MIT-Spain Past Seed Fund Winners

MIT-Spain Inditex Circularity Seed Fund

Next Generation High-Temperature Electrochemical Reactors for Renewable Fuel Production and Energy Storage

A collaboration between:

• Ahmed F. Ghoniem, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Jose Manuel Serra, Instituto de Tecnología Química, Universitat Politècnica de València, CSIC

Recycling and regenerating silk fabrics with optimized fiber spinning

A collaboration between:

• Benedetto Marelli, Paul M Cook Career Development Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Begoña González de Prado, Universidade de Vigo

Streamlining the conversion of wood into carbon fibers

A collaboration between:

• Gareth McKinley, SoE Professor of Teaching Innovation, Mechanical Engineering
• Pablo Sanchez, Universidade de Vigo

Role of chipless RFID in efficiency improvements of plastics recycling

A collaboration between:

• Sanjay Sarma, Fred Fort Flowers (1941) and Daniel Fort Flowers (1941) Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Daniel Valderas, Universidad de Navarra

MIT-Spain Universidad Politecnica de Madrid Seed Fund

SMARTEN: A peer to peer communication infrastructure for electricity market

A collaboration between:

• Anuradha Annaswamy, Senior Research Scientist, Mechanical Engineering
• Jesús Rodríguez, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Shrinking Electromagnetics into a Simple Circuit: Advanced CEM Codes for 5G Applications

A collaboration between:

• Luca Daniel, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Valentin de la Rubia, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Sub-10 InGaAs FinFets for THz

A collaboration between:

• Jesus del Alamo, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Jesus Grajal, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

In vivo MRI-based diagnostics and tracking of dementia

A collaboration between:

• Polina Golland, Henry Ellis Warren (1894) Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Bryan Strange, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Objective evaluation of neurological disorders from the speech

A collaboration between:

• Stefanie Shattuk-Hufnagel, Principal Research Scientist, Research Laboratory of Electronics
• Juan Ignacio Godino Llorente, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

MIT-Spain – "la Caixa" Foundation Seed Fund

Analysis Of Water Relations In The Soil-Plant Continuum Using Microwave-Lidar Synergy

A collaboration between​:

• Professor Dara Entekhabi, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• David Chaparro, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)

Anomalous Quantum Hall Edge States For Solid-State Qubit Manipulation

A collaboration between​:

• William Oliver, Professor and RLE Associate Director, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science             
• Sergio Valenzuela, Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)                                                          

Artificial Vesicle Fusion: From Fundamentals To Applications

A collaboration between​:

• Alfredo Alexander-Katz, Materials Science and Engineering
• Laura Rodriguez Arriaga, U. Complutense de Madrid

Creation Of A Publicly Available Electronic Health Record Database For Secondary Analysis And Clinical Investigation

A collaboration between​:

• Leo Anthony Celi, MD, MS, MPH, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science
• Antonio Nunez Reiz, Hospital Universitario Clinico San Carlos Madrid

Development Of Orbital Alignment And Slotting System For Low Earth Orbit

A collaboration between​:

• Richard Linares, Charles Stark Draper Assistant Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Martin Avendano, CUD-AGM (Zaragoza), Universidad de Zaragoza

Direct Ethylene-To-Propylene Route Using Mof Catalysts

A collaboration between​:

• Mircea Dinca, Associate Professor, Chemistry
• Iker Aguirrezabal Telleria, University of the Basque Country

Global And Regional Mooc Learning Analytics Across Providers And Nationalities

A collaboration between​:

• Justin Reich, Mitsui Career Development Professor, Comparative Media Studies/Writing
• Jose A. Ruiperez Valiente, University of Murcia

Improving The Quality And Homogeneity Of Biomass Fuels By Torrefaction

A collaboration between​:

• Professor Ahmed Ghoniem, PhD; Mechanical Engineering
• Antonio Soria-Verdugo, University Carlos III of Madrid

Local Drug Delivery For Medical Applications

A collaboration between​:

• Natalie Artzi, Research Affilate, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science
• Salvador Borros Gomez, Institut Químic de Sarria

