reserve that is needed to balance generation and load.
At the same time, the energy consumption in households has been steadily growing, representing a significant untapped savings potential due to waste and
load flexibility (i.e., the possibility of time deferring
the use of some equipment).
An aggregator has been designed to operate as an
intermediary between individual energy management systems (local energy boxes - LEB) and the
SO/Energy Market (EM) capable of facilitating a load
follows supply strategy in a Smart Grid context.
The aggregator is aimed at using the flexibility provided by each end-user aggregated into clusters,
via contracts, of demand-side resources to satisfy
system service requirements from the SO, involving
lowering or increasing the power requested in each
time slot, thus contributing to the balance between
load and supply, avoiding peaks in the load diagram, and coping with the intermittency of renewable sources, thus offering an attractive alternative
to supply side investments on peak and reserve
generation.

90

For this purpose, an optimization model has been

developed to maximize the aggregator benefits,
taking into account revenues from the SO/EM and
payments to end-user clusters as well as functional
and technical constraints.
An algorithmic approach based on genetic algorithms and differential evolution meta-heuristics has
been developed to deal with the combinatorial and
dynamic nature of this model, which is supplied with
real input data.

FIGURE 1
Energy Box Aggregator - information flows between the grid (SO/EM)
and the end-users (clusters).

Decision support tools for the planning

of MSW management systems
Antnio Lorena
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and
Policy Research, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
antonio.lorena@ist.utl.pt
Background:
MSc Environmental Engineering (Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa / Portugal)
Starting year: 2010
Supervisors:
Paulo Ferro1; Samuel Niza1
1

IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
The urbanization process has come with extensive
environmental and health impacts, a large part due to
the improper disposal of municipal solid waste. The
waste management sector is the human response
to the ever-growing fluxes of discarded materials
with harmful impacts to the environment and human
health.
The significant environmental and socio-economic
impacts of the MSW management sector calls for
the use of Decision Support Tools (DST) to assist the
decision-makers, experts and other stakeholders in
the decision analysis and participatory processes.
In this work, an integrated decision support tool for
MSW management planning is proposed. This tool
allows to assess the environmental, socio-economic
and energy related impacts of MSW management.
WORK PLAN
The proposed decision support tool can be described
as a Waste Input-Output (WIO) model. This model
considers the monetary and physical interactions
between the economy, final demand (households)
and the MSW management sector. This allows to
capture not only direct impacts, but also indirect
and avoided impacts along the supply chain of the
studied sector. The environmental, socio-economic
and energy related impacts for each economic and
MSW treatment activity are assessed separately and
included as parameters in the model. The model is
then used with original forecasting models of MSW
production to do scenario analysis.
RESULTS
Several scenarios are analyzed with the proposed
model. The reference scenario is the Portuguese
MSW sector in 2012. Other studied scenarios
include Portugal 2020, Portugal 2030 and Portugal
Zero Treatment, among others. For example, the

Portuguese MSW management sector in 2012 represented 419 M in Gross Value Added (GVA) (Figure 1). In 2020, in accordance to the proposed Plano
Estratgico para os Resduos Urbanos, the MSW will
represent 563 M in GVA. Regarding employment,
in 2012 the sector had a global impact of more than
14.000 jobs, growing to more than 17.500 by 2020.

FIGURE 1
Global impacts in GVA (M) in reference scenario Portugal 2012 and
Portugal 2020.

FIGURE 2
Global impacts in number of jobs in reference scenario Portugal 2012
and Portugal 2020.

91

New approach to sustainable urban

retrofit with energy performance simulation
strategy (Case Study: Coimbra, City Center)
Atefeh Salehi
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy System, Faculty of Sciences and Technology,
University of Coimbra
salehi.atefeh@student.dem.uc.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Master degree in Architecture / Tabriz Islamic Art University / Iran)

2012/2013
Maria Isabel Morais Torres1; lvaro de Oliveira Gomes1; Joo Paulo Cardielos1
1
Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra

OBJECTIVES
Nowadays, with the excess new construction and
the desertification of historic centers, the concept of
rehabilitation/renovation has found a primordial importance to convert the city centers to living centers
again. But, the rehabilitation cannot be done in a disorganized way. The rehabilitations in city center are
currently regarded as an aspect of sustainable development in the international context. Building retrofit
is also a vital part of emission reduction and using
energy in a more efficient and sustainable way. There
are several key issues like mobility, water, waste,
material, population, energy, CO2 emission and land
use related to building retrofit and all of these sections
have interrelation together and could make a model
for sustainable building retrofit.
WORK PLAN
This research thesis aims to provide a radical change
in current knowledge for urban sustainability by technical pathway to develop a framework for shaping
the systematic retrofitting on old city centers. It will
explore a more holistic approach to retrofitting in
order to explore the gap between technical solutions with the theories of sustainable and smart city
through identifying the sustainable retrofit techniques
in urban scale. So, this research, as a theoretical and
practical contribution, will consider the rehabilitation
of urban fabric by taking into account the energy performance planning in order to obtain a higher level
of quality of life and sustainable environment by
integrating the rehabilitation concerns of technical,
environmental and political implications.

92

RESULTS
Accordingly, the subject of this research thesis is a
multi-scale modelling tool to support environmental
and energy performance planning in the holistic level
by a case study analysis.

The main goal of this research thesis is sustainable

urban retrofit addressing to multi-disciplinary subject
from different perspectives and advance using the
simulation of buildings energy performance in the
holistic systematic design approach that combines
understanding of both the building and the system.
The renewable energy deployment opportunities
at different scales (building- urban block) - from
the resource potential (regional, topographical, climatic aspects) to technical feasibility and relation to
demands (built environment, obstructions, human
factors) using Geographical Information System
(GIS) tools will be studied, by this multi- criteria
approach. As, the historic center of Coimbra was
recently considered as a UNESCO world heritage
site. Paying attention to the potential future of this
heritage is the main reason for choosing it as a case
study.

FIGURE 1
Some pictures of the case study.

Blending optimization of biodiesel

produced with waste and virgin oils
Carla Caldeira
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, University of Coimbra
caldeira.carla@dem.uc.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal

2013
Carla Caldeira1,2; Elsa A. Olivetti3; Randolph Kirchain3; Lus Dias1; Fausto Freire2
Luis Dias1; Fausto Freire2
1
INESC-C, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra
2
ADAI- LAETA, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra
3
Materials Systems Laboratory, Engineering Systems Division, MIT

OBJECTIVES
The main aim is to develop a multiobjective optimization (MO) model to optimize blends of virgin and
waste oils (WO, i.e., waste cooking oils and animal
fats) for biodiesel production that minimize costs and
environmental impacts in a life-cycle perspective,
incorporating uncertainty and variability.
Analyses based on this model will allow industry
stakeholders to obtain blends for biodiesel production
in compliance with technical standards that are efficient in terms of cost and environmental impact, and
will inform policy makers on the effects of changes to
biodiesel regulations.
WORK PLAN
The initial model is a bi-objective optimization mathematical formulation with the goal to minimize costs
and life-cycle Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions,
focused on the feedstocks currently most used in
Portugal for biodiesel production. Prediction models
for biodiesel properties, based on the chemical composition of the oils, are used to establish constraints.
In the next step, a stochastic version of this model
will be developed using Chance-Constrained Programming (CCP). This approach will consider the
uncertainty and variability (U&V) existing in the oils
chemical composition and will determine the raw
materials and quantities to be blend for a given confidence level. The complexity of the problem increases
when a raw material with high compositional U&V,
such as WO, is considered.
RESULTS
The initial bi-objective model was solved using the
-constraint method and the resulting Pareto curve

revealed the trade-off between costs and GHG

emissions, from which it was possible to calculate
GHG abatement costs. Analyzing the blends along
the Pareto curve, a reduction in GHG emissions was
obtained by progressively replacing rapeseed by
soya and reducing the palm share in the blend used
for biodiesel production (Fig 1).

FIGURE 1
Pareto curve and blends. Model constrained according the EN 14214.

Ongoing research focuses on implementing the

chance-constrained stochastic approach and to
include WO together with virgin oils in the blend.

93

Sustainability assessment of building

retrofit: An integrated life-cycle approach
Carla Rodrigues
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Coimbra
carla.rodrigues@dem.uc.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Architecture (2008), MSc. Energy for Sustainability (2013), University of Coimbra, Portugal
2012
Fausto Freire and researchers from Center for Industrial Ecology; Jeremy Gregory1
Fausto Freire2
1
Concrete Sustainability Hub and Materials Systems Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2
Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra

OBJECTIVES
The main goal of this research is to assess retrofit
strategies for improving the environmental and economic life-cycle (LC) of residential and commercial
buildings in Mediterranean climates. Major retrofit
measures are currently being modelled in two buildings (one residential and one commercial) to perform
a critical review and assessment of two building environmental assessment (BEA) methods and certification tools (e.g. BREEAM (UK), LEED (US)).
WORK PLAN
An integrated cost and environmental life-cycle
model combined with thermal dynamic simulation
are being developed and implemented to different
building envelope retrofit measures for the selected
buildings. Final and primary energy, environmental
impacts and (equivalent annual) costs are being
assessed and trade-offs will be identified. A sensitivity analysis will be incorporated in order to increase
the robustness of the results, by analyzing occupancy patterns, energy price, etc.

RESULTS
A comprehensive assessment of the building envelope retrofit has already been performed. A LC impact
assessment performed for the residential building
shows that, for roof insulation thicknesses greater
than 80 mm, the reduction in energy consumption during the use phase, due to a further increase of 40 mm,
is not significant (< 5%), while there is an increase of 6
to 20% of the environmental impacts associated with
the embodied phase (Figure 1). Polyurethane foam
and expanded polystyrene present the lowest total LC
impacts for the roof and exterior walls, respectively.
Insulation placed inside of the exterior walls has lower
total LC impacts than placed outside (Figure 2). A
sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the influence of the occupancy level in the whole LC of the
building. LC impacts decrease about 20% from low
to high occupancy level (due to a 40% decrease of
energy requirements during the use phase). The marginal benefit of insulating the exterior walls is higher
(about 35%) in the high occupancy level than in the
low occupancy level (about 20%).
This research intends to support building stakeholders (sustainability consultants, users and designers),
policy makers and the LCA community.

94
FIGURE 1
Life-cycle environmental and primary energy assessment of the roof
insulation options: RW, XPS and PUR (0, 40, 80 and 120 mm); per 1 m2 of
living area over a period of 50 years

FIGURE 2
Life-cycle impact assessment of the exterior walls insulation options:
no insulation, RW and EPS; inside (40 and 80 mm) and outside (40 mm);
per 1 m2 of living area over a period of 50 years.

Large scale impacts of energy and power

demand management: The Portuguese case
Catarina Sabino
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Energy for Sustainability Initiative,
University of Coimbra
csabino@student.dem.uc.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc in Energy and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Portugal
2012
Antnio Martins1
Antnio Gomes Martins2
1
Electrical Engineering Department, FCT University of Coimbra, EMSURE Project
2
Energy for Sustainability Initiative, University of Coimbra

OBJECTIVES
The main goal of this work is to analyze the effect,
caused by the implementation of Demand-side Management (DSM) measures in the Portuguese residential sector, on energy consumption, on economy
and on GHG emissions. The Portuguese electric
power system, some economic aspects of the country, and general characteristics of the Portuguese
population concerning energy saving behavioral will
be considered.
The results will help understanding and quantifying
the effects and benefits of three DSM measures
peak shaving, load shifting and strategic conservation and will support those decision makers
responsible for implementing and designing energy
efficiency measures in planning, choosing and
designing instruments for DSM and behavior change
programs before implementation.
WORK PLAN
A country-level analysis will be performed using the
Portuguese MARKAL/TIMES model to quantify the
energy and economic savings and GHG emissions
reduction caused by peak shaving, strategic conservation and load shifting induced by habitual and
investment behavior changes.
Specific behavioral characteristics of the Portuguese
population related to energy savings in the residential sector, and characteristics of the Portuguese
electric power system will be linked to the model, as
well as issues related to the new concept of smart
grid (electric vehicles, micro-generation systems and
smart meters).
The main stages of the work are:
1. Collect data;
2. Perform a meta-analysis of the collected data;
3. Define and model scenarios, using the
MARKAL/TIMES model;
4. Integrate energy consumers behavior issues in
the model;
5. Integrate smart grids and electric vehicles issues
in the model.

RESULTS
Four criteria were assessed for 25 different residential equipment: i) the ownership rate of the equipment,
ii) its annual energy consumption, iii) its load diagram
shape and iv) the availability of general quantitative
data. According to these criteria, lighting systems,
washing machine, refrigerator, television, computer
and dishwasher are the types of equipment with
higher potential for actions targeting behavior to be
analyzed in this work.
A set of common consumers behavior, as well as its
effect on the electricity consumption, was identified
for the equipment. For each one, an average adoption rate was estimated based on data from previous
published studies, which reported surveys (launched
in Portugal) in one of the phases. Average values
were determined weighted by the samples sizes.

