July 2025: Endings and new beginnings

In the words of our most experienced members, building knowledge in any field requires the development of research lines within the framework of various doctoral theses, which enrich and expand the knowledge base by introducing innovations from different perspectives.

In this sense, although activity is constant in the different lines of research we work on, we have recently attended presentations that represent notable milestones in various research projects, such as the doctoral thesis defense or the presentation of research plans, illustrate the constant evolution of the various active lines of research, as well as the emergence of new ones.

In the field of intelligent management of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, our colleague Víctor Martínez Viol presented his doctoral thesis, which focused on fault detection in these systems to prevent their inefficient operation.

In his research, Víctor has integrated new hybrid modeling strategies and artificial intelligence techniques focused on improving the generalization of HVAC system diagnostics, working on a line of research that spans more than two decades.

On the other hand, in the field of power electronics, our colleague Luis Felipe Gomez Rivera has presented his doctoral thesis proposal, which focuses on improving the switching performance of gallium nitride (GaN) transistors with advanced gate driver technologies. This type of transistor can operate under demanding operating conditions, such as high frequency, high voltage, and high temperature, and is used in multiple applications, including automotive and industrial electronics.

Within the framework of the research line focused on sustainable mobility, the development of power converters and digital control systems for power electronics have become core topics for several doctoral theses in recent years.

Finally, in the field of cybersecurity, our colleague Joan Valls Pérez has presented his doctoral thesis proposal, which addresses the cybersecurity of distributed energy infrastructures, considering their significant proliferation in recent years, which increases the risks related to cyberattacks on the infrastructure that is part of the energy sector.

This proposal opens a new line of research that considers data-driven artificial intelligence techniques for cybersecurity applications specific to emerging distributed energy system architectures.