Thesis for defense agenda

Reading date: 01/09/2025

• ALVAREZ BEAUMONT GRAYEB, LORENA DENISSE: Alvar Aalto. Maison Louis Carré. Del concepto a la obra: Procesos compositivos e influencias culturales
  
  Author: ALVAREZ BEAUMONT GRAYEB, LORENA DENISSE
  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 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
  Department: Department of Architectural Design (PA)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 14/07/2025
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director: SAUQUET LLONCH, ROGER JOAN | LINARES SOLER, ALFREDO
  Thesis abstract: Alvar Aalto was one of the most important architects of the 20th century and a key figure in the history of design. He was part of the so-called Modern Movement and is considered one of the great masters of architecture from that period. Although much of his work has been extensively studied, the Maison Louis Carré has received less attention due to its private nature until 2007. Built between 1957 and 1959 in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne (Yvelines), near Paris, the house was designed for Louis Carré, a renowned French art dealer and collector of modern art. Given the limited availability of both specific and general published sources on the subject, this study aims to contribute new insights into the Maison Louis Carré and Alvar Aalto's architecture.The information presented in this research has been 'constructed' primarily through the collection of period documents, site visits, and interviews with individuals connected to the building. Its objective is to analyze the underlying process behind the design and construction of the house by identifying the architectural strategies employed by Aalto.The study first offers an overview of the historical, social, artistic, and architectural context of Aalto’s time, as well as earlier influences. It also examines the impact of various architectural traditions—particularly from Finland, Greece, Italy, and Japan—whose presence is evident in specific formal and conceptual elements of the house, suggesting potential sources of inspiration from these cultures.The second part of the study focuses on the influence of the client-architect relationship, which played a crucial role in shaping the architectural program and design decisions. It also considers the significant involvement of the Aaltos and Louis Carré in the realization of the building, a project of high logistical complexity that would have been unfeasible without the sustained commitment of all three parties. Similarly, the analysis explores the Finnish and Nordic elements integrated by Aalto into the design, thoughtfully adapted to the client’s lifestyle, as well as to French culture and landscape—resulting in a coherent synthesis between both cultural contexts.The final section presents a more technical analysis of the design process developed by the architect—from the initial site visit to the completion of the work—covering aspects such as design strategies, environmental considerations, functionality, materiality, and structural systems, with the goal of offering a comprehensive view of the making of the Maison Louis Carré.This building occupies a special place in Alvar Aalto’s body of work, not only because it is set in a new context like France, but also because—beyond its aesthetics and timeless quality—it belongs to a period when the architect had already reached a high level of professional maturity. This is evident in his design approach and in how he engages with the landscape, incorporating a range of innovative construction techniques. These techniques manage to reflect the culture and interpretations of their time while endowing the work with a distinct language that remains evocative, dynamic, and of exceptional quality and originality even today.But what can we learn from Alvar Aalto today? In what ways could contemporary architecture achieve the level of quality and originality so clearly embodied in the timeless beauty of this house? Addressing these questions and demonstrating how the conceptual, compositional, and aesthetic values embedded in the Maison Louis Carré could still enrich contemporary architectural practice—when reinterpreted in light of current technological and productive capacities—is what drives the development of this research.
  

• ARIOLI, MATTEO: Novel polyamides containing bio-based units: thermal properties, polymorphic transitions, chemical modifications and evaluation of processing conditions.
  
  Author: ARIOLI, MATTEO
  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: Normal
  Deposit date: 15/07/2025
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director: FRANCO GARCIA, MARIA LOURDES
  Thesis abstract: Nylons, a class of linear polyamides, are well-known materials used in a huge number of different applications. Since the first production occurred during the last years of the 1940s, these polymers showed their ability to being used as technical polymers in the production of ropes, lines, nets, and injection molded pieces for the automotives industry and for household utensils. Their characteristic properties, such as the mechanical strength and the chemical and thermal resistance, are derived from their peculiar molecular conformations, characterized by the presence of strongly developed hydrogen bonds between the amidic groups of the macromolecules. The different organizations of the polymeric chains confer to nylons multiple crystalline structure. With the development of technology, nylons have been used for modern applications, such as in the 3D-printing technique, in the electronic field as triboelectric materials and in biomedicine as sutures, part of prosthetics, dental implants and catheters. In the last decades, greater attention has been devoted to the study of non-conventional nylons, based on monomers derived from bioresources or containing odd numbered carbon chains, enabling a deeper understanding of these materials and paving the way for new applications. In this sense, this doctoral thesis has been developed taking into account a new series of nylons, derived from biobased pimelic derivatives and containing monomers with a odd number of carbons. The work of the first part will be devoted to their synthesis, the crystalline characterization and the study of the thermal behavior and characterization, taking advantage of different techniques, including synchrotron light based analytical instruments. A second part of the thesis has been centered on the synthesis of poly(ester amide)s containing a bioactive triazole ring moiety. The inclusion of ester bonds in the macromolecular chains allows the introduction of a degradable group, obtaining a material that possesses the characteristic of a polyamide with the bio applicability of a polyester. The triazole ring, included in the macromolecules via a one-pot alkyne-azide click reaction, has been further studied for its bioactivity, as anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory agent. Lastly, a real application of a commercially used odd-even nylon has been tested. An injection molding machine has been used for in-situ X-ray measurement, by installing the equipment directly in a synchrotron beamline. With this configuration, the machine has been tested for direct study of the behavior of polymeric materials during the process of molding by injection.
  

