The Office of Innovation, Development and Transfer (OIDT) invited various companies in the construction industry to pre-check the patent application. “Nanotechnology Structural Lightweight Concrete”. The technology was developed jointly by the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Development (CIDENNA) and Professor Roberto Lavin, Director of the Institute of Basic Sciences of the Faculty of Engineering and Science and Director of the University’s Research Laboratory in Nanotechnology.
The event was attended by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Dora Altbeer, and representatives from companies such as SIKA, Polpaico, Hormipret, Sacyr and the Technical Center for Construction Innovation (CTEC).
Also, during the event, Professor Roberto Lavin exposed the details of this proposal, which, in particular, seeks to contribute to the development of a new material for construction. “Talking to companies was very interesting because they give you an external approach. At the university we are focused on producing knowledge and we are not so connected to the business world, so these initiatives are very relevant,” said Professor Roberto Lavin.
For his part, Pablo Romero, Director of the Office of Innovation, Development and Transfer and General Coordinator of Factoría UDP, said that it is important to have such conversations because it will allow us to verify the technologies developed within the campus. Along these lines, he said, feedback from the industry is essential.
“Who better than industry to tell us whether we are doing right or wrong to focus on university research? “The knowledge generated within the UDP cannot be left alone within the university, but must be transferred to Chilean society and industry to create real impact,” he commented.
Meanwhile, Belén Catalán, ITDO Exchange and Marketing Manager and in charge of operations, highlighted the exchange of ideas during the meeting and said, “The participating companies gave us a Feedback This will greatly help us implement the technology in the industry”.
“They guided us in what we did not have, so that the innovation was finally used and transferred. In addition, they opened the doors to create new collaborations. We are very happy with the development of this process,” added the expert.
During the process, participants had the opportunity to express their views on the project. Regarding this, SIKA’s Senior Scientific Researcher Hugo Olivares pointed out: “The project in general is interesting. It can have a good reach and will help us to have a more sustainable industry in the future. However, it is in the early stages and there are still things to be verified, but in general, it looks pretty good to me.
In turn, Carlos Castro, Head of Structures at Sasir, commented: “The project is very interesting and will be applicable in the industry. This is not a small development, but it is also consistent with what we are examining. What caught my attention the most was the versatility of the app. It has many uses, which need to be defined hereafter.
The “Nanotech Structure Lightweight Concrete” project, whose patent application is jointly owned by UDP and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Development (CIDENNA), seeks to develop a new type of concrete based on nanoparticles. Although it is already in an advanced stage of development, the challenge now is to test this technology in real scenarios to transfer it to society.
This innovation is thanks to the receipt of the UDP Inventa Fund in 2020, which seeks to promote and facilitate the identification of the research results of the campus researchers and whose call is open until July 31. For more information about this competition, Enter this link.
