Director's Message

The Institute of Polymers and Composites (IPC) has been, since 2006, a Research Unit of the University of Minho (UMinho) that aims to address industrial and societal needs and challenges in the fields of polymer and composite science and technology. It has been rated as “Excellent” and “Exceptional” in the evaluations conducted by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in 2006 and 2013, respectively. In 2018, after being rated as “Very Good,” the IPC reoriented its mission to address novel social challenges, becoming part of the Collaborative Laboratory DTx in Digital Transformation. In 2021, it was founding member of the Associated Laboratory in Intelligent Systems (LASI), dedicated to the sustainability of science/technology/materials/products for advanced artificial intelligence systems. Coordinated at UMinho, LASI is currently the largest associated laboratory in the country, integrating 13 R&D Units from Minho, Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, and Lisbon. In 2023, the IPC established a new R&D branch at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (IPL). IPC members have also maintained close collaboration with PIEP – the Innovation Hub in Polymer Engineering, a nationally renowned industry interface institution, actively participating in its management and founding. In collaboration with Bosch, they also contributed to the creation, management, and organization of the Done Lab, a new and modern laboratory of excellence dedicated to advanced manufacturing of products and tools.

At the level of high qualification of human resources, the IPC has been committed to developing top-level professionals for both the industry and the national/international scientific systems. Currently, it directs the following four PhD courses at UMinho: Polymer and Composite Science and Engineering, Materials Engineering, Direct Digital Manufacturing for the Polymer and Mould Industries, and Waste Management and Treatment.

The IPC is the only national R&D unit dedicated to scientific and technological advancements in polymer and composite science and engineering. It has significantly improved its scientific activity, establishing itself as one of the most, if not the most, important R&D unit at UMinho. Evidence of this includes 342 articles and 50 Books/Book Chapters published in international scientific journals (Scopus, ISIS) (corresponding to an average of 3.43 publications per integrated member per year), the completion of 12 PhDs, and the registration of 30 national/international patents over the past 6 years (2018-2023). Table 1 summarises the excellence and improvement of the scientific activity achieved by the IPC during the same period, particularly in terms of scientific publication and funding resulting from European and other R&D projects in partnerships with national and international companies that IPC has coordinated.

Table 1. R&D outputs of IPC in the period 2018-2023

Adopting a multidisciplinary approach that covers and integrates scientific areas ranging from basic chemistry and physics to polymer and composite engineering and technology, the IPC simultaneously promotes basic research and integrated R&D activities oriented towards applications, fostering scientific excellence and innovation, cutting-edge international activities, and the generation of innovative concepts and their practical exploitation, with the aim of: i) providing significant advancements in polymer and composite science and engineering that contribute to sustainable social development; ii) generating added value for the polymer/composite, moulds, and related industries, thus contributing to socio-economic growth and social well-being; and iii) raising awareness of the role, importance, and sustainability of polymeric and composite materials in society.

The future priorities of the IPC will continue to be: i) increasing involvement in European projects by promoting networking activities and support for internationalisation; ii) focusing on advanced education, training, and scientific initiation of young researchers to prepare them for transfer to industry and society; iii) organising national and international conferences/workshops and participating in scientific committees of international conferences and editorial boards of internationally renowned scientific journals; iv) maintaining a strong number of R&D+i projects with industrial partners and an entrepreneurial attitude of engagement with LASI, CoLab DTx, Done Lab, and PIEP; v) implementing dissemination activities for R&D+i projects and their results and supporting publication in open-access journals; vi) increasing involvement in socio-cultural activities, contributing to awareness of the role of polymers and composites in a sustainable society and; vii) addressing new paradigms brought by emerging products, services, and human-machine interfaces, reflecting on the consequent changes in industry and society, and promoting collaborative research and technological development between the economy and industry.

Thanking all colleagues, researchers, students, and other IPC collaborators for their dedication, commitment and contribution to the excellent results achieved by the IPC, values that I am sure will be maintained in the future, I would also like to extend my warm welcome to all future IPC collaborators and partners and persons eventually visiting this site or our facilities in Azurem/Guimarães.

The Director of IPC

António J. Pontes