FIGURE 1
Common behaviors and their influence on electricity consumption by
type of equipment.

95

All the behaviors were categorized according to the

type of loads they represent: 1) investment dependent loads: all the identified equipment except the television and computer, 2) deferrable loads: washing

FIGURE 2
Loads prone to energy conservation actions: adoption rate of behaviors (weighted average of the adoption rates of different studies) and
virtual sample size (the sum of the samples sizes of each study).

machine and dishwasher, 3) loads responding to

changeable parameter settings: refrigerator and 4)
loads prone to energy conservation actions: all the
identified equipment.
Deferrable loads: in Portugal, the dual rate tariff is
subscribed by only 15 % of the consumers. Moreover, according to two studies only 21 and 33 % of the
washing machines and dishwashers, respectively,
have an option to postpone its operation which is
actually used by the users.
Loads responding to changeable parameter settings: the operating temperature of the majority of
the refrigerators (in Portugal and all over the world)
is significantly above the ideal (5 C), and thus this
type of load does not represent a relevant energy
saving potential.

FIGURE 3
Investment dependent loads: typical replacement rate of the equipment, prevailing energy efficiency class (EEC) and percentage of equipment
with an EEC inferior to the prevailing class.

96

Improving methodological development

of life cycle sustainability assessment
Chongyang Du
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Coimbra
yangyangeco@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Master of Environmental Management / Duke University / USA

2012/2013
Fausto Freire1; Luis Dias2
1
ADAI- LAETA, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra;
2
INESC-UC Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra;

OBJECTIVES
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is
nowadays the only life-cycle based sustainability
assessment tool with the focus on a product throughout its life cycle. A Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment study is composed of three dimensions of the
assessment including Environmental Life Cycle
Assessment, Social Life Cycle Assessment, and Life
Cycle Costing. This doctoral research project aims
at contributing on the methodological development
of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, testing the
feasibility of LCSA through case studies, and providing decision support for policy makers according to
LCSA results.
WORK PLAN
Understanding the status-quo theoretical
development of Social Life Cycle Assessment
through a comprehensive literature review
Testifying the feasibility, practicability, and limitations of Social Life Cycle Assessment through
case study
Contributing on the methodological development of Social Life Cycle Assessment based on
the experience from case study
Modifying the case studies by implementing the
improved Social Life Cycle Assessment methodology and comparing with the original results
Conducting Life Cycle Costing and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment case study based on
the same product system settings
Integrating results from S-LCA, LCC and LCA
and providing decision support based on the
results through multi-criteria decision analysis
RESULTS
We have conducted a comprehensive literature
review on Social Life Cycle Assessment, and ready
to move forward to apply the gained knowledge
on conducting our own SLCA case study. Social
Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) is developed as

a methodology to assess the positive or negative

social and socio-economic impacts or potential
impacts along the product life cycle. Although there
have existed a number of tools focused on assessing
social aspects of sustainable development, SLCA differs itself from other tools by its objects on products
and services, and its scope concerning the entire life
cycle.
Regarding the young history of SLCA, it has evolved
tremendously in the last years with several important
documents published by UNEP/SETAC providing a
framework and guidance on conducting SLCA. The
framework proposed in the Guidelines is in line with
the ISO14040 and 14044 standards for Life Cycle
Assessment with some adaptations for the social
aspects. Therefore, SLCA follows the four main iterative phases in LCA, namely definition of the goal and
scope, life cycle inventory analysis, life cycle impact
assessment, and life cycle interpretation.
A number of questions worth further research in the
domain of SLCA such as indicator selection, data
sources, data type, impact assessment methods and
interpretation of the results.

FIGURE 1
UNEP/SETAC Guidelines (2009) and Methodological Sheet of Social Life
Cycle Assessment (2013).

97

A sustainable approach towards 100%

renewable energy for all electric services
on islands
Christian Wimmler
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
c.wimmler@fe.up.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc. / Newcastle University / UK

2011
Golnar Hejazi1
Eduardo de Oliveira Fernandes2; Carlos Moreira3; Stephen Connors 4
1
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
2
Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
3
Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
4
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

OBJECTIVES
Islands often are confronted with severe energy challenges especially those far from the main land which
operate as isolated energy systems. In those cases
electricity, the queen of the energy vectors, shall be
obtained from diverse sources to alleviate the burden of fossil fuels. Thus, the generation of electricity
from renewable energy sources in combination with
electricity storage becomes an irrecusably challenge
in the nearby future. A conceptual methodology was
established to support decision makers in defining
an appropriate energy mix to cover all electric services from renewables.
WORK PLAN
A 5-step work plan was defined. Step 1 assesses the
current and forecasts the future demand. Load profiles, representing each hour of the year, are created.
Thereby, aspects such as the amount of energy to be
covered from electricity, energy efficiency and peak
shifting are considered to create diverse scenarios.
Step 2 pre-selects technologies, whereas only natural conditions and site characteristics are applied
to reduce the number technologies for a given site
location. Only suitable technologies are evaluated
within a sustainability assessment (step 3) where
each remaining technologies undergoes multi-criteria-decision making (MCDM). Technical, economic,
environmental and social criteria are applied. Step
4 determines the energy mix. Thus, a time-series
approach was chosen to identify combinations of
renewable energy technologies that require low
storage capacities to cover all electricity needs over
the year. In step 5 an analysis of the overall system,
including technology mix and storage capacity, for
each scenario is performed by applying MCDM.
Hence, the most appropriate scenario is identified.
98

RESULTS
The inevitability for energy carrier shifts towards electricity could be proved. For islands insights into the
new energy paradigm could be gained. As offshore
technologies emerge and develop, the likelihood of
having those technologies covering large shares of
the energy mix surge.

FIGURE
Example of load profile within new energy paradigm.

FIGURE
Example of covering future demand solely on renewable energy
resources and storage systems.

Assessment of diffuse radiation models

in Azores
Clarisse Magarreiro
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Departamento de Engenharia Geogrfica,
Geofsica e Energia, Faculdade de Cincias - Universidade de Lisboa
clmagarreiro@fc.ul.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MsC/ Faculdade de Cincias - Universidade de Lisboa / Portugal

2012
Pedro M. M. Soares1; Miguel C. Brito1
1
Departamento de Engenharia Geogrfica, Geofsica e Energia, Faculdade de Cincias -Universidade de Lisboa)

OBJECTIVES
The present study explores the applicability of different existing correlation models of diffuse fraction
and clearness index or other plain parameters to the
Azorean region.
WORK PLAN
Reliable data provided by the Atmospheric Radiation
Measurements (ARM) Climate Research Facility from
the Graciosa Island deployment (May 2009 - December 2010) of the ARM Mobile Facility (http://www.arm.
gov/sites/amf/grw) was used to perform the analysis.
The hourly models used were selected considering a minimum input of meteorological parameters,
models algorithmic ease of use and reported model
performance. A broad range of locations from where
models derived was also taken into account.
Performance of the studied models was then
assessed by means of standard statistical errors
(MAE; MAPE; RMSE and MBE) and by probability
density functions (PDFs) matching score (S).
RESULTS
Models only based on the clearness index underestimated diffuse irradiance in their higher values,
approximately after 300 Wm-2.

Boland-Ridley-Lauret model (BRL) presented the

best results expressed not only in the statistical
errors values but also in the PDF matching score.
Even so, exhibiting a MAPE of 23%; a RMSE of 35
Wm-2 and BIAS of -10 Wm-2, is still far from being
ideal. It is clear that a more suitable model for the
Azores region is required.

FIGURE 1
Probability density functions for the tested models and measured
data.

99
TABLE 1
Statistical performance of the assessed models.

Thermal storage in isolated minigrids to

optimize renewable integration
Diana Neves
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, SESUL, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon
dpneves@fc.ul.pt
Background:

Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Master on Energy and Environmental Engineering; Bachelor in Meteorology, Oceanography

and Geophysics, both by Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal
2009/ stand-by 2010-2012/ expected to finish in 2015
Carlos A. Silva1
Carlos A. Silva1; Antnio Vallera2
1
WS Energia Chair, IN+, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon
2
SESUL, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon

OBJECTIVES
Evaluate if thermal storage by hot water solar systems, can be used to integrate more renewable
resources on isolated mini grids, and which decisions of energy management and demand response,
optimize best the electric dispatch. Corvo island, in
Azores is used as a case-study, and integrates the
project Green Islands.

100

WORK PLAN

Literature review on micro-communities with
hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES):

D. Neves, C. A. Silva, and S. Connors,
Design and implementation of hybrid
renewable energy systems on micro-communities: A review on case studies Renew.
Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 31, pp. 935946,
Mar. 2014.

Analyzing the demand patterns of electricity
and modeling the hot water demand with the
implementation of Solar thermal systems and
heat pumps:

D. Neves and C. A. Silva, Modeling the
impact of integrating Solar Thermal Systems
and Heat Pumps for Domestic Hot Water in
electric systems - The case study of Corvo,
Renew. Energy, vol. under revi, 2014.

Optimizing domestic hot water electric loads
with demand response:

D. Neves and C. A. Silva, Optimal electric dispatch on isolated mini-grids, using
genetic algorithms as demand response
strategy, submission in process, 2014.
Comparing different software in modeling the
mini grid of Corvo and integration of renewable
supply for electricity.

Test optimization of demand response with
renewable resource forecast with genetic algorithms on own model.
Compare which investments, accounting with
energy and storage costs, are more valuable
towards sustainability of the island.

RESULTS
From literature review on stand-alone systems:
D. Neves, C. A. Silva, and S. Connors, Design and
implementation of hybrid renewable energy systems
on micro-communities: A review on case studies,
Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 31, pp. 935946,
Mar. 2014.
Current implementation of HRES is limited by
existing systems and end-use energy;
Most common configuration is Diesel + Wind +
Solar;
Renewable resource supply is limited by storage systems and hardly go over 80% on total
energy delivered.
Looking at thermal storage, through solar systems
and heat pumps, and its hourly impact in the grid by
electric backup, we modeled different demand profiles and assumptions relating to the hour of backup:
D. Neves and C. A. Silva, Modeling the impact of
integrating Solar Thermal Systems and Heat Pumps
for Domestic Hot Water in electric systems - The
case study of Corvo, Renew. Energy, vol. under
revi, 2014.

FIGURE 1
Comparison of off-peak backup model with disperse off-peak model
for winter week 10 (winter).

H
eat pumps are responsible for the major
increase in load (around 5%) and solar thermal
systems for the increase in peak load (during
winter days, when solar doesnt respond completely to demand).

TABLE 2
Quantitative comparison of best models with different formulations.
TABLE 1
Final energy and peak load comparison between different models.

Using genetic algorithms to optimize the daily economic dispatch of DHW load, we used different formulations to test which was best:
D. Neves and C. A. Silva, Optimal electric dispatch
on isolated mini-grids, using genetic algorithms as
demand response strategy, submission in process,
2014.

FIGURE 2
Qualitative comparison of best daily models with different formulations.

From DHW backup needs, we could only

re-place the solar thermal backup with the GA
optimization, since heat pumps work on a continuously cycle;
We used to formulations of power re-placement: in terms of n of switched on systems (GA
systems) and in terms of amount of energy (GA
energy), finding the second formulation more
sensitive to daily demands smaller than the
installed capacity, and that is the case even in
winter with only 63 kWh of daily demand;
The model fill 170kW was done by optimizing the two working generators for 65% of their
capacity, using 170 kW as constant dispatch
every time the base load as inferior;
We encountered that, even with big increases
in energy demand, the DHW backup, if well
placed, can optimize the daily dispatch with
none or fewer increase in the costs;
Preferably the DHW load should meet off-peak
hours in order to get advantage of the full capacity
of working generators, and avoiding to meet the
heat pumps backup hours or peak hours;
Storage of hot water can act as demand
response on the grid.

