On October 14, a week after the official US National Nanotechnology Day, a Nanoday virtual conference was held to discuss about research and innovation in Catalonia in the field of nanotechnology, with particular focus on its application and impact on food, health, cosmetics and water.
The first Nanoday conference, dedicated to the development of nanotechnology in Catalonia and its impact on food, health, cosmetics and water, was held on October 14 in a virtual fashion. This initiative was co-organised by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation, ACCIÓ –the Government of Catalonia's agency for business competitiveness— and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce.
“Business challenges and nanotechnology: innovation with impact” was the headline of the event, which included a few talks and discussions about the state-of-the-art of nanotechnology in Catalonia, followed by four parallel thematic roundtables, one for each area of application mentioned above. The event was a great occasion to present the ACCIÓ Annual Report as well as the White Book of Nanotechnologies, a document drawn up by the University of Barcelona (UB), with the collaboration of the Catalan Society of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (SCN2) and authors specialised in the different topics covered in the book.
Àlex Argemí, Head of the ICN2 Marketing and Communication Department, chaired the roundtable on health, bringing the viewpoint of the GraphCAT community, an activity co-funded by the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF-FEDER). Among the speakers in this session was also Dr Carolina Aguilar, CEO of INBRAIN Electronics, an ICREA and ICN2’s spin-off company. Dr Maria José Esplandiu, CSIC tenured scientist working in the ICN2 Magnetic Nanostructures Group, participated in the roundtable about water, with a talk on nanomaterials for the (photo)-electrochemical degradation of water contaminants.