Metakaryons: Cancer Stem Cell Powerhouse And New Avenue For Cancer Therapy

A collaboration between​:

• William Thilly, Biological Engineering
• Miguel Beato, Centre for Genomic Regulation

Small Unmanned Airborne Systems For Atmospheric Electricity Research

A collaboration between​:

• Carmen Guerra-Garcia, Boeing Assistant Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Joan Montanya, Polytechnic University of Catalonia

Using Learning Analytics In Games For Learning For The Evaluation Of Key Competences For The 21st Century

A collaboration between​:

• Eric Klopfer, Professor and Director of the Scheller Teacher Education Program and the Education Arcade, Head department of Comparative Media Studies and Writing
• Baltasar Fernandez Manjon, Complutense University of Madrid

MIT-Spain INDITEX Sustainability Seed Fund

Chipless Rfid Time-Temperature Integration (Tti) Sensing System For Cold Chain Quality Assurance And Carton Recycling Application

• Sanjay Sarma, Mechanical Engineering
• Daniel Valderas, University of Navarra

Cost-Omize: Understanding Customer Behavior Under Urban Segregation For Cost-Reducing And Sustainable Logistics

A collaboration between​:

• Alexander Sandy Pentland, Media Arts and Sciences
• Jose Hernandez-Orallo, Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)

Efficient Wind-Excited Energy Harvesters Based On Nonlinear Cantilever Beams

• Themistoklis Sapsis, Mechanical Engineering
• Felix Nieto, University of La Coruna

Low-Cost, Uhf Rfid Sensor For Fabric Material Detection And On-Body Sensing

A collaboration between​:

• Sanjay Sarma, Mechanical Engineering
• Joan Melia Segui, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

MIT-Spain – Universidad Politecnica de Madrid Seed Fund

Autonomous Synthetic Cells For Sensing Applications

A collaboration between​:

• Tomas Palacios, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Maria Luisa Lopez-Vallejo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Empowering Collective Intelligence With Artificial Intelligence To Enhance And Scale Sustainable Development (Sustainable Cities)

A collaboration between​:

• Thomas Malone, Patrick J. McGovern Professor, Management
• Juan Garbajosa, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Mapping Global Architectural Histories On Modernism

A collaboration between​:

• Mark Jarzombek, Architecture
• Ana Esteban Maluenda, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Plant-Pathogen Biotechnology And Genomics Meet Fluid Dynamics

A collaboration between​:   

• Lydia Bourouiba, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Emilia Lopez Solanilla, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

MIT-Spain “la Caixa” Foundation Seed Fund

Advanced Lipid Nanostructures to Overcome Blood-Brain-Barrier

A collaboration between​:              

• Mercedes Balcells-Camps, Principal Research Scientist, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science       
• Olga Lopez, Institute of Advanced chemistry of Catalonia-Spanish National Research Council (IQAC-CSIC)                                    

Collaboration to Improve Physical Activity and Social Isolation for Older

A collaboration between​:

• Samantha Brady, Principal Research Scientist, AgeLab
• Lisa D'Ambrosio, Lecturer, AgeLab
• Joseph Coughlin, Senior Lecturer
• Maria Gine Garriga, Ramon Llull University
• Miriam Guerra-Balic, Ramon Llull University

Computational Design of a Cardiac Device to Reduce the Risk of Thrombosis

A collaboration between​:

• Ellen Roche, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Jose Sierra-Pallares, University of Valladolid
• Francisco Castro, University of Valladolid
• Javier García, Polytechnic University of Madrid
• Jorge Munoz-Paniagua, Polytechnic University of Madrid

Controlling Thermal Transport in Silicon and 2D Materials Nanostructures

A collaboration between​:         

• Keith Nelson, Professor, Chemistry
• Alexei Maznev, Research Scientist, Chemistry
• Clivia Marfa Sotomayor Torres, Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology     
• Marianna Sledzinska, Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology                              

CVD Graphene as an Artificial Basement Membrane for Tissue Regeneration

A collaboration between​:

• Jing Kong, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Miguel Gonzalez Andrades, Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba (IMIBIC) - University of Cordoba