101

Environmental sustainability assessment

of soybean and palm biodiesel systems:
A life-cycle approach
rica Geraldes Castanheira
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, ADAI-LAETA, Center for Industrial Ecology,
University of Coimbra
erica@dem.uc.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc in Energy and Environmental Management, University of Aveiro, Portugal

2008/09
Fausto Freire1; Joo Mala1; Lus Dias2; Randolph R. Kirchain3; Ece Gulsen3; Elsa Olivetti3
Fausto Freire1
1
ADAI-LAETA, Center for Industrial Ecology, University of Coimbra
2
INESC Coimbra, University of Coimbra
3
Engineering Systems Division, MIT

OBJECTIVES
In Portugal more than 50% of biodiesel is produced
from imported soybean and palm oil. The increasing global consumption of these commodities for
bioenergy purposes has been accompanied by a
growing concern about their impacts, including the
potentially high environmental impacts associated
with intensive land-use practices and land-use
change (LUC). My PhD thesis presents an environmental sustainability assessment of biodiesel systems. Critical modeling issues were addressed and
assessed through Life-Cycle (LC) models applied
to different chains, pathways and scenarios for biodiesel produced from soybean and palm cultivated
in South America.

calculated based on different approaches and different LC impact assessment methods were adopted.
A sensitivity analysis of alternative multifunctionality
procedures for dealing with co-products (allocation
and substitution) was performed. The GHG savings
from replacing diesel with palm and soybean biodiesel were also assessed, with the aim of providing
support for Portuguese companies in calculating
and meeting the GHG saving criteria for biodiesel
presented in the European Renewable Energy
Directive (RED).
SELECTED RESULTS

WORK PLAN
A comprehensive evaluation of the implications
of alternative scenarios was carried out. The scenarios addressed were LUC, palm fertilization
schemes, soybean cultivation systems, biogas
management at palm oil extraction mill and soybean
transportation. LUC emissions were also calculated
based on the expansion of the actual Colombian
palm area and the actual soybean area (in four
Brazilian states). Nitrogen field emissions were

102

FIGURE 1
GHG intensity of soybean biodiesel (energy allocation), considering 3
pathways, 4 Brazilian soybean origins and the actual expansion (1985
to 2006) of the soybean area.

FIGURE 2
GHG savings from replacing diesel with palm (a) and soybean (b) biodiesel using various multifunctionality approaches: substitution (scenario A and B), energy, price and mass allocation.

Enhancing freedom and ensuring efficiency

and security: Improving the electricity
market in Brazil via virtual reservoir model
Felipe Calabria
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto (FEUP)
felipecalabria@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Master of Science/ Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE)/ Brazil

2012
Joo Paulo Tom Saraiva1
1
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto

OBJECTIVES
The main objective is to develop and test a new market design for electricity markets with large penetration of hydros. Through a virtual reservoir model, it
is intended to enhance the freedom for participants
bear their contracts without compromising the levels
of security of supply and efficiency in the use energy
resources.
WORK PLAN

RESULTS
Several countries embarked on a path characterized
by market liberalization in order to implement decentralized and competitive structures. Brazil, which
presents a power system with strong predominance
of hydros with multiple owners and where more

than 75% of the total installed capacity comes from

renewable, has made significantly progress towards
liberalization.
Nevertheless, the short-term market price is calculated by computational models based on dynamic
and linear programming and, therefore, it is not the
result of market participant interactions. Moreover,
the analysis performed on the market completeness
shows that the conciliation between market design
and physical operation of the power system doesnt
occur smoothly. Generators assume their commercial commitments through long and medium-term
contracts. However, the dispatch is centralized and
they are not allowed to decide their own generation
in order to bear their contracts, which expose them
in the short-term market. In addition, the mechanism
implemented to share this risk doesnt allow generators to develop their own strategy and risk perception.
The proposed model aims to replace this mechanism
by adding an energy right account scheme through a
virtual reservoir model. Moreover, through this model
the short-term price formation will be influenced by
the interaction of participants and it can be designed
to produce hourly prices via a day-ahead market.

103

Planning generation in liberalising

and decarbonising electricity systems:
The Portuguese case
Filipa Amorim
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal
filipa.amorim@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Graduated in Economics/ FEUC, University of Coimbra, Portugal

2007/2008
Victor Martins1; Jorge Vasconcelos2; Patrcia Pereira da Silva3
1
ISEG Department of Economics, University of Lisbon
2
Instituto Superior Tcnico, IN+, University of Lisbon
3
FEUC Department of Economics, University of Coimbra

OBJECTIVES
To study the current transitions of electricity systems in EU and understand the rising generation
costs of electricity prices. This implies understanding the introduction of free market rules in electricity
sectors and the transition to decarbonised electricity systems. Given the complexity and singularities
of each case and context, the Portuguese case has
been chosen because it exemplifies a liberalising
electricity system that already has integrated with
success a high penetration of intermittent renewables. In this sense, it well embodies how the diagnosed problems will be generalized in all Europe in
the medium-term.

FIGURE 1
Electricity generation contractual categories relative to demand.

WORK PLAN
The existing subsidies to generation have been
quantified through their whole duration in time after
a consistent subsidized producers database has
been built because there is no public access to this
information. A prospective economic analysis of the
Portuguese electricity system has been carried up to
year 2030, based in the developed producers database cost model, and up to year 2050, through a
newly developed integrated Portugal-Spain TIMES
model (The Integrated Markal-Efom System).
RESULTS
Potential for a competitive wholesale generation market in Portugal: One has to wait until 2020
to achieve 33% of expected demand to be satisfied in the free market and until 2025 to reach 67%
share (Figure 1). There is indeed very limited room
for new generation plants, beyond what is already
granted or planned, to cover expected average
demand growth.

104

Generation legacy contracts costs to final consumers: Total generation legacy costs will grow
until 2017 (absolute higher peak) and again until
2020 (second relative higher peak) as illustrated in
Figure 2.

TABLE 1
Legacy costs scenarios.

Total generation costs to final consumers: In

2020, if the market price is 60 2011/MWh, total generation costs will ascend to nearly 6,000 M2011,
the case in which legacy generation costs represent more than 75% of total generation costs. If the
market price is 80 2011/MWh, these will ascend to

6,450 M2011 and if market price is 100 2011/MWh

to 6,970 M2011.
End-user generation costs balance and future
prices trends: Consumers may expect to benefit
from State guaranteed prices in the cases of an
annual average market prices growth of 3.8% or
more (real terms). To note that the estimated natural
gas prices increases are in Europe between 3.7%
and 4.4% until 2015 (IEA, WEO 2012). Electricity
generation prices will continue in ascension.

Benefits from the integration of decarbonising

systems: The Iberian Case: Despite Portugal is
a small country within an isolated Iberian electricity market, the analysed roadmap to 2050 under
almost full decarbonisation supports the conclusion
that there is room for improved overall efficiency
and lower risk, while further investing in endogenous low carbon generation resources in Iberia and
that Portugal becomes a net exporter.

FIGURE 2
Aggregate electricity generation legacy contract costs.

105

Increasing energy access for isolated

communities
Golnar Hejazi
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
Golnar.Hejazi@fe.up.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research Team:
Supervisors:

MSc. /Newcastle University/UK; BSc./Iran University of Science and Technology/Iran

2011
Christian Wimmler1
Eduardo de Oliveira Fernandes2; Manuel Matos3; Stephen Connors 4
1
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
2
Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
3
Electrical Engineering Department,Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
4
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

OBJECTIVES
Energy and poverty are comprehensive concerns
that affect over 2 billion people. To solve the issues
and correspond to the energy for all paradigm,
solutions to increase energy access and improve
the comfort level of life are highly valued. Providing a livable planet for all through the ages shall be
guaranteed. While most energy solutions are tailored
towards modern energy systems, they are neither
replicable nor applicable to respond to the needs of
isolated communities in developing countries. Sustainable energy solutions to fulfill the energy needs
by considering local resources and dispersed energy
generation are sought. Hence, it is intended to
develop a methodology appropriate for remote areas
far from the grid. A bottom-up approach is defined to
identify closest to ideal solutions to cover at least the
minimum energy needs.
WORK PLAN
The initial stage assesses the current energy needs,
the potential of renewable sources and designs a
hypothetical village. The research proposes a methodology to cover the minimum energy requirements.
Hence, several technologies are identified and
selected to cover the main useful services within
the village. Based on the evaluation with sustainable criteria, a pre-selection of technologies is made.
Scenarios based on the combination of pre-selected technologies to cover all services are built.
Thus, a mathematical formulation is established.
Considerations of attributing energy to all required
services, rather than a single one, are made. In the

106

FIGURE 1
Conceptual framework for energy access in isolated communities.

further process only scenarios that satisfy the energy

access level are designated. Each scenario is evaluated based on different aspect by the use of multi-criteria decision making to identify the most appropriate
solutions.
RESULTS
The initial analysis confirms that most areas are far
below minimum energy access. The solutions are
presented in a conceptual, systematic and mathematical approach. Indeed, the defined approach
promises to be a high impact concept that changes
for a better life.

Energy consumption and certification in

the Portuguese residential sector
Gonalo Pereira
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy
Research - IN+, Instituto Superior Tcnico
goncalo.duarte.pereira@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
MSc. Mechanical Engineering/Instituto Superior Tcnico/Portugal
Starting year: 2011
Supervisors:
Carlos Silva1; Susana Vieira2
1

Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - IN+, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
2

Center of Intelligent Systems - IDMEC - LAETA, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Evaluate the energy consumption and certification in
the Portuguese residential sector;
Study energy storage options for the residential
sector.
WORK PLAN
Using a smart metering pilot, evaluate the differences between estimated (from energy certification)
and measured consumptions;
Evaluate the main drivers for energy consumption for
the residential sector;
Evaluate energy storage options for different
end-uses.
RESULTS
In Figure 1 is shown the relationships between
dwelling features for a smart metering case study
in Portugal. The feature grouping gives insight into
the importance of dwelling, equipment and behavior
related features.
In Figure 2 it is shown the relationship between two
of the features, previously shown in Figure 1, with
natural gas consumption and exterior temperature.
Analyzing Figure 2 it is visible that dwellings with
the central heating equipment have a quadratic relationship with exterior temperature due to the environment heating function of the central heating. The
tankless boiler equipment, since it only has the water
heating function, displays a linear relationship with
exterior temperature.
Figure 2 also shows that only bellow 16C the dwellings inhabitants start to use the environment heating
function of the central heating. Since the energy certification process assumes that dwellings are maintained at a constant 20C during the heating season
(i.e. Winter) there is a clear gap between measured
and estimated energy consumption. Furthermore,
the more efficient boilers used for central heating
end up consuming more energy than their tankless
counterparts for periods without environment heating needs (i.e. more efficiency less consumption).

FIGURE 1
Dwelling features relationships.

In Figure 3 is shown the gap for different energy

classifications.
As is visible in Figure 3, dwellings with higher energy
classifications have higher final energy consumptions
than it is estimated by the energy certification process. As a final remark, please note that the energy
consumption targets established by the energy certification decrease with better energy classifications.

107

FIGURE 2
Relationship between natural gas consumption, central heating,
tankless boiler and exterior temperature.

108

FIGURE 3
Comparing estimated and measured energy needs.

Extended life cycle assessment of low energy

houses in the Mediterranean context
Helena Monteiro
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Mechanical Engineering Department,
FCTUC, University of Coimbra
helena.monteiro@dem.uc.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc in Energy for sustainability/UC/ Portugal; Degree in Architecture/UP/Portugal

2009/2010
Fausto Freire1; John Fernandez2
Fausto Freire1; John Fernandez2
1
Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Coimbra; 2 Architecture Department, MIT

OBJECTIVES
This research goal is to support the development of
low-energy houses in a Mediterranean climate, considering a life cycle (LC) perspective in order to avoid
problem-shifting. Thus this study has two objectives:
1) to comparatively assess LC energy and environmental impacts of different passive construction
measures for a single family house; 2) to assess
the differences among LC results for different Portuguese locations in order to expand the conclusions
to a Mediterranean context.

most important LC process for all alternatives studied so far. However, if a more Realistic operational
pattern scenario is assumed, the most important
LC process depends on the alternative construction
adopted: material production becomes the most
important process for the scenarios with higher insulation and a lower total ventilation level.

WORK PLAN
A LC model has been implemented for a single family house including five LC processes: material production, transport, maintenance, operational heating
and cooling. An integrated life-cycle assessment
and building dynamic simulation of the dwelling has
been performed in order to assess passive construction measures, such as the envelope insulation
level, the total ventilation rates, the use of single or
double glazing windows, and the influence of different exterior wall solutions. The operational heating
and cooling energy loads have been obtained for
two alternative operational patterns: a Permanent
operational pattern (100%) with permanent interior
set-points between 20C and 25C, and a more Realistic operational pattern (25%) assuming a moderate
occupancy with a moderate HVAC level. Selecting
some key passive option from the parametric analysis performed other passive construction alternatives
will be assessed: different window/wall ratios and
orientations. Furthermore, the house alternatives
will be assessed for different Portuguese (Mediterranean) locations.
RESULTS
The current results show that combining two simple
passive construction measures (a high envelope
insulation level, and an air tight envelope) may lead
to important LC energy savings. Considering the Permanent operational pattern scenario, heating is the

FIGURE 1
Case study, single-family house located in Coimbra (A): 2nd floor (B);
1st floor (C).

109

FIGURE 2
Final Energy (kWh/year) for heating and cooling the house (with double hollow brick and double glazing windows) considering different
thermal insulation levels and total ventilation levels.