• BACH, ANNA KAARINA: Alison & Peter Smithson, Axel Bruchhäuser and the Hexenhaus. The added value of the conglomerate ordering
  
  Author: BACH, ANNA KAARINA
  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 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
  Department: Department of Architectural Design (PA)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 11/07/2025
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director: MÀRIA SERRANO, MARIA MAGDALENA
  Thesis abstract: Between 1985 and 2002, British architects Alison and Peter Smithson transformed the Hexenhaus—a modest half-timbered building in Bad Karlshafen, Germany—into one of the late twentieth century's most remarkable houses. Through additions, extractions, satellite buildings, furnishing operations, and alternative routes, they redefined the relationship between the house and its landscape. This process fostered a close relationship with their client, Axel Bruchhäuser, who still resides in the house.This research provides a detailed study of the design and construction process of the Hexenhaus, using new graphic materials to illustrate its chronological evolution. The thesis examines 22 distinct interventions, considering them as both individual elements and parts of the overall project. It offers insights into an important but lesser-known period in the Smithsons' careers, spanning from the late 1970s until their deaths (Alison in 1993 and Peter in 2003). The Hexenhaus encapsulates the Smithsons' recurring themes of territory and fabric, place-response, internal project logic, and the ephemeral versus the permanent. The Hexenhaus architecture is examined within the context of the Smithsons' broader work and unique project conditions, marked by an extended design process that transcended the conventional architect-client relationship. The thesis focuses on the Hexenhaus, learning from its unique conditions and strategies, and shedding light on an obscure period of the Smithsons' professional journey. The house is interpreted through the concept of Conglomerate Ordering, linking its form to the Smithsons' mature ideas and observations.Two preliminary visits in 2013 and 2015 and the further research trips to the house and the Tecta Archive in 2018, 2019, and 2023 provided essential first-hand and archival information. Reorganising Hexenhaus documents at the Tecta Archive in 2018 offered a crucial overview of materials, such as plans, sketches, meeting minutes, notes, letters, and postcards, which became the focus of close study. The graphic material produced by the Smithsons and their correspondence with Axel Bruchhäuser illustrate their close intellectual relationship and reveal the design process's intricacies.The direct examination of the Hexenhaus yielded direct information, including precise measurements, photographs, and audio-recorded interviews with Axel Bruchhäuser. The thesis views the Hexenhaus as a collection of micro-architectures and objects forming a living, evolving organism. Consequently, the research extends beyond the house to include a detailed inventory of its furniture and miscellanea that play a crucial role in the architectural experience and design process of the Hexenhaus.The thesis exemplifies an accumulative architecture that responds to pre-existence, embracing the 'as found' as a situation to learn from and contribute to. The time embedded in the process allows architecture to be tested, adjusted, and corrected throughout an extended development, positioning Hexenhaus as an open-ended conclusion to Alison and Peter Smithson’s life’s work.
  

• KOKABEE, OMID: High-power ultrafast optical parametric oscillators from the visible to mid-infrared
  