Developing a Sensor Framework for Minimally Invasive Surgery

A collaboration between​:

• Thomas Malone, Professor, Management
• Peter Gloor, Research Scientist
• Francisco M. Sánchez Margallo, Jesús Usón Minimally Invasive Surgery Centre
• Juan A. Sánchez Margallo, Jesús Usón Minimally Invasive Surgery Centre

Dipole Orientation Engineering for Improved Efficiency

A collaboration between​:

• William Tisdale , Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering
• Ferry Prins, Autonomous University of Madrid

Gradients of tRNA modifications in Human Inflammation

A collaboration between​:

• Peter C. Dedon, Professor, Biological Engineering
• Lluis Ribas de Pouplana, IRB Barcelona

Intelligent Distributed Management and Control of Power Systems for Isolate

A collaboration between​:

• Ignacio Perez-Arriaga, Professor Management   
• Pedro Rodriguez Cortes, Univesidad Loyola Andalucia     
• Alvaro Luna, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya                                                             

Multifunctional Biomimetic Surfaces for Solar Energy Harvesting

A collaboration between​:

• Mathias Kolle, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Raúl J. Martín-Palma, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Rational Selection of Personalized Drug Combinations for Immunotherapy

A collaboration between​:

• Manolis Kellis, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Fátima Al-Shahrour, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO)
• Michael Tress, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO)

SOLGASBI

A collaboration between​:

• Ahmed Ghoniem, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Alberto Gomez-Barea, University of Seville

MIT-Spain INDITEX Sustainability Seed Fund

Catalytic Cellulose Gasification

• Alexander Radosevich, Associate Professor, Chemistry
• Pablo Mauleon, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Decarbonizing The Automotive Industry: Costs & Consequences

A collaboration between​:

• John Heywood, Professor, Mechanical Engineering (Course 2)
• Ashley Nunes, Research Scientist, Center for Transportation & Logistics
• Carlos Alvarez-Bel, UPV Universitat Politècnica de València
• Ferran Clemente Rodrigo, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia

Multiscale Modeling And Production Of Silk-Ceramic Bone Regeneration Biomat

• Markus Buehler Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Francisco Guitian, Rivera , University of Santiago De Compostela

Plastic Wastes for Alternative Fuels

A collaboration between​:

• T. Alan Hatton, Professor, Chemical Engineering
• Marta Munoz, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Right Clothing for Thermal Comfort

• Brian Anthony, Principal Research Scientist, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science
• Ramon Artiaga, University of Coruña

MIT-Spain – Universidad Politecnica de Madrid Seed Fund

BLOCKSWARM

A collaboration between​:

• Alex ('Sandy') Pentland, Professor, Media Arts and Sciences (MAS)
• Eduardo Castello Ferrer, Postdoc Fellow
• Ernesto Jiménez, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)

Eixo Atlántico: Porto-Vigo-La Coruña

A collaboration between​:

• Lorena Bello Gomez, Lecturer, Architecture
• Brent Ryan, Lecturer, Urban Studies and Planning
• Gines Garrido, ETS Arquitectura UPM

MicroPV: A Novel High-Efficiency PV Concept Enabled for Lowcost Production

A collaboration between​:

• Juejun Hu, Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
• Tian Gu, Research Scientist, Materials Science and Engineering
• Ignacio Anton Hernandez, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid
• Cesar Dominguez Dominguez, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid
• Stephen Askins, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

Translating Neuro-Acoustic Technologies Into Solutions for Older People

A collaboration between​:

• Joseph Coughlin, Principal Research Scientist, AgeLab, Center for Transportation and Logistics
• Chaiwoo Lee, Research Scientist, AgeLab, Center for Transportation and Logistics
• Guillermo de Arcas, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid
• Pedro Gomez, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid
• Ignacio Pavon, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

MIT-Spain – CEI Moncloa Seed Fund

BALLISTIC TRANSPORT IN SELF-ALIGNED SUB-10 nm InGaAs FinFETs

A collaboration between:

• Jesus del Alamo, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Jesus Grajal, Associate Professor, Technical University of Madrid

MISTI Madrid: Towards a Clinical System for Data Linkage and Collaboration

A collaboration between:

• Leo Anthony Celi, Principal Research Scientist, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science
• Maria Teresa Arredondo, Professor (UPM) and Director (Life Supporting Tech.), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Predicting Multiphase Flow in Porous Media at the Pore Scale

A collaboration between:

• Ruben Juanes, ARCO Associate Professor in Energy Studies, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Luis Cueto-Felgueroso, Research Scientist, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)

Tile Vaulting for Low Carbon Construction

A collaboration between:

• John Ochsendorf, Class of 1942 Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Santiago Huerta Fernandez, Professor, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

MIT-Spain/La Cambra de Barcelona Seed Fund

Soil Moisture on Planet Earth

A collaboration between:

• Dara Entekhabi, Professor, MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Maria Piles Guillem, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain
• Adriano Camps Carmona, Professor, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain

Stochastic Dynamic Models for Advanced Electric Power Systems Planning

A collaboration between:

• Mort Webster, Assistant Professor, MIT Department of Engineering Systems Division
• Ignacio Perez-Arriaga, Professor, MIT Department of Engineering Systems Division
• Javier Garcia Gonzalez, Tenured Assistant Professor, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain
• Andres Ramos Galan, Tenured Full Professor, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain

Development of GMI Autobiased Sensors Based on Exchange Bias Effect

A collaboration between:

• Caroline A. Ross, Professor, MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering
• Julian Maria Gonzalez Estevez, Professor, Universidad del Pais Vasco, Spain
• Carlos Garcia, Research Scientist, Universidad del Pais Vasco, Spain

MIT-Spain/La Cambra de Barcelona Seed Fund

Anomalous Transport in Random Networks

A collaboration between:

• Ruben Juanes, Assistant Professor, MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Marco Dentz, Research Professor, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish National Research Council (IDÆA-CSIC), Spain
• Jesus Carrera, Professor, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish National Research Council (IDÆA-CSIC), Spain

Photonic Crystals for Enhanced Thermophotovoltaics

A collaboration between:

• Clifton G. Fonstad, Professor, MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Pablo Aitor, Postigo Research Scientist, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Spain

Vessel-like Structures: In Vitro Models to Predict Outcome of Vascular Interventions

A collaboration between:

• Elazer R. Edelman, Professor, MIT Department of Health Sciences and Technology
• Jose Javier Molins, Associate Professor, Institut Quimic de Sarria, Spain
• Jordi Martorell, PhD Candidate, Institut Quimic de Sarria, Spain

Quantum Entanglement and Entanglement Entropy

A collaboration between:

• Daniel Freedman, Professor, MIT Department of Mathematics
• Jose Ignacio Latorre, Professor, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain

Graphene NEMS for Quantum Electronics and Nanosensing

A collaboration between:

• Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, Assistant Professor, MIT Department of Physics
• Adrian Bachtold, Research Professor, Centre Investigacions Nanociencia Nanotecnologia (CSIC-ICN) Barcelona, Spain

MIT-Spain/La Cambra de Barcelona Seed Fund

Magnetic Nanostructures for Data Storage

A collaboration between:

• Caroline Ross, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
• Fernando Castano, Universidad Pais Vasco

Nanophotonic Technologies for the Treatment of Atherosclerotic Plaque: Nanoparticles vs. Molecular Bioconjugates

A collaboration between:

• Mercedes Balcells, Research Scientist, Health Sciences and Technology
• Santiago Nonell, Professor, Institut Quimic de Sarria / Universitat Ramon Llull

Predictive Solar Cell Performance Modeling by Defect Engineering

A collaboration between:

• Tonio Buonassisi, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Carlos del Cañizo, Profesor Titular de Universidad, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

The Role of Microbes in the Ocean Sulfur Cycle and the Role of Sulfur in Ocean Microbial Interactions: A Pioneering Microfluidic Approach

A collaboration between:

• Roman Stocker, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Rafel Simó, Senior Researcher, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC)