Doctoral School

Reading date: 05/03/2026

• LARROSA EXPÓSITO, MANEL: Viabilidad de un nuevo diseño de lentes de contacto de gran diámetro para ojos con queratocono. Estudio clínico.
  
  Author: LARROSA EXPÓSITO, MANEL
  Thesis file: (contact the Doctoral School to confirm you have a valid doctoral degree and to get the link to the thesis)
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN OPTICAL ENGINEERING
  Department: Department of Optics and Optometry (OO)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 22/12/2025
  Reading date: 05/03/2026
  Reading time: 11:30
  Reading place: Auditori del Centre Universitari de la Visió
  Thesis director:
  Thesis abstract: Introduction:Keratoconus is an ocular disease that affects millions of people worldwide and represents a major cause of visual disability. Contact lens fitting is the most widely used strategy for correcting the refractive errors it induces, as it has proven to be an effective and safe option. However, no currently available lens design provides fully satisfactory results in all cases.Work performed:The main objective of this thesis was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new large-diameter rigid corneal contact lens design, featuring peripheral corneal support and vaulting over the cone, while simultaneously optimizing the personalized lens fitting process.In an initial study, the suitability of the corneal periphery as a bearing zone was assessed. To this end, the symmetry of revolution of the cornea in eyes with keratoconus and in healthy eyes was analysed based on a sagittal height measurements. The results indicated that the symmetry of revolution in the peripheral corneal region was comparable between both groups, supporting the feasibility of the proposed design with regard to the lens bearing area.In a second study, a prospective clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the outcomes after one year of lens wear in eyes with keratoconus. The analysis showed efficacy and safety levels comparable to those of other designs, a high level of user satisfaction, and, ultimately, high fitting and retention rates.Finally, a trial lens set based on the new design was developed and preliminarily validated thorough simulated fittings in eyes with keratoconus of different severities.Conclusions:The results obtained in this thesis demonstrate that the new large-diameter corneal lens design is a safe and effective option for visual correction in eyes with keratoconus.
  

Reading date: 06/03/2026

• ALCAYDE ROMO, BARBARA: Numerical modelling of the fatigue behaviour of composites. Application to the automotive industry.
  
  Author: ALCAYDE ROMO, BARBARA
  Thesis file: (contact the Doctoral School to confirm you have a valid doctoral degree and to get the link to the thesis)
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
  Department: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DECA)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 19/12/2025
  Reading date: 06/03/2026
  Reading time: 11:00
  Reading place: Sala Zienkiewich (CIMNE) Building C1, UPC - Campus North Gran Capitan S/N 08034 Barcelona
  Thesis director: BARBU, LUCIA GRATIELA | CORNEJO VELÁZQUEZ, ALEJANDRO
  Thesis abstract: In an engineering landscape increasingly focused on optimized design, lightweight materials, and multifunctional performance, accurately predicting the fatigue behaviour of composite materials under realistic service conditions is essential. Traditional approaches to fatigue analysis in Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) often rely on simplified extrapolations of laboratory data or homogenized models that neglect the complex interactions between constituent materials and environmental influences. Moreover, these approaches typically fail to account for temperature variations. Such reductionist perspectives limit the ability to capture the coupled mechanical and thermal degradation mechanisms inherent to advanced materials. This thesis proposes a unified numerical framework grounded in the Finite Element Method (FEM), integrating a phenomenological homogenization strategy, the Serial Parallel Rule of Mixtures Law (SP-RoM), with a High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) Constituive Law (CL). This approach enables the simultaneous representation of the distinct fatigue responses of fibres and matrix within layered composite laminates, accounting for variations in stacking sequence and fibre orientation. A key innovation is a calibration methodology that infers fatigue parameters at constituent level from experimental data at laminate scale, thus overcoming the challenges of direct testing of individual components. Furthermore, the work presents a thermomechanically coupled fatigue model incorporating temperature dependent material properties and thermal expansion, generalizing classical fatigue life prediction curves to fluctuating and spatially varying temperature fields. To address the significant computational demands of fatigue simulations, an Advance in Time Strategy (AITS) Cycle Jump (CJ) is developed, enabling efficient simulation of long-term fatigue damage evolution without sacrificing accuracy. Validated against experimental benchmarks and literature data, the proposed methodology advances fatigue life prediction in composite materials by delivering a flexible, robust, and computationally efficient tool. Additionally, the fatigue formulation has been enhanced to capture complex thermomechanical effects. This work lays the foundation for future research on integrated modelling of fatigue and multiphysics deterioration phenomena in advanced composite structures.
  

• CARRIZOSA RENDÓN, ÁLVARO: Advances in Set-Based Motion Planning for Safe Interaction of Autonomous Vehicles
  
  Author: CARRIZOSA RENDÓN, ÁLVARO
  Thesis file: (contact the Doctoral School to confirm you have a valid doctoral degree and to get the link to the thesis)
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN AUTOMATIC CONTROL, ROBOTICS AND VISION
  Department: Department of Automatic Control (ESAII)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 11/02/2026
  Reading date: 06/03/2026
  Reading time: 10:00
  Reading place: Aula Capella de l'Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria Industrial de Barcelona (ETSEIB), Campus Diagonal Sud, . Av. Diagonal, 647, 08028 Barcelona
  Thesis director: PUIG CAYUELA, VICENÇ | NEJJARI AKHI-ELARAB, FATIHA
  Thesis abstract: This thesis presents several contributions in the field of safe driving of autonomous vehicles, focusing on motion planning and prediction of environmental agents based on their behaviour. The methodologies combine set-based techniques, LPV models and optimisation, seeking to ensure safety with low computational cost in realistic scenarios.First, a comprehensive review of the literature on the use of set-based methods to address safety in autonomous driving is presented. The study focuses on three main families of techniques: reachability analysis, invariant sets, and feasibility theory, describing how they have been applied to different planning, control, and supervision problems. Their advantages, disadvantages, differences and similarities are analysed. With this review, a unified framework for interpreting the existing literature is proposed, which serves as a basis for justifying the design decisions adopted in the subsequent contributions of the thesis.The following contribution consists of a safe motion planner designed for structured convex scenarios with complete knowledge of the environment and the actions of the agents surrounding it. To this end, a formulation based on LPV models and reachability analysis using zonotopes with constraints is proposed, which is integrated into a predictive control scheme formulated as a quadratic problem. This approach allows explicit safety constraints to be imposed on the optimiser, ensuring collision avoidance and achieving safe trajectories with lower computational cost and less conservatism than classical robust approaches.Subsequently, an efficient prediction method is proposed to estimate the future occupancy of surrounding vehicles online, based solely on their observed actions. The approach is based on optimisation and zonotopic propagation techniques to construct occupancy sets that adapt dynamically without the need for trained models or prior assumptions. The result is a refined and computationally lightweight estimator, designed to be integrated into real-time planners.Finally, a motion planner capable of working in complex urban scenarios is presented, extending the two previous contributions. Based on the first safe planner, a new structure is formulated that maintains the QP problem but now employs a purely zonotopic reachability analysis combined with constraints, allowing it to work in non-convex environments and with partial knowledge of the intentions of surrounding vehicles. The prediction module is proposed as an evolution of the previous one, taking advantage of the known geometry of the road to obtain more refined occupancy sets.
  

• PUERTAS SEGURA, ANTONIO JESUS: Nano-enabled hydrogel coating for prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections
  
