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Photo: (Left to right) Two postgraduate students at Universidad de los Andes, Professor Ing. Joseph Buhagiar, Professor Ing. Bertram Mallia and a postgraduate student at Universidad de los Andes

 

The Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering at the University of Malta contributes towards interdisciplinary research for the development of biomaterials and biomedical products. Research is supported by ERDF-funded state-of-the-art laboratories which are equipped with advanced surface engineering, heat treatment and materials characterisation facilities; internal and externally funded projects; and academic and industrial collaborators. During the visit to Colombia a series of lectures directed to various audiences including academic staff, postgraduate and undergraduate students were delivered. 

 

Some of Prof. Mallia’s lectures delved into aspects related to the application of surface engineering to mitigate tribocorrosion damage on biomedical alloys used in orthopaedic applications and surface engineering strategies for anti-fouling and low impedance implantable neural interfacing electrodes. This allowed for the showcasing of two doctoral research projects which were supported by the Endeavour Scholarship Scheme (Malta). Endeavour is a project part-financed by the European Social Fund – Operational Programme II – European Structural and Investment Funds 2014–2020. In another lecture, Prof. Mallia presented the research project MEMSGRIP (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System Gripper).

 

This device is suitable for the mechanical characterisation of soft, temperature sensitive micro-objects for example a red blood cell. This project is being funded by the project ‘Setting up of transdisciplinary research and knowledge exchange (TRAKE) complex at the University of Malta (ERDF.01.124)’. During his lecture he explained the strategies behind the fabrication, testing and design optimisation of this Micro-Electro-Mechanical System Gripper. 

 

Two Malta Council of Science and Technology (MCST) funded research projects were showcased by Prof. Buhagiar during his lectures. The project BioSA (Biodegradable Iron for Orthopaedic Scaffold Applications) was financed through FUSION: Research and Innovation Technology Development Programme (BioSA R&I-2017-037). The BioSA project aims to address the limitations of existing bone scaffold solutions through the development of a biodegradable implant with a specific iron-based composition and an innovative manufacturing route. SEAM (Surface Engineering for Additive Manufactured Parts for Marine Transport) is financed through Sino-Malta, a Scientific and Technological Cooperation signed between Malta and the People’s Republic of China (SINO-MALTA-2019-02) and aims to develop surface engineering solutions to additive manufactured metallic parts intended for the marine transport industry.

 

This visit has further strengthened the bi-lateral relationship between the two Universities. An undergraduate student from the Universidad de Los Andes shall be visiting the University of Malta in the next semester to carry out a project in a field of common interest.