110

FIGURE 3
Life cycle non-renewable primary energy (MJ) results for the realistic
operational pattern assumed, considering the alternatives studied
(4 total ventilation levels and 5 insulation thicknesses).

Novel Multivariate adaptive self-learning

methodology for efficient energy systems
in buildings
Henrique Pombeiro
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Centre for Innovation, Technology and
Policy Research IN+, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Lisbon University
henrique.pombeiro@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc in Environmental Engineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Univeristy of Lisbon, Portugal

2013
Carlos Silva1
1
Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - IN+, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
My PhD will focus on the energy modelling and optimization with a research grant from an EU CIP Project. I am developing self-learning models that can
model energy demand in specific locations in the IST
Taguspark building through neuro-fuzzy programing.
Having the base scenario a prediction model set, I
develop optimization models through evolutionary
algorithms to optimize consumption across the building. A real application is foreseen.
Additionally, I am developing a multivariable analysis that can model energy consumption in different
zones with a pilot in 2000 houses, funded by ERSE,
in Portugal. The model will comprise specific data
and also more general at the level of the region such
as CENSOS and GIS. The most effective feedback
mechanisms should be achieved and, with that,
an effective policy recommendation tool should be
developed.
I am complementing my MIT Portugal PhD with KIC
InnoEnergy PhD, which will help me focusing my
Thesis towards the Industry.

standardized linear regression that is accepted for

the EU verification standards. Figure 1 displays the
mean squared and mean absolute errors for two
models: one linear (LR) and another based in feedforward backpropagation neural networks (NN) algorithm for an amphitheater.

FIGURE 1
MSE and MAE for LR and NN.

These preliminary results show an evolution in the

energy modeling, which can still be optimized with
the inclusion of variables and with the identification
of discrete events. Consequently, effective optimization models will be developed.

WORK PLAN
I divide my PhD in two main topics: the intelligent
management of a service building and the design of
energy policies to encourage household consumers
to adopt more efficient consumption behaviors, the
later beginning at the end of 2014. Both topics are
under the framework of two projects which will help
me validating results in real life scenarios.
RESULTS
At the moment, few neuro-fuzzy baseline models
were developed with higher performances than the

FIGURE 2
Model of the amphitheater.

111

Integrating urban design and sustainable

development: Life-cycle energy and
greenhouse gas emissions from urban
residential patterns
Joana Bastos
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, ADAI-LAETA, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Coimbra
jbastos@student.dem.uc.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Architecture, University of Lisbon

2011
Fausto Freire1; Stuart Batterman2
1
ADAI-LAETA, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra
2
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan

OBJECTIVES
The overall goal of to research is to contribute to the
understanding of the linkages between urban design,
primary energy requirements and greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions associated with different residential patterns. The research incorporates a life-cycle perspective and the methodological approach
contributes to the improvement and development
of life-cycle assessment (LCA) applied to an urban
scale.
WORK PLAN
A comparative assessment of energy requirement
and GHG emissions from urban residential patterns
is being developed for two case studies based on
existing area in the metropolitan area of Lisbon,
considering three urban components: i) construction of buildings and infrastructure; ii) operational
requirements of buildings and infrastructure; and
iii) user transportation (including private and public
transport). In addition, scenarios examining future
development alternatives will be analyzed in order to
identify directions and opportunities for a more environmentally sustainable urban development.

112

PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Firstly, a comparative life-cycle assessment of three
building types in Lisbon was performed [1], comprising construction, retrofit and use phases. Over
the 75-year lifespan, the use phase accounted for
most (69-83%) of the primary energy requirements
and GHG emissions. Larger buildings had lower
life-cycle energy requirements and GHG emissions
on a square meter basis; however, the pattern was
reversed on a per person basis, and larger buildings
had higher results.
Recently, we compared a city apartment building
with a suburban semidetached house [2], integrating
user transportation in the assessment, to explore the
linkage between location and energy requirement
and GHG emissions. Whereas the largest share of
impacts in the apartment building was associated
with building use (40-45%), in the suburban house
transportation accounted for most energy and GHG
emissions (65-70%).
1. Bastos, J., Batterman, S. and Freire, F. (2014) Life-cycle
energy and greenhouse gas analysis of three building types
in a residential area in Lisbon, Energy and Buildings 69:
344-353
2. Bastos, J., Batterman, S. and Freire, F. (2014) Integrating
transportation in the life-cycle assessment of buildings: a
comparative assessment of two housing typologies in Lisbon (in submission)

The technical and economic feasibility

of energy efficiency and renewables
integration in schools with an ESCO
business model approach
Joana Rafael
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, IST Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
joanarafael@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Degree in Architecture/ FAUTL / Portugal) (Sustainability and Environmental Management / Harvard University / USA
2012
Tiago Brzio1
Paulo Ferro2
1
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, , Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
2
Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - IN+, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
This paper is about the technical and economic
feasibility of introducing renewable energy systems
and efficiency measures in the Portuguese schools
that were part of the recent government renovation
program using as a case study a newly renovated
school in Lisbon, Portugal. The Parque Escolar
(PE) interventions aimed at providing higher building energy performance, better learning conditions
and better thermal comfort and air quality conditions. However, this renovation implied a significant
increase of equipment and installed power in the
schools and thus an average increase of electricity
consumption of 39% and 253% for natural gas in the
school under study.
A hypothesis is tested as a possible solution to tackle
the very high energy costs burden that schools are
facing by proposing an Energy Services Company
(ESCO) business model approach to ensure schools
life cycle sustainability.

WORK PLAN
On this scope, we studied a school refurbished by
PE in Lisbon - Escola Secundria Verglio Ferreira
(ESVF) as a representative case study. First, we
analyzed its energy consumption before and after
the renovation, verified its compliance with the
regulatory framework - RCCTE (Regulation for the
Thermal Characteristics of Buildings) and RSECE
(Regulation of the Acclimatization Energy Systems
of Buildings) - and then, quantified the energetic and
economic impact of PV integration and the replacement of the existent gas boiler with a heat pump.
Lastly, we conducted a project appraisal with an
ESCO business model approach.
RESULTS
The hypothesis tested for an ESCO approach proved
to be financially viable according to the Capital Budgeting Model used. Thus, the hypothesis is validated
as a possible solution for energy efficiency financing
for PE, transferring schools operational costs along
to the private sector while creating a new market
demand.

113

Optimal control of the indoor climate

Joo Carrilho
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, ADAI-LAETA, University of Coimbra
joao.carrilho@dem.uc.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MEng in Engineering Acoustics and Vibration, University of Southampton, United Kingdom

2011/2012
Manuel C. Gameiro da Silva1
1
ADAI-LAETA, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra

OBJECTIVES
There are several options for improving the energy
efficiency of heating, ventilation and cooling systems, but it is often very difficult to determine which
will materialize into the best solution. Given the
requirements for maintaining a comfortable thermal
environment and an acceptable air quality in buildings, despite the ever changing outdoor conditions,
developing an energy-efficient strategy to control the
indoor climate becomes not only a control problem
but also a dynamic, multi-objective, optimization problem. The focus of this research is on using engineering modeling, control and optimization techniques to
develop an optimal control strategy for maintaining
the indoor climate within requirements, using a minimum of energy. Engineering methods are used in
modeling the dynamics of heat transfer and airow
in buildings, along with system identication theory
and model predictive control techniques, to develop
an innovative control strategy for energy-efficient
indoor climate control. This implies quantifying the
compromises between conicting requirements and
objectives in order to provide assistance in the selection of the most adequate strategy. Having identied
the best realizable strategy, the ultimate purpose is
to develop a supervisory control algorithm, capable
of taking decisions based on predicted environmental
conditions, suitable for deployment both in new buildings and in retrotting scenarios.

114

WORK PLAN
1. Background and context; denition of main
research questions and objectives; literature
review and critique:
A multidisciplinary literature review is undergoing, since the start of the project, with thorough organization into the diverse topics that
are of particular relevance, along with a critical
analysis of the main results reported by other
researchers.
2. Dynamical modelling and system identication of the building system:

This task introduces the main theoretical aspects

used in developing a model of the building system dynamics, including the passive subsystems, the active subsystems, the occupants, the
exterior environment, etc. System identication
theory is used in estimating the system parameters. Within this task, it is foreseen to use a climatic chamber facility to experimentally validate
the system identication algorithms developed.
3. Predictive and optimal control of the indoor
climate:
This task introduces the main theoretical concepts, based on the developments of the previous task, for the optimal predictive control of
the indoor climate. Modern state-space control
theory, associated with optimization techniques,
will be used in developing a supervisory controller capable of identifying the best course of
action for improved energy efficiency with the
ventilation and climatization systems available
in a building. An experimental validation exercise is also planned for this task, which will possibly overlap with the experimental campaign of
task 2.
RESULTS
Work is in progress on the system identification
approach to determine ventilation Air Exchange
Rates (AERs) in buildings:
1. Conventional AER assessment from tracer
gas decay profiles (fig. 1)
2. Estimating Time Varying Air Exchange Rates
(fig. 2) (Joo Carrilho, Stuart Batterman and
Manuel Gameiro da Silva. Paper presented at
CLIMA 2013: the 11th REHVA World Congress
& 8th International Conference on IAQVEC, held
in Prague, Czech Republic, 16-19 June 2013)f
3. Instantaneous Infiltration Rates from Atmospheric CO2 Daily Cycle (fig. 3) (Joo Carrilho,
Mrio Mateus, Stuart Batterman and Manuel
Gameiro da Silva. Manuscript in preparation for
journal publication)

FIGURE 1
Example of the conventional method for assessing ventilation AERs using tracer gas techniques, in this case CO2 produced by the building occupants. The AERs are the slopes of the fitted straight lines to the natural logarithm of the decay of CO2 concentration. Data obtained over a week in
a residential flat.

FIGURE 2
Example of time-varying ventilation rates determined from a novel collocation scheme for system identification of AERs from tracer gas time
series (solid line: LTV model), in this case CO2 produced by the building occupants. Data obtained over 24 h in a small, naturally ventilated office.
Shaded areas identify the periods were the occupants were present, during which time the office windows were left open. The dashed line (LTI
model) is the AER obtained from the conventional profile fitting method.

115
FIGURE 3
Example of time-varying ventilation rates determined from a novel system's approach to the time evolution of the outdoors atmospheric CO2 and
its correlated response indoors. Infiltration AERs measured over a week in a residential home. Shaded areas identify night periods.

High quality silicon ribbons for solar cells

Jos Mrio P
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Faculty of Sciences University of Lisbon
jmpo@fc.ul.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Energy and Environment Engineering, FCUL

2011/2012
Jorge Maia Alves1
1
Dept. of Geographical Eng., Geofisics and Energy (DEGGE), Faculty of Sciences,
University of Lisbon

OBJECTIVES
Develop a process for high quality and low cost silicon sheets growth for solar cells.
WORK PLAN:
This work focuses on the development of a technological solution to decrease material and the energy
footprint during Silicon wafer production for Solar
Cells, the Silicon over Dust Substrate (SDS) technology. To achieve higher quality (and solar cells with
higher conversion efficiency), optimal thermo-mechanical stresses during Silicon crystallization are
studied for the SDS geometry. Aided by Computational Fluid Dynamics Finite Element Analysis (CFDFEA), a prototype furnace is designed, built, and the
quality of the output samples is evaluated.
RESULTS

FIGURE 1
Temperature distributions output of the computational fluid dynamics model, simulated on a 210 mm by 70 mm by 0.3 mm silicon sheet,
with a locally induced linear molten zone; Bottom: corresponds to the
temperature distribution for the ribbon with no thermal conditioning.
Top: the sample is thermally conditioned to remain at 1000C.

116

FIGURE 2
Proposed prototype for the establishment of an optical linear molten
zone in a silicon ribbon by laser stimulation, with thermal conditioning.

FIGURE 3
Prototype assembly and testing.

Economical evaluation of emerging biofuel

feedstocks: The microalgae case study
Lauro Andr Ribeiro
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, University of Coimbra
lribeiro@inescc.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Bachelor and Master degrees in Business Administration (UFRGS-Brazil) in 2005 and 2008.
2009
Patrcia Pereira da Silva1, Stephen Connors2
1
Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra
2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

OBJECTIVES
The proposed study aims to analyze the innovation
path of cultivating microalgae with biofuel production
and assess the economical, political and technological factors that are critical to the success of this
emerging biofuel feedstock.
WORK PLAN
The purpose of this study is to verify who are the key
players in this emerging market, analyze the present
economical and political situation, evaluate possible
opportunities and weaknesses and forecast ways
to enhance the feasibility of large-scale microalgae
biofuel industries and compare this emerging feedstock with other options that could replace our oil
consumption.
The study aims to make the intersection of three
major areas of knowledge: the Economic Policies,
Processes of Technological Diffusion and Economical Evaluation / Performance analysis of the technology. Applying Delphi and modeling tools, this study
examines different market penetration scenarios of
microalgae biofuels.
RESULTS
Technological advances in cultivation and extraction
of oil from microalgae are scientifically well known,
and should continue to move forward in the coming
years with increasing investment in R&D in this area.
In order to boost development, public investment in
R&D is the most important policy to be adopted by
countries. Developing strategies aimed to renewable
resources; applying tax incentives and subsidies;
and issuing mandatory country objectives are also
encouraged.

FIGURE 1
Delphi Survey Preliminary Results When will it happen? (Answers of
55 algae experts).

FIGURE 2
Possible future scenario with strong support (adapted from Lee,
2011). Reference: Lee DH Algal biodiesel economy and competition
among bio-fuels. Biores. Tech. 2011,102:43-49.

117

Managerial flexibilities and competition

In renewable energy investment
Luciana Barbosa
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Instituto Superior Tcnico,
Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
lu_salles@hotmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Master degree in finance / Lancaster University / UK

2013
Alberto Sardinha1; Monika Tarsalewska2
Paulo Ferro3; Artur Rodrigues 4
1
INESC-ID and Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
2
Exeter University, UK
3
Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
4
School of Economics and Management, Department of Management, University of Minho

OBJECTIVES
This paper presents a model that identifies the optimal time to deploy a renewable energy project, and
shows how the probability of arriving a competing
investor may affect the investment threshold and the
value of the project.

118

WORK PLAN
Deploying a renewable energy project is an important
decision that can facilitate sustainability. However,
investment in the power sector is characterized by
uncertainties in the energy prices, market evolution,
and policy intervention that can have a significant
impact on the financial performance of a project. For
instance, feed-in tariff (FIT) program is a long-term
contract with energy producers (e.g., homeowners,
business and organizations such as schools and
community groups) to incentivize energy generation
through renewable energy sources. Furthermore,
as economies try to attract investors, one has to
take into account the effect of competition in order
to value a renewable energy project. Therefore, the
high sunk cost in these types of investments significantly increases the risk of the project, especially
in dynamic economies where the investor faces
competition.
In order to value renewable energy project, managers need a valuation technique that can incorporate
uncertainties of dynamic economies and take into
account managerial flexibilities. However, standard
static valuation techniques, such as NPV, underestimate the value of the project as the methods do
not take into account the flexibilities that are present
in dynamic environments. For example, a valuation
technique must consider an option to expand when
conditions are favorable or an option to abandon
when the project is a failure. Hence, we believe that
the real options approach provides a good framework for valuations of renewable energy projects,
since managerial flexibilities and uncertainties are
incorporated into the model.

This work presents a model to value managerial

flexibilities and identify the optimal timing for the
investment in a renewable energy project taking into
account the effect of competition. Thus, the purpose
of the paper is to present a model that values renewable energy investments with embedded options and
calculates the optimal time to invest in these projects.
In addition, a key contribution of our model is that it
analyzes the effect of competition on the value of the
option and the time to launch the project.
In order to evaluate the value added by the real
options, we calculate a strategy that considers managerial flexibilities and competition against another
strategy based on a static decision making process.
The former strategy considers an investment on
renewable energy project where managers have the
flexibility to wait for the best moment (i.e., when the
market is favorable and due to the fear of competition) to deploy the project; if the market does not
become favorable within a finite time period, the
managers have also the option to abandon the project. The latter strategy includes the same renewable energy project; however, the project is always
launched at time 0.
The optimal critical operational revenue, in which
the investment in the renewable energy project
becomes optimal (also known as optimal stopping
threshold), is calculated using the analytic approximation for the American call option. This is an
extension of the Barone-Adesi and Whaley (1987)
approximation, where we include both the diffusion parts and the jump to the project. Hence, we
developed a Matlab code (available upon request)
to simulate several strategies incorporating real
options where the fear of preemption and the FIT
bonus are incorporated.
RESULTS
The results show that when the probability of the
competitor arrival increases, the value of the option
decreases and the time to invest accelerates.

Decision-support tool for wind power plants

participating in electricity markets
Luis Rodrigues Jr
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Departamento de Engenharia Geogrfica,
Geofsica e Energia Departamento de Engenharia Geogrfica, Geofsica e Energia,
Faculdade de Cincias da Universidade de Lisboa
luiscarlosjr@gmail.com
Background:
Energy and Environment Engineering/ FCUL/ Portugal, Electrical Engineering / UFSC/ Brazil
Starting year: 2013
Supervisors:
Ana Estanqueiro1; Ricardo Lima1
1

Energy Analysis and Networks Unit , Portuguese National Laboratory for Energy and Geology (LNEG)

OBJECTIVES
Wind energy has developed into a prominent energy
source in many of the electric power systems worldwide. Nevertheless, the deployment of the technology
is slowing down due to most governments skepticism
on continuing encouraging FIT as occurred in the
past 20 years. Additionally, the massive installation
of wind turbines complicate the operation of a power
system, as their production fluctuations and limited
capacity credit require additional reserves to keep
the balance between production and consumption.
In order to end FIT and make wind plants responsible for their integration costs, these plants have
been pushed to electricity markets and grouping
into clusters in order to compete with conventional
generation.
This work aims at improving the participation of wind
power in electricity markets and exploit wind turbines technological capabilities by developing decision-support tools for wind generator owners. These
tools will assist wind energy promoters in taking optimal decisions regarding wind power plants operation
and its bidding strategy in the many market frameworks available in modern electricity markets.
WORK PLAN
Optimal bidding strategies will be investigated considering the actual working mechanisms of electricity markets, the influence of wind power clusters on
market clearing price and envisioning trends in market design.
Moreover, the wind turbines rich variety of technical
capabilities regarding power production modulation

will be modeled and made available for the decision-support tool.

In a later phase, an integrated bidding strategy for
wind energy producers that own mixed generation
portfolio will also be addressed. The mixed generation portfolios might include battery energy storage, hydro and thermal generation assets. Decision
strategies should take into account the flexibility
offered by the assets in order to reduce imbalance
costs caused by the uncertainty on wind and hydro
production.
RESULTS
Expected results of the application of the decision-support tool include a boost in the effectiveness
of market participation of wind power producers,
reducing integration costs of wind energy and guaranteeing a reasonable profit margin of wind power
producers.

FIGURE 1
Information exchange diagram of a decision-support tool for the
operational management of a mixed generation portfolio.

119

An innovative strategy for power system

restoration using utility scale wind parks
Luis Seca
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems,Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
pds11006@fe.up.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc/ FEUP/ Portugal

2011
Carlos Moreira1; Joo Peas Lopes1
1
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this thesis is to present an innovative Power System Restoration (PSR) that exploits
the flexibility offered by large offshore wind parks,
in particular with HVDC connection with Voltage
Source converter (VSC), to support restoration following a black out in a transmission grid. Restoration sequences comparing different strategies in a
VHV AC network with conventional generation were
implemented for two cases: with and without the participation of a large offshore wind farm in the restoration plan. In order to evaluate its benefit, a typical
transmission network with all its models was implemented in EUROSTAG.
WORK PLAN
Very ambitious targets for renewable energy integration in all EU countries have been established.
The large scale integration of renewable based
energy sources has however a significant impact in
power system operation. In effect, these large shares
of variable energy sources replace conventional

120
FIGURE 1
Load pick-up versus time on the system during the PSR.

synchronous units, thus reducing system inertia as

well as frequency and voltage regulation capabilities.
This fact, together with the need of exploitation the
network closer to its technical limits has
exposed the power systems to vulnerabilities, being
the worst consequence the occurrence of blackouts
that may cover large geographical areas.
Consequently, a combined approach that uses utility
scale wind farms connected to the transmission level
for PSR is clearly regarded as an added value.
In this research one has developed restoration
sequences comparing strategies implemented for
two cases:
1. Without the participation of wind generation;
2. With a large offshore WF participating the restoration plan.
RESULTS
One can observe that the load pick up in the system
2 is faster than in 1 and, as seen in pictures 2 and 3,
over voltages are lower in system 2.

FIGURE 2
Behavior of bus voltages during the PSR for system 1).

FIGURE 3
Behavior of bus voltages during the PSR for system 2).

121

Energy and urban sustainability:

On the thermal assessment in housing
architectural design
Mariana Abrunhosa Pereira
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, INEGI/IDMEC-FEUP, Faculty of Engineering,
University of Porto
pds10001@fe.up.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Architecture degree, Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto, Portugal

2010
Eduardo Oliveira Fernandes1; Manuel Correia Guedes2
1
Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto
2
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this thesis is to define the order of merit or
of design priority of the architectural and construction
parameters that have more influence in the thermal
behavior of housing in Portugal and subsequently,
to create a design aid that leverages on the former
Portuguese pioneer thermal regulation, RCCTE.

UA and inertia curves as it is illustrated in Figure 1.

This will allow the architect to be acquainted with the
actual quantification of the options/decisions at an
earlier phase of the building design, before all sophisticated simulations could have been undertaken.

WORK PLAN
The literature review explored both the scientific
knowledge of building physics and good architectural practices in their proper climatic context. It was
possible to conclude that although many studies
approached the role of some relevant input parameters taking into account design parameters that
influence the building thermal behavior (such as
site constraints) and, in more than one way, aiming
to express the thermal performance (such as of a
component or the whole building), it became clear in
this research that the fundamental parameters are
contained in the net gain methods of which the EN
ISO 13790 Thermal performance calculation of
energy use for space heating and the Portuguese
RCCTE are both representative. The reworking of
these parameters in the light of a design aid tool
suggests however new approaches such as in the
assumptions regarding zoning, and the expression
of the glazing needed or due.
RESULTS
After exploring several avenues such as that of
decision trees, it was possible to conclude that a
straightforward encapsulation of all essential parameters can be made through normalized relationships
between heating/cooling gains and energy needs,
expressed in a family of equivalent glazing, global

122

FIGURE 1
Nomogram to be used during the architectural building design process
for the optimization of the heating and cooling needs for different UA
[W/C] as a function of the glazing area/useful floor area, applied to
a given south oriented space, with heavy thermal inertia and without
shading devices.

Energy behaviours impact on energy

consumption - A case study
Marta Lopes
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, FCT - University of Coimbra, Portugal Dept. of Environment, ESAC - Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal; INESC Coimbra, Portugal
mlopes@esac.pt
Background:
MSc in Environmental Management, Materials and Wastes Valorisation, University of Aveiro, Portugal

BSc in Environmental Engineering, IST Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal
Starting year: 2010
Research team: This research is being developed under a multidisciplinary R&D environment on end-use energy efficiency in the scope of

projects ENERGYBOX (http://www.uc.pt/en/org/inescc/Projects/energy_box) and EMSURE (http://www.uc.pt/en/efs/
research/emsure).
Supervisors:
Carlos Henggeler Antunes1; Nelson Martins2
1

Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computers, University of Coimbra, Portugal
2
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Portugal

ABSTRACT
Energy behaviours represent an important underexploited resource in the context of promoting end-use
energy efficiency in the residential sector. However,
addressing energy behaviours is a complex task and
more effective behaviour change interventions and
policies grounded on comprehensive approaches of
energy behaviours are required. This work aims at
presenting the preliminary results of an integrative
approach on energy behaviours influence on energy
consumption. A real-world intervention involving 128
Portuguese households was implemented during
2011/13. Energy consumption was monitored with
a time step of 15 minutes using a smart monitoring
device (http://www.cloogy.com/en/), and qualitative
variables were characterised using self-reported
questionnaires available to households through a
web platform (e.g., http://www.ces.uc.pt/inqueritos/
sintra). Qualitative variables included the socio-demographic characteristics of the household, their
activities and social practices, the energy resources
and services they use, the building characteristics,
the physical environment, their energy behaviours
profile and personal characteristics. A multivariate
statistical approach to energy behaviours influence
on energy consumption is presented and discussed.
Factor analysis of selected behaviours enabled
identifying three main energy behaviour dimensions in the studied sample. Furthermore, multiple
regression analysis using the list of selected variables yields solutions accounting for approximately
61% of the variance in energy consumption of the
sample. The implications for tailored policy and
planning interventions are discussed in relation to
energy behaviours.

METHODOLOGY

RESULTS

123

Acknowledgement: The author would like to express her gratitude to ISA - Intelligent Sensing Anywhere, AMES - Sintra Municipal Energy Agency, and Lisboa E-Nova - Lisbon Municipal Energy
and Environmental Agency for the technical support.
This work has been framed under the Energy for Sustainability Initiative of the University of Coimbra and partially supported by the
Energy and Mobility for Sustainable Regions Project (CENTRO07-0224-FEDER-002004) and by Fundao para a Cincia e a
Tecnologia (FCT) under grant SFRH/BD/51104/2010 and project
grants MIT/SET/0018/2009 and PEst-OE/ EEI/UI308/2014.