  Author: KOKABEE, OMID
  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 PHOTONICS
  Department: Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 09/07/2025
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director: EBRAHIM-ZADEH, MAJID
  Thesis abstract: In a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO), the pump laser pulses are timed to arrive at the OPO crystal in synchronism with the circulating signal pulses, enabling efficient energy transfer and the generation of high-power, high-repetition-rate, widely tunable, ultrashort pulses. This synchronization allows SPOPOs to achieve high conversion efficiencies and excellent temporal, spectral and spatial characteristics. The research presented in this thesis focuses on the development of high-power ultrafast SPOPOs at repetition rates from 76 MHz to as high as 1 GHz covering the visible to mid-infrared spectrum.First, we presented a method for efficient generation of femtosecond pulses with wide tuning in the red spectrum using a periodically-poled LiNbO3 (PPLN) as the nonlinear gain crystal combined with bismuth triborate (BIBO) for internal frequency doubling. High nonlinear gain in both PPLN and BIBO, combined with collinear pumping, results in a conversion efficiency of 17.2%, providing tunable coverage across the 665-785 nm range. The large spectral acceptance in PPLN and BIBO facilitates convenient wavelength tuning by adjusting the SPOPO cavity delay, without modifying other parameters such as PPLN crystal temperature, BIBO phase-match angle, or pump wavelength.Further, we reported the implementation of a femtosecond SPOPO operating at an approximate repetition rate of 1 GHz using a novel technique to enhance the MHz pump repetition rate. The system uses PPLN as the nonlinear medium and features an innovative cavity design exceeding the fundamental synchronous cavity length. Driven by a Kerr-lens mode-locked (KLM) Ti:sapphire laser operating at 76 MHz, the system generates near-transform-limited pulses at the 13th harmonic of the pump laser frequency, corresponding to 988 MHz. Internal dispersion compensation using a pair of SF11 prisms in the linear cavity configuration achieves stable near-transform-limited output signal pulses up to the 14th harmonic of the pump laser repetition rate, corresponding to 1064 MHz.Later, we introduced a universal method for maximizing output power from optical oscillators through interferometry. By incorporating an antiresonant ring interferometer into one arm of the oscillator cavity, continuously variable output coupling is achieved over a broad spectral range and under any operating conditions. Demonstrated using a femtosecond SPOPO, this technique enables continuously adjustable output coupling from 1% to 60%. At an optimized output coupling of approximately 30%, around 200 mW of power is extracted, more than double the output compared to a conventional output coupler with around 4%. The method maintains a Gaussian beam profile and near-transform-limited pulse durations.Additionally, we detailed the development and characterization of a highly efficient and stable picosecond SPOPO system based on magnesium oxide-doped PPLN (MgO:PPLN), pumped by a ytterbium (Yb) fiber laser. The system achieves exceptional performance in power output and conversion efficiency, with a total average power extraction of 11.7 W. This includes 7.1 W of signal radiation at 1.56 μm and 4.6 W of idler radiation at 3.33 μm, with a remarkable extraction efficiency of 73%. This performance is accompanied by superior spectral and spatial beam characteristics, exhibiting exceptional output power stability.
  

• ROURA SALIETTI, MIREYA: Reuse of ICT devices as commons: A property rights governance model for collective access
  
  Author: ROURA SALIETTI, MIREYA
  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 SUSTAINABILITY
  Department: University Research Institute for Sustainability Science and Technology (IS.UPC)
  Mode: Normal
  Deposit date: 15/07/2025
  Reading date: pending
  Reading time: pending
  Reading place: pending
  Thesis director:
  Thesis abstract: Understanding the role of property rights in managing Information and Communication Technology devices, primarily computers, is fundamental to addressing resource waste and achieving digital inclusion and sustainability goals. Although ICT device acquisition, use, and disposal are predominantly governed by individual property, reuse ecosystems demonstrate significant benefits. In such ecosystems, diverse actors collaborate to recover discarded ICT devices, refurbish, maintain and deliver them at minimal environmental and economic cost to vulnerable populations. Based on Common-Pool Resources theory, this thesis introduces a model that applies a community property approach to govern the reuse of ICT devices, using the bundle of rights framework to organise and manage reuse ecosystems. Building on the eReuse initiative, developed through action-research by a multistakeholder community involved in computer refurbishment for social inclusion in Spain, it captures patterns of collective action, classifies participants by roles, and maps the property rights underpinning their interactions, ensuring fair relationships within the ecosystem. To assess the suitability and application in Ibero-American contexts, the model was evaluated in three reuse ecosystems in Argentina and Uruguay. Results indicate that, although local adaptation is often needed, the model works in practice and shows strong potential to inform the governance design in culturally aligned ICT reuse ecosystems. The model is operationalised through two digital tools, DeviceHub and Workbench, which facilitate the tracing of property changes in devices throughout their life cycle, while also collecting detailed usage and performance metrics. In eReuse, it was found that approximately 46% of discarded and donated devices could be reused, highlighting the premature recycling of functional equipment due to criteria such as accounting or software obsolescence. Data collected through these tools also enables more precise estimation of impacts and supports the creation of indicators for comparing digital inclusion strategies across various regions and scenarios. The results show that the CO2 equivalent efficiency of reusing devices ranges from 30% in areas with a higher proportion of renewable energy to 5% in regions dependent on fossil fuels, when compared to new devices. This underscores that reuse is not inherently efficient but is instead dependent on contextual factors. Furthermore, these findings emphasize the need for more granular data to refine these estimates and gain a better understanding of the full impact of ICT reuse in different contexts. Finally, this governance model was tested through practical case studies in real-world contexts. Our results demonstrate that the success or failure of reuse depends on the sociocultural context and barriers such as ensuring long-term maintenance and usability, which are more effectively mitigated in servitised reuse ecosystems, where maintainers and ICT agents ensure device performance in the face of rapid technological change. These insights contribute to bridging the gap between sustainability goals and ICT governance, highlighting the role of digitally enabled reuse ecosystems in fostering equitable, low-carbon digital transitions and generating local employment opportunities.