Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Spain) (Spanish: Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya) is a public institution dedicated to higher education and research in the fields of architecture, science and engineering. Our leadership in research and innovation projects and our network of cutting-edge facilities and equipment are the basis of the UPC’s impressive positions in the main international scientific output rankings. The Department of Physics of the UPC, which is the one that concentrates most of the teachers/researchers involved in the Master of Engineering Physics, has around 100 permanent members, among them 10 full professors. The research in Physics is organized through 10 research groups with a high scientific production. During the last years, around 200 articles in indexed WoS per year were published and 15-20 thesis/yr were defended. The research topics of the different groups, mainly devoted to soft and hard condensed matter, including biological and complex systems, spread from experimental physics, numerical simulations, quantum matter properties and non-equilibrium statistical thermodynamics. These topics are linked together within the Engineering Physics Master’s subjects.

Courses offered and Key Staff at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)

At the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), the proposed courses for Track 1 “Pharmaceutical Materials Science” and Track “Biomaterials for pharmaceutical applications” will be delivered in the 2^nd semester of the BIOPHAM programme. The courses cover on one hand advanced experimental characterization techniques (both laboratory-based and at large facilities), and on the other, modelling and AI tools. Laboratory practices are made possible by the support of the research group involved in the BIOPHAM Master (Groups of Characterization of Materials), specializing in temperature-dependent powder XRD, and temperature- and pressure-dependent calorimetry and dielectric spectroscopy), as well as by access to the UPC’s Centre for Research in Multiscale Science and Engineering (CCEM), directed by Prof. J. L. Tamarit. The group members have access to some of the beamlines of the ALBA synchrotron radiation source, located just outside Barcelona, both through competitive calls and internal beamtime, and every year, a visit to the ALBA facilities is organized for the BIOPHAM students; the group also participates in neutron and X-ray based experiments in other large-scale facilities, and actively collaborates with a large chemistry research group specializing in biosensors and devices, which is also involved in the BIOPHAM teaching activities. The CCEM provides access to research equipment in electronic, atomic force, and optical microscopy (SEM, AFM, confocal laser scanning microscopy, optical interferometry), nanofabrication and X-ray techniques (focused ion beam, XRD, microtomography), and spectroscopy and chemical analysis techniques (Raman, FTIR, circular dichroism, UV-Vis, NMR, XPS, mass spectroscopy), among others. Concerning modelling and AI techniques, the UPC staff involved in the BIOPHAM Master Programme includes experts in MD simulations, DFT techniques, and artificial neural network tools. The partner has past and ongoing research projects with pharmaceutical and materials science/energy companies, such as Abbvie Inc., Bouchara-Recordati, and Total Energies.   

Department of Physics comprises approximately 100 permanent members, including 10 full professors. It hosts the majority of the faculty and researchers involved in the Master of Engineering Physics program. Research within the department is organized into 10 research groups, known for their high scientific output. In recent years, the department has published around 200 articles annually in indexed journals on the Web of Science (WoS) and has overseen 15–20 PhD thesis defences per year. The research topics pursued by these groups primarily focus on soft and hard condensed matter, encompassing biological and complex systems. Areas of study range from experimental physics and numerical simulations to quantum matter properties and non-equilibrium statistical thermodynamics. These diverse research themes are closely integrated into the curriculum of the Engineering Physics Master's program and align strongly with the interests and future careers of graduates of the BIOPHAM Master’s program.