124

Exploratory analysis into resource

metabolism of (urban) economies
Michal Monit
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems,Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
michal.monit@singularityu.org
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

M.Eng. in Energy Engineering, AGH-UST, Poland M.Sc. in Renewable Energy Science, RES, Iceland
2010
Urban metabolism group, IST-UTL
Paulo Ferro1; Andr Pina1
1
Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - IN+, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Construct an accessible framework enabling
resource metabolism studies based on widely
available, top-level data;
Explore driving forces behind resource consumption of economies and interconnections
with changes in socio-economic variables;
Extend the country-level method down to urban
level;
Test for existence of power law scaling phenomena in resource consumption data, disaggregated by material type,
Improve on the ways urban metabolism data is
visualized and communicated.
WORK PLAN
Data gathering and processing;
Data gathering and processing, continued;
Construction of a plug and play framework
for analyzing inputs and outputs of economies,

by material / product type and quantity; based

on widely published country statistics (e.g. UN,
OECD, Eurostat);
Exploratory analysis of evolution of size and
structure of resource consumption of economies, at a national level, and its interlink with
changes in socio-economic variables;
Incorporate economic data and allocate
resources to specific economic activities and
bring down the scale of analysis down to urban
level;
Test and compare the framework against published resource metabolism and consumption
studies, both at national and urban level;
Publish validated results;
Prepare ground and discuss possible applications and extensions of this work.

RESULTS (TENTATIVE)

125
FIGURE 1
Resource metabolism of Portugal and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Colors represent different material categories. Grays denote different economic activities. Data sources: UN Stats, OECD, Eurostat; Portugal (domestic extraction) MOSUS; Lisbon Metropolitan Area work of Samuel Niza
and Leonardo Rosado

FIGURE 2
DMC by material type, plotted against urban population, in percent.
Thinner end of line corresponds to beginning of time series data
(1970-2008), color-coded by country. Data from PNAS paper by Wiedmann, et al. (2013), and World Bank data.

126

FIGURE 3
GDP per capita, const. 2005 US dollars, vs. urban population [%].
Thinner end of line corresponds to beginning of time series data
(1970-2008), color-coded by country. Data from PNAS paper by Wiedmann, et al. (2013), and World Bank data.

The comprehensive analysis of the

effects of additives on working parameters
of diesel based engines
Mohamamdhossein Ghodsirad
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Mechanical Engineering department,
University of Coimbra,
mh.ghodsirad@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

Mechanical Engineering/ Ferdowsi University of Mashhad/ Iran

2011
Luis Serrano1,2; Joao Teixeira1
Manuel Gamiero da Silva1; Antonio Portugal3
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra
2
IPL, School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal
3
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra

OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the reported work was to
develop a methodology to assess the fuel consumption and the efficiency of the propulsion system of
passenger cars equipped with internal combustion
engines in road tests carried out to compare the
performance of fuels with different formulations. The
second objective is to optimize the efficiency of the
working regime of this injectors by the introduction of
appropriate additives.
WORK PLAN
This investigation will be carried out by two different test methods: Engine test bench and Real
on-road test. In the road test, the examination has
been done out in highway travels. A Peugeot 407,
has been equipped with two vehicle data loggers. A
real-time fuel consumption metering system is combined with a GPS logger and an OBD II data logger
which provides the vehicle and engine information
available at the CPU unit, while the pressure sensors
are connected to three pressure taps placed on the
front of the vehicle to provide information about the
relative velocity between the car and the air and the
flow angularity. The second phase of the tests, the
engine test bench, a direct injection diesel engine
will be examined to discriminate between a fuel that
produces no measurable deposits and one which
produces deposits that cause loss in power under
field conditions considered unacceptable by engine
manufacturers.
RESULTS
The presented results in Figure 1 are extremely
encouraging by giving the level of correlation between
the values obtained by the calculated engine load
expressed by the driving force on the wheels and the
measured fuel consumption. It can be concluded that
the measurement have been made with a high accuracy and all relevant variables have been considered.

FIGURE 1
Temporal evolutions of the driving force and the fuel consumption of
the vehicle.

The same data file that gave rise to the figure above
are represented Figure 2, all fuel consumption values during the trip correspond to the driving force
transmitted from the engine to the wheels at the
same time. The representation used in Figure 2 has
the advantage of allowing a single aggregate data
from different graphic paths. It is possible to identify
differences in terms of consumption, for example,
comparing the regression lines obtained for two different fuel formulations.

FIGURE 2
Fuel consumption as a function of driving force.

127

Decision support methodology for national

energy planning in developing countries:
An implementation focused approach
Nathan Lee
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, INEGI/IDMEC, Faculty of Engineering,
University of Porto
nathan.lee@fe.up.pt
Background:

Starting year:
Supervisors:

Advanced Studies Diploma/ Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto/ Portugal

Bachelor of Science- Engineering Physics/ Miami University of Ohio/ USA
2011
Vtor Leal1
1
INEGI/IDMEC, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this thesis is to contribute to the
advancement of methodologies supporting national
EP practices in developing countries, where the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
was chosen to limit the scope. Specifically this
work will address the need for an EP methodology
allowing actors to identify objectives specific to the
geographic context and to account for them in the
construction and multiple-objective evaluation of
multiple energy policy plans.

multiple energy policy plans in their achievement of

objectives compared to a no-plan future.
WP5 consists of drawing conclusions from the EP
exercise, especially about the impact of the specific
ECOWAS and ECOWAS+ objectives and attributes
identified, and writing of the thesis.
RESULTS
1. Already Achieved: i) A set of EP objectives and
respective quantifiable attributes have been
identified for use within the multicriteria evaluation models; ii) The energy demand and supply
models have been constructed, and baseline
energy demand and supply projections for the
case study have been made.
2. Further Expected: i)EP methodology will be
made for ECOWAS member states, which is
adaptable to other developing countries; ii) An
assessment of the impact of accounting for context specific EP objectives will be conducted.

FIGURE 1
Map of ECOWAS region [1].

128

WORK PLAN
The work is separated into 5 work packs (WP).
WP1 consists of a literature review of EP objectives and quantifiable attributes used in developed
countries and the ECOWAS and the identification of
additional objectives and attributes possibly implicitly
referred to in the EP activities of developing countries (ECOWAS+).
WP2 consists of the construction of Energy Demand
and Supply models for national EP, as well as multicriteria evaluation models.
WP3 is comprised of the elaboration of a case study
of Ghana and calculation of baseline energy demand
projections.
WP4 consists of the development and evaluation of

TABLE 1
EP Objectives and respective attributes.

References:
1. European Commission: Eurostat. West Africa Page:
ECOWAS Map. 2009. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/.
*Identifier added to graphic by authors.

Evaluation of key determinants of

electricity market integration in a context
of high penetration of renewables
Nuno Figueiredo
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, EFS Initiative, University of Coimbra
nuno.figueiredo@portugen.com
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Masters in Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra

2011
Patrcia Pereira da Silva Surname1
1
Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra

OBJECTIVES
Assess the influence of the high penetration of
RES-E on the level of electricity market integration.

markets), as one could expect by the concept definition of market splitting.

WORK PLAN
Overview of electricity market restructuring in
Iberia
Regional electricity market interconnections
Data extraction and processing
Modeling
Analysis of results
Policy recommendations
RESULTS
The estimated models aim to provide indications
about the behaviour of the market splitting mechanism in the Iberian spot electricity markets, considering the wind power penetration in these same
markets.
We use logit models to express the probability
response for market splitting of day-ahead spot
electricity prices together with explanatory variables
like wind speed, available transmission capacity and
electricity demand.
In this study the wind speed is the main explanatory
variable used in our models, expressing the amount
of electricity generated from wind energy sources.
The two other explanatory variables used are related
with demand of each country and the Available
Transfer Capacity (ATC) between both spot electricity markets.
Prediction results from the models express that
market splitting probability increases when the wind
speed is higher, consequently with higher wind
power generation. This can be explained by having
low marginal cost electricity available to flow across
the border.
Market splitting probability decreases with increasing ATC (allowing higher flows of electricity between

FIGURE 1
Market splitting probability vs Average Wind Speed.

FIGURE 2
Market splitting probability vs ATC.

The European interconnection capacity target of 10%

of the peak demand of the smallest interconnected
market has to be reconsidered, in order to keep
electricity market integration a reality. Investment in
interconnection capacity has to follow the investment
and deployment of further wind power capacity, so
coordination policies governing both interconnection
development and renewable incentives should be
designed.

129

Development of a climate performance

indicator for analysis of low energy buildings
Nuno Martins
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, SESUL, Faculdade de Cincias da Universidade
de Lisboa, University of Lisbon
nunomrmartins@hotmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Energy and Environment Engineering, Faculdade de Cincias da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

2012
Guilherme Carrilho da Graa1
1
Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems Gaculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon

OBJECTIVES
Development of a climate performance indicator, that
focuses on a given buildings energy performance
and its relation with local climate
WORK PLAN
Development of the framework
Development of secondary indicators
Expansion to other locations, other building typologies and other passive methods

130

potential (CI). The best climates and buildings are

expected to have CIs and BIs that are close to one.
Secondary indicators provide a more detailed analysis, evaluating climate availability and building
necessity for particular passive solutions. By comparing these indicators and their impact on the simulation results, empirical relations were determined,
allowing an estimation of the impact of a given solution without the need for detailed thermal simulation.

RESULTS
Nuno R. Martins, Guilherme Carrilho da Graa, A
climate performance indicator for analysis of low
energy buildings, Proceedings of BS2013: 13th Conference of International Building Performance Simulation Association, Chambry, France, August 26-28
2013, Pages 1348-1356
The proposed framework is based on three interrelated energy performance indicators, also called
primary indicators. The total building climate performance indicator (BCP) is the product of the climate potential (CI) and building indicator (BI). BI is
building dependent and characterizes the capability
of a given building to maximize the existing climate

FIGURE 2
SI NV* and decrease in colling load.

FIGURE 1
Average BI T.

FIGURE 3
SI NV+TM and decrease in colling load.

A novel approach for optimal integration of

electric vehicles with internal combustion
engines vehicles in urban freight transport
Parisa Ahani
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Institute of Mechanical Engineering,
Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa
prsahani1@gmail.com
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

MSc in Energy for Sustainability/ University of Coimbra/ Portugal

2013/2014
Tiago Farias1; Sandra Melo1
1
Engineering, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Urban freight transport sector is being pressured
to reduce the impact of its operations within urban
areas. One of the solutions pointed out by various
researches is the use of electric vehicles for delivering goods and parcels to customers. Electric vehicles
have various advantages such as low emission and
low operation cost per kilometer, which make them
a viable option mostly from the standpoint of public
stakeholders. On the other hand, their relatively high
purchase costs make them, at least currently, not so
attractive for private stakeholders operating in urban
freight transportation sector. The main goal of this
research study is to develop a new model for optimal
integration of electric vehicles with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in urban freight transport.

best combination of vehicles (small electric vehicles

and diesel vans) for their urban freight transportation
services over some planning horizon.

WORK PLAN
We propose a mixed-integer programming formulation for determining an economically and environmentally optimal combination of electric vehicles with
ICE vehicles in urban freight transport applications
over some planning horizon. The developed model
takes into account the risk associated to some uncertainties such as fossil fuel price uncertainty, electric
vehicles purchasing cost uncertainty, and battery
technology uncertainty, which is a novel approach
in this regard. We also examine various risk measurements for analyzing the risks associated to such
uncertainties. A thorough analysis of the involved
risks would lead to more economically and environmentally viable decisions by the concerned private
and public policymakers.

FIGURE 1
A sample of expected results.

RESULTS
The developed model will then be applied to two case
studies (Lisbon and New York City) to determine the

FIGURE 2
Illustration of a network of depot and demand points.

131

Network reinforcement planning in

a smart grid environment
Ricardo Ferreira
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, Faculty of Engineering of the
University of Porto (FEUP)
rjcf@inesctec.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

MSc / FEUP/ Portugal

2011
Ricardo Ferreira1
Manuel Matos1; Joo Peas Lopes1
1
Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP)

OBJECTIVES
The main purpose of this research is to conceptualize and develop new models, algorithms and methodologies for electricity distribution system planning
in a smart grid environment.
WORK PLAN
Development of mathematical models for: (1) optimal placement and daily operation of distributed
storage devices within an electricity distribution
system (2012); (2) optimal daily operation of flexible
electrical loads and for optimal electricity distribution
network reconfiguration (2013). Development of a
smart distribution reinforcement planning model that
includes all of the aforementioned daily optimization
models (2014).
RESULTS
Optimal placement and daily operation of distributed
storage devices in an electricity distribution system.
The 14-bus low voltage 400 kV power distribution
system shown in Figure 1 was used to evaluate the
optimal daily operation algorithm. Generator symbols represent PV sources. Three load levels were
considered. The level of PV generation within the
second hour was gradually increased until a technical constraint was violated (there is no PV generation at the other two hours). In that situation, the
magnitude of nodal voltages V12 and V13 rose above
the maximum acceptable limit of 1.05 pu. Then, two
20 kWh devices were assumed to be installed. Using
non-linear programming and an evolutionary algorithm, it was possible to obtain the optimal location of
the two storage devices: bus 4 and bus 10.

132

FIGURE 1
LV grid and low profiles used to evaluate the optimal storage algorithm.

Also, an optimal operation strategy for the storage

devices was obtained, as shown in Figure 2. The
strategy allowed eliminating the overvoltages at V12
and V13. The evolution of the state-of-charge (SOC),
as well as the energy stored (Sin) and subsequently
given back by the devices (Sout) throughout the three
simulation time intervals is also shown.

FIGURE 2
Optimal strategy of operation for the two storage devices.

Dynamic fleet-based life-cycle assessment of

electric mobility pathways: an application to
light-duty passenger vehicles in Portugal
Rita Garcia
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, ADAI-LAETA, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Coimbra
rita.garcia@dem.uc.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisor:

M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering/ University of Coimbra/ Portugal

2010
Fausto Freire1; Lus Dias2; Jeremy Gregory3; Pedro Marques1
Fausto Freire1
1
ADAI-LAETA, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra
2
Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra
3
Engineering Systems Division, Materials Systems Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

OBJECTIVES
The main goal of this research is to assess the conditions under which the introduction of electric vehicles
(EVs) in the Portuguese fleet is environmentally beneficial compared to existing vehicle systems (with a
focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions). Furthermore, it aims at assessing the major sources of
uncertainty associated with these conditions.
WORK PLAN
This research focuses on the Portuguese light-duty
passenger vehicle fleet. The time frame of analysis
is 1995-2030, with focus on exploring pathways of
EV adoption for reducing impacts over 2010-2030.
The work plan encompasses the development of a
dynamic fleet-based life-cycle (LC) model by integrating a vehicle stock model of the Portuguese fleet
with dynamic vehicle LC models in order to assess
fleet LC GHG emissions over time. Three vehicle
technologies are modeled: diesel internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV), gasoline ICEV, and battery EV (BEV), including vehicle manufacturing, fuel
production, electricity generation and vehicle operation. Scenario analysis is then used to evaluate the
technologies adopted as well as changes in vehicle
and contextual characteristics and their effect in the
fleet GHG emissions through 2030. Lastly, uncertainty analysis is performed by conducting a probabilistic scenario analysis of key parameters in order
to understand the implications of changing assumptions on the outcomes of the study.
RESULTS
Preliminary results of the scenario analysis are presented. Table 1 shows the four deterministic scenarios evaluated, in contrast with the 2010 fleet, and
Figure 1 the LC GHG emissions evolution for each
scenario. Total LC GHG emissions of the fleet are
expected to increase until 2019 in the no change

scenario, due to the combined effect of fleet size and

VKT growth. As the fleet size and VKT stabilize, a 6%
reduction compared to 2010 is observed. Until 2023,
reducing fuel consumption of new ICEVs (ICEV
dominates) has a larger effect on the LC GHG emissions than the introduction of BEVs in the fleet (BEV
dominates), since it takes time for BEV share in the
fleet to become significant. Nevertheless, a slightly
higher reduction in 2010-2030 GHG emissions is
obtained in this scenario (36%) than in the ICEV
dominates scenario (33%). The combined scenario allows an extra 5% reduction (41%).

TABLE 1
Scenarios of market share and new vehicle fuel consumption.

FIGURE 1
Total LC GHG emissions of the fleet for the four scenarios in Table 1,
from 1995 to 2030.

133

Three level energy decoupling:

Decoupling at the primary, final and
useful level of energy consumption
Zeus Guevara
MIT Portugal Sustainable Energy Systems, FCUL-IST, University of Lisbon
zeusguevara@campus.ul.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:
Supervisors:

M.Sc. Sustainable Energy Systems, Technological University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands

2010
Joo Rodrigues1
Tiago Domingos1; Tnia Sousa1; Joo Serra2
1
Instituto Superior Tcnico de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa
2
Faculdade de Cincias da Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
Reducing the energy intensity of the economy (energy
decoupling) is one of the top priorities of the sustainability agenda. As energy is fundamental for every economic activity, any measure to reduce its consumption
must be adequately designed so not to negatively
affect economic growth. Primary energy intensity,
which is the standard indicator for energy decoupling
analysis, has a high degree of aggregation and therefore is unable to give enough information about its
components. The objective of this thesis is to improve
the understanding of energy decoupling by including
into the analysis the different levels of energy consumption: Primary, final and useful.

Furthermore, the thesis includes original pieces of

work: the first structural decomposition analysis of
the Portuguese renewable energy transition, a better approach to track energy efficiency trends of the
economy and the first input-output model of useful
exergy.

WORK PLAN
The work consisted of building a model that disentangled the structure of the energy sector (i.e. Primary
to useful energy) from the rest of the economy. To
do so several methodological tools were used: Useful work accounting, decomposition techniques, and
input-output analysis.
RESULTS
The main contribution is the decomposition of the primary energy intensity indicator into several self-contained components: Structure and efficiency of
primary-to-final conversion; structure and technical
efficiency of final-to-useful conversion; useful exergy
demand composition and intensity; economic structure; and composition of final demand of non-energy
goods and services. Through this model, it is possible to analyze the relative contributions of energy
and economic transitions on the overall energy performance of an economy.

134
Eq. 1. Primary-Final-Useful-Economy model of primary energy intensity

FIGURE 1
Structural decomposition analysis of primary energy use in Portugal
1995-2010: Primary Final Economy model.

FIGURE 2
Index decomposition analysis of industrial exergy intensity changes in
Mexico 1993-2009 by the traditional and the UW-based approaches:
Final Useful Economy model.

A framework for sustainable

pavements implementation applied
to portuguese conditions
Bahareh Tavallaee
MIT Portugal Transportation Systems, Civil Engineering and Architecture Department,
Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal
tavallaee05@gmail.com
Background:
MSc. at Pavement Engineering, Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz, Iran
Starting year: 2011
Supervisor:
Lus Picado Santos1
Co-supervisor: Jose Manuel Neves1
1

Civil Engineering and Architecture Department, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal

OBJECTIVES
Proposing a comprehensive framework (e.g.
MEPDG and its software ME Design) for Portuguese
pavement design are demanded by this thesis. This
framework includes preparing precise database
(to locally calibrate the MEPDG procedure) and
adopting a proper behavior model for Portuguese
conditions which may result in delivering pavement
catalog for Portuguese conditions and developing
implementation guidelines for the future adoption of
ME Design in Portugal.
WORK PLAN
In order to approach the defined target, subsequent
work areas specified as follow:
1. Literature review on flexible pavement design
methods, etc.
2. Data collection for several pavement sections
in Portugal (Traffic loading, Material properties,
Climate): Selection of pavement sections will
be based on some selection criteria such as
availability of data, data quality, format of data,
etc.
3. Data evaluation (correctness, accuracy, reliability) based on some defined criteria: Check, confirm, and remove outliers. Confirm that selected

pavement sections include values close to the

selected performance criteria.
4. Employing data in ME Design in order to verify
the quality of database
5. Adopting a proper behavior model for Portuguese conditions and verification of behavior
model in ME Design: By analyzing the trends of
pavement performance data (rut data, deflections, roughness...) and comparing them with
the predicted performance results from the ME
Design TM to verify if the performance data is
over predicted or under predicted by default
empirical (behavior) model for flexible pavements in ME Design.
RESULTS
The following steps have been accomplished so far:
Writing literature review on Pavement design
approaches.
Identifying and organizing required data based on
importance for ME Design in separated tables.
Contacting with EP to get and prepare required
data (traffic data and material data) for the
software.
Collecting and editing the climatic data for
required unit and Portuguese conditions.

137

Intelligent Traffic Signal Control

Cristina Vilarinho
MIT Portugal Transportation Systems, Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto
cvilarinho@fe.up.pt
Background:
Integrated Master in Civil Engineering

Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, Portugal
Starting year: 2012
Supervisors:
Jose Pedro Tavares1; Rosaldo J. F. Rossetti2
1

CITTA, Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto
2

LIACC, Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto

OBJECTIVES
Traffic signal control appeared in response to the
need to ensure safety of road users, mainly at intersections. Over the years with the increasing traffic
demand, it was realized the impact of traffic lights in
terms of efficiency of network operation for the same
level of safety. Signal timing offers the opportunity
to improve the mobility and contributes to address
environmental issues. Nevertheless, the inefficient
operation of traffic lights is a common problem certainly experienced on all network settings.
Our problem is formulated to perform a real-time signal traffic controller able to find the optimal traffic signal plan including order sequence of signal groups,
for local control of traffic lights of isolated intersection. The objectives to be achieved by our traffic control are the following:

138

WORK PLAN
Literature review concerning existing methods and
techniques used in isolated traffic control, as well as
other aspects (such as traffic signal constraints, signal control objectives);
Develop the methodology and the corresponding
implementation algorithms to provide optimal traffic
signal control of an intersection;
Test and evaluate strategies of traffic signal control in
a virtual environment.
RESULTS
For testing the proposed signal traffic control, it was
developed a communication protocol to link our
algorithms to the traffic simulator that allows us to
get information from the traffic simulation model and
modify the its state during the simulation.
An integrated traffic control where signal plan design
and signal timing are modified at the same time in
response to traffic flow fluctuation at a three-arm
intersection was developed.

A comprehensive quality indicator for

public transport systems evaluation
Dimitris Papaioannou
MIT Portugal Transportation Systems, Instituto Superior Tcnico, University of Lisbon
dimitrios.papaioannou@ist.utl.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Civil Engineering 11, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

2011
Luis Miguel Martinez1
1
Civil Engineering Department, Instituto Superior Tcnico

OBJECTIVES
Development of a Public Transport (PT) quality
assessment tool that will be able to evaluate urban
PT systems in a comprehensive way. Quality is
much more than the elements traditionally studied
in the field (information availability, schedule reliability, environmental impacts, etc.). In this work
we include and focus on network design and service planning and furthermore want to examine the
link between quality on one side and ridership and
mode choice on the other side. Current practice
shows the difficulty of PT networks in attracting a
large number of non-users no matter how much all
the traditional quality elements are improved. People are not using public transport either because
the system doesnt cover their needs or because
they are captive users of a different mode (mainly
car). By taking into consideration all the elements
that can affect a persons choice this research
wants to see the effect that each component has
and how altering any of them will impact on mode
choice and ridership.

WORK PLAN
1. Literature review;
2. Development of indicators in specific elements
of urban public transport (accessibility and connectivity) and testing them on existing data;
3. Design and deployment of a survey that will
provide all the necessary data for a modelling
attempt (4);
4. Development of a quality indicator using S.E.M.
and the data gathered from (3);
5. Currently in the deployment of the survey.
RESULTS
At this stage of the research, the survey is deployed
online, disseminated through email lists, social networks and websites, focusing on the cities of Lisbon,
Portugal and Thessaloniki, Greece. The aim is to
obtain mobility data and preferences regarding PT in
these two cities mainly. This data will then be used to
develop a SEM model that will rate the performance
of PT. Data gathered from other cities will be used for
benchmarking and control of the model.

139

Understanding and predicting the impact

of events on urban mobility
Jni Santos
MIT Portugal Transportation Systems, Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Coimbra
joni@dei.uc.pt
Background:
Master in Informatics Engineering / University of Coimbra, Portugal
Starting year: 2012
Research team: Ana Bastos1; Ana Alves2; Carlos Bento2; Filipe Rodrigues2; Luis Martinez2; Joo Abreu2
Supervisors:
Gonalo Correia1; Francisco Pereira3
1

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Coimbra
2

Department of Computer Science, University of Coimbra

OBJECTIVES
Traffic congestion is increasingly becoming one of
the main problems of our cities nowadays. As the
world population raises beyond the 7 billion, we realize that more and more individuals want the benefits
of urbanization, an increase that our societies, economies and environment, may not be able to sustain
much longer. The average commuter spends about
40 hours on traffic congestions per year and this is
getting worse every year. Big metropolis need more
and more an efficient and dynamic urban planning.
This has to be unique to each city and moment in
order to provide the best performance in every
situation.
Ever since the beginning of this century, urban flows
and events have been projected online at an increasing rate. Blogs, social networks, detailed digital maps
of nearly every place on earth are common realities
nowadays. These digital footprints are progressively
available and they represent the connection between
the physical and the digital part of the city.
In our thesis, we intend to take advantage this huge
amount of data spread all across the internet (to the
city of Lisbon). Moreover, we will perform surveys
at events in order to get more detailed information.
With these two sources of information, we plan to
understand peoples mobility patterns, more specific, mobility regarding to events on urban space.