  Author: PUERTAS SEGURA, ANTONIO JESUS
  Thesis file: (contact the Doctoral School to confirm you have a valid doctoral degree and to get the link to the thesis)
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN POLYMERS AND BIOPOLYMERS
  Department: Department of Chemical Engineering (EQ)
  Mode: Article-based thesis
  Deposit date: 16/12/2025
  Reading date: 06/03/2026
  Reading time: 15:00
  Reading place: UPC-ESEIATTSala de conferències - TR5C. Colom, 1 - TERRASSAhttps://utgct.upc.edu/ca/imatges/espais-i-recursos/zones-destudi/espai-tr5
  Thesis director: TZANOV, TZANKO KALOYANOV | CIARDELLI, GIANLUCA
  Thesis abstract: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) represent a critical healthcare challenge, accounting for a substantial proportion of the nosocomial infections worldwide and imposing significant economic burdens on healthcare systems through prolonged hospitalisation, additional treatments, and increased healthcare costs. These infections are primarily initiated by bacterial adhesion to catheter surfaces, followed by the formation of structured biofilms that protect pathogens against host immune defences and antimicrobial treatments. Biofilm-embedded bacteria exhibit significantly enhanced antibiotic tolerance and facilitate horizontal gene transfer, thereby accelerating the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains. Current clinical strategies, including catheter replacement, systemic antimicrobial therapy, and conventional surface coatings, often prove inadequate due to limited efficacy duration, poor selectivity, or cytotoxicity concerns. This underscores the urgent need for innovative, multifunctional, and biocompatible solutions capable of preventing biofilm establishment whilst maintaining excellent biological compatibility.The present doctoral thesis addresses these challenges through the design and development of advanced nano-enabled hydrogel-based coatings, specifically engineered to enhance the performance of urinary catheters. Innovative coatings were engineered to incorporate diverse antibacterial and antibiofilm nanomaterials, including lauryl gallate-, silver-, ceragenin-, and lignin-based nanoparticles, employing green and cost-effective methodologies such as sonochemical deposition and enzymatic grafting. These nano-actives were incorporated in bio-based and antifouling polymers including chitosan, catechol-modified gelatine, and polyzwitterions. The resulting hybrid coatings were engineered to combine synergistic contact-killing and sustained-release antimicrobial mechanisms with enhanced surface hydration and superior resistance to bacterial adhesion.Comprehensive physicochemical characterisation confirmed the successful integration of the nano-enabled coatings onto indwelling urinary catheters, revealing tailored surface morphology, high stability, and controlled release profiles of the active compound. In vitro assays demonstrated potent bactericidal activity and biofilm inhibition against clinically relevant uropathogens, including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, under both static and dynamic flow conditions that simulate physiological environments. Cytotoxicity studies revealed high biocompatibility with human fibroblasts and keratinocytes, confirming safety for prolonged medical applications. Importantly, in vivo experiments using a rabbit catheterisation model showed significant reductions in microbial colonisation and excellent biocompatibility in animals fitted with the coated catheters, validating the protective performance of these devices under realistic physiological conditions.This thesis establishes a framework for the design and implementation of nano-enabled coatings that synergistically combine antimicrobial efficacy, biofilm resistance, and host compatibility. The findings present promising pathways for advancing next-generation urinary catheter technologies and provide a solid foundation for clinical translation, ultimately aiming to minimise CAUTI incidence and reduce the global burden of antimicrobial resistance.
  

Reading date: 09/03/2026

• DE SANTIAGO GARCIA, JAVIER NICOLAS: La imagen poética en los procesos de producción, proyectuales y habitar de la vivienda de autoproducción en Lomas del Centinela.
  
  Author: DE SANTIAGO GARCIA, JAVIER NICOLAS
  Thesis file: (contact the Doctoral School to confirm you have a valid doctoral degree and to get the link to the thesis)
  Programme: DOCTORAL DEGREE IN THEORY AND HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
  Department: Department of History and Theory of Architecture and Communication Techniques (THATC)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 09/02/2026
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director: USANDIZAGA CALPARSORO, MIGUEL M. | SERRA PERMANYER, MARTA
  Thesis abstract: This thesis addresses the search for the poetic image in self-built housing in the Lomas del Centinela neighborhood, in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. This search focuses on some of the processes identified with self-built housing, particularly in the production processes, design processes, and the dwelling process.The concept of poetic image is constructed through the discourses of authors such as Gaston Bachelard, Carlos González y Lobo, Steven Holl, Manuel Martín Hernández, Juhanni Pallasmaa, and Alberto Pérez-Gómez. It can be defined as the element that results from having imagined something with a specific purpose in mind. It is referred to as an element because it can manifest as a thought, a written text, a goal, a conceptual drawing, a method to achieve an end, a way of experiencing a place, of appropriating it, and of recognizing oneself in that journey.This study examines women from Lomas del Centinela who have self-built their homes, approaching their history and the forms of production they engaged in during the years they, along with their families, pursued the dream of building their own homes.During this research, they were interviewed, seeking in their discourses elements that could be considered poetic images, with the aim of exploring their self-building processes through the lens of the poetic image. Through this search, not only is the importance of imagination emphasized, but also the fact that self-building processes are not spontaneous. Rather, in much of their conception, construction, and inhabitation, they respond—beyond the management of minimal resources—to a strong imaginative component. This entails a profound reflection on the potential of self-built housing in terms of creative achievement.