140

We want to understand the impact that events have

in a city and then we plan to build models that will
predict their impact on the mobility systems. These
models will after be used to empower the transportation planners and policy makers with precise information about what will be likely to happen in the next
events of the city. In this proposal, we will discuss
the methodology that will be used, the survey design
and implementation and the problems that we expect
to have during the thesis period. This research topic
has not been explored much in the past, so there is
an opportunity to produce a significant impact on the
transportation research state of the art through the
completion of this thesis.
WORK PLAN
Perform surveys at events in order to get
detailed information about peoples mobility to
and from events.
Collect all available information about events
on online sources.
Build models using this sources of information
in order to predict the impact of events on the
mobility systems of cities.
RESULTS
Currently making and gathering data from the surveys and from the internet.

EMS network optimization models with

different levels of uncertainty
Marco Amorim
MIT Portugal Transportation Systems, Civil Engineering Department,
Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
pdst12005@fe.up.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Supervisors:

Master in Civil Engineering - Transport Infrastructures

2012
Antnio Couto1; Sara Ferreira1
1
CITTA, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto

OBJECTIVES
Emergency Medical Response (EMR) systems and
its corresponding facilities, vehicle allocation and
management have generally been widely and deeply
studied subjects. However, most of the studies and
efforts have been placed in the mathematical programming the algorithm itself and the solving technics, mainly heuristics or in the demand prediction.
This has left few concerns to the main objective of
the process itself: what are we improving? Of course
we can always answer that we are reducing the
response time, thus always improving the system.
But at which cost and which benefits will we reach?
The main objective of this thesis is to measure the
social impact of improving the EMR by optimizing
the system planning: is a more efficient system also
more effective?
The research will go through three phases on how
to make the system more effective: in the long term
(macro-management), in the mid-term (dynamic
management), and in the short term (dynamic
micro-management), figure 1.
The study will comprise all types of EMR calls and the
social impact will focus on the road accident victims.

The next step is to study the response system and

how to improve it by optimizing the location, number
and type of vehicles. This research will approach the
three types of management decisions: long, mid and
short terms.
Finally, the last step will deal with the analysis of the
impacts produced by the system optimization. The
proposed approaches will be tested in synthetic cities and in the case study of Porto Metropolitan Area
using simulation of emergency calls.
RESULTS
We expect to be able to assess the costs of the EMR
system alongside the hospital and social costs of the
injuries. This evaluation will involve the analysis the
results related to the injury classification MAIS, to be
implemented in the EU, the DRG, and the resources
required to implement the EMR system.

WORK PLAN
The first step is to analyze the severity of the accidents and the benefits of a quick medical response.
Using a comprehensive and detailed injury classification, we will assess the impacts of decreasing the
medical response in the injury severity.
FIGURE 1
Network planning scheme

141

Incorporating land-use impacts on

BRT and LRT decision making
Marcos Schlickmann
MIT Portugal Transportation Systems, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
pdst12004@fe.up.pt
Background:
Masters degree in Urban Planning - FEUP - Portugal
Starting year: 2013
Supervisors:
Jorge Pinho de Sousa1; Luis Martnez2
1

NESC Porto - Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores do Porto, Faculdade de Engenharia

da Universidade do Porto
2

CESUR, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
When governments face the need of improving a
transit system they normally have to choose between
a set of technological and operational alternatives
(e.g., Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Light Rail Transit
(LRT)). In this context, to help correctly evaluate
each transport option and its impacts a decision
support tool should be used, based for example in
a Cost Benefit Analysis or Multiple Criteria Decision
Analysis.
The objectives of this research are:
To identify, understand and measure the
impacts of BRT and LRT systems on accessibility, land uses, land values and densities.

FIGURE 1
BRT

FIGURE 2
LRT

142

To consider those impacts on decision making

focusing in sustainability as the major guide to
be considered.
WORK PLAN
To measure those impacts a Hedonic Price Model
combined with Geographic Information System (GIS)
will be developed, using data collected from the BRT
system of Curitiba (Brazil) and the LRT system of
Porto (Portugal). After obtaining the results of the
analysis, a set of decision-makers, academics and
practitioners will be interviewed, in order to understand what level of consideration should be given to
those impacts.
The final product will be a decision support tool that
can help assess more comprehensively why, how
and when a BRT or a LRT solution can be more
viable.
RESULTS
The State of the Art and the World shows interesting
results:
1. In many cases the final choice are irrational,
despite substantial knowledge about the
impacts, costs and benefits discussed during
the decision making process, favoring one transit solution over another;
2. Many decisions are taken considering the
maximum capacity that a solution can deliver
instead of the real ridership and demand levels
expected for a corridor or for the whole system;
3. Reduction in travel time is still considered as the
main criterion to choose a solution, followed by
safety concerns, costs and pollution. Land-use,
social and economic benefits are sometimes
evaluated qualitatively or not considered at all.

Application of datasets from multiple sources

for urban and transportation planning:
emphasis on cellular network data
Merkebe Getachew Demissie
MIT Portugal Transportation Systems, Civil Engineering Department, Coimbra University
demissie@dei.uc.pt
Background:
M.Sc. in Transport system - Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) - Sweden
Starting year: 2009
Supervisors:
Gonalo Homem de Almeida Correia1; Carlos Bento2
1

Civil Engineering Department, University of Coimbra
2

Center for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra

ABSTRACT
As a result of the increasing number of people, cities
face an increasing number of private vehicles and
commuters which in turn cause various problems
such as traffic congestion, parking difficulties, traffic accidents, loss of space for productive activities,
public transport inadequacy and undesirable environmental impacts. In the past, public authorities
followed approaches that nowadays are financially
unsustainable, focused mainly on expanding the
road network to alleviate the problem. However,
many analysts argue that the solution for these problems is better addressed through intelligent planning
and management of the existing urban and transportation systems.
There are various traditional methods for gathering
the raw data necessary for urban and transportation
planning. Although these methods have the advantage of providing detailed information, their limited
coverage and expensive costs of implementation
often make them insufficient. More recently, the
spread of massive sensoring, namely through the
generalized use of cellphone, is producing massive
amounts of data with spatio-temporal detail about our
daily activities and traveling patterns, which could be
important to the planning of urban and transportation
systems given their pervasiveness, low cost, and
real time nature.
In this thesis we explore the use of cellphone data for
profiling the dynamics of urban activities and characterizing flows of people for planning of urban and
transportation systems in cities. Three types of passive mobile positioning data were used: (1) Call Volume, which is the number of calls; (2) Erlang, which
is used to measure the equivalent cellphone traffic

per hour; and (3) Handover, which is the process of

transferring an ongoing call from one base station to
another without interruption of service. Our observations are based on hourly aggregated cellphone data
obtained from a dataset from a telecom company
in Lisbon, Portugal. For validation of our results,
we collaborated with other data providers in Lisbon
to gather different ground truth datasets that could
improve our understanding of urban dynamics such
as census data, taxi movement, bus movement, traffic count, points of interest, and presence of people.
We proposed new approaches to reflect the potential of passive mobile positioning data for urban and
transportation planning. Our approach comprises
three stages: (1) exploratory data analysis aimed
to discover the kind of relationship that emerges
between cellular networks data and urban characteristics, activities, and dynamics at a city-scale;
(2) use of cellphone data to detect activities associated to the urban areas in what respects to two
aspects of activities: spatial patterns of urban activities, and intensities of urban activities along the
hours of a day; and (3) extraction of cellular network
data for development of models that predict hourly
traffic status.
Our results confirm that passive mobile positioning
data, taking the advantage of its pervasiveness and
availability with reasonably less cost, can provide
ways to analyse the dynamics of urban activities at a
larger scale. In addition, our approach complements
traditional urban data collection methods, which are
usually made available less frequently to urban and
transportation planners, and is especially useful for
developing countries where other approaches are
too expensive.

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An advanced technological in-vehicle

system aiming to reduce the hazardous
driving actions
Mohammad Mahdi Hajizamani
MIT Portugal Transportation Systems - TransportationEngineering, Civil Engineering
and Architecture Department, IST, Portugal
mhajizamani@yahoo.com
Background:
MSc. Transportation planning and engineering, Iran
Starting year: 2009
Supervisors:
Slvia Costa Shrubsall1 ; Jos Manuel Viegas1
1

Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa

OBJECTIVES
This project aims to improve road safety by reducing
the hazardous driving actions committed by drivers.
The main objective of this research is to design an
in-vehicle intelligent surveillance and enforcement
system (system X) which can communicate with the
driver, vehicle and environment (including infrastructure, police and motorway operator). This system will
warn, help and potentially control the driver to drive
in a stable and safe condition. This procedure will
lead to less accident and casualties.
WORK PLAN
1. Literature review
In-vehicle detection systems and their safety
impacts.
In-vehicle action systems (e.g. automatic brake
system) and their safety impacts.
Simulation platforms (i.e. traffic module).
2. Data collection
Motorway section specifications and geometric
and their associated driving hazard.
Analyzing the trajectories data of the vehicles in
a real world traffic flow.
3. Modeling (simulation)
Develop the model in the AnyLogic which is an
Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) platform.
Run the simulation model and calibrate the system X.

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4. Result analysis
Analyze results from model outputs.
Analyze traffic characteristics (e.g. capacity
and level of service) in each scenario.
5. Policy Studies
Discuss about different penetration rates of
system X and policy strategies to influence
penetration.
Political, economic and social analysis.
RESULTS
Following results are expected by the end of this
PhD thesis:
Design and model an in-vehicle system which
is able to obtain data from different types of
in-vehicle safety systems and sensors to help
the driver to have better perception, decision
and action in dangerous situations.
Assessing the impact of using this system in the
vehicles in different driving conditions.
Discussing legal and economical aspects of
the system implementation and necessary
requirements.
Finding an optimum point of promoting road
safety by increasing the system safety factors
while maintaining the proper road capacity.

Operator-based analysis of
intercity passenger intermodality
Ryan F Allard
MIT Portugal Transportation Systems, Department of Civil Engineering and
Architecture, IST, University of Lisbon
ryan.allard@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Background:
Starting year:
Research team:

Supervisors:

MSc, Transportation Systems, Instituto Superior Tcnico; BSc, Aerospace Engineering, MIT
2011/2012
Olga Petrik1; Guineng Chen1; Yu Shen1; Heather Jones1; Marcos Correia1; Maria Pedro1; Filipe Moura2; Joo Abreu2;
Luis Picado Santos2; Luis Miguel Martnez3; Bruno Santos 4; Joseph Sussman5
Filipe Moura2; Joseph Sussman5
1
MIT Portugal Transportation Systems / IST, University of Lisbon;
2
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Universidade de Lisboa;
3
Policy Analyst/ International Transport Forum;
4
Air Transportation and Operations/ Technical University of Delft;
5
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

OBJECTIVES
Research in intermodality (closely connected transportation systems) has typically been only qualitative,
and very little has any measurement of benefits. The
importance is briefly highlighted in the illustration of
an intercity trip in Figure 1. The connections between
the various trip stages of the public transport trip are
often so poor (long wait, physical transfer effort,
no supporting services) that travellers would rather
drive. Additionally transport operators, who would be
the ones creating intermodal services, have rarely
been the focus of research.
This research fills these gaps by attempting to answer
the question of how intermodality may be pursued.
We aim to measure and demonstrate the benefits
that could motivate operators to pursue intermodality
as an organizational strategy. This would be valuable

for improving the connectedness of long-distance

transportation systems worldwide.
Research Questions:

What is the value that passengers attach to
long-distance intermodal transport services?
How can offering long-distance intermodal services affect transport operators?
WORK PLAN
For the first research question, we develop a market
share model created using discrete choice theory
through an intermodal survey for long distance travel
in the Iberian Peninsula.
We then develop a set of competitive models based
on game theory (specifically market estimation/optimization of operator service offerings with competitive
and collaborative strategies under a wide variety of

145
FIGURE 1
A Schematic Comparison of the atypical Most and Least Seamless Intercity Travel Options from the passenger perspective. Note that some
elements of seamlessness such as schedule coordination and baggage transfer are omitted.

FIGURE 2
An example of one of the Operator Service Optimization Models used in the Work.

economic and political scenarios). An example is

shown in Figure 2. This would allow estimation of the
potential effect on operator operations. Policy recommendations will be made based on these results.
RESULTS
Results will be able to tell us:
1. How much travellers would be willing to pay for
reducing travel time and trip connection times,
having connection insurance and baggage

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transfer services on intercity trips, and whether

these vary by traveller/trip characteristics such
as trip purpose or traveller age.
2. What competitive, local, economic and policy
environment characteristics make it attractive
for operators to provide a connecting service
with good connection quality for their travellers, and what policy incentives governments
can use to encourage operators to adopt these
strategies.