We’re proud to announce that Fábio Dias, MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, was one of the two winners of the 2024 Prof. Luís Vidigal Award, which honors outstanding Master’s dissertations in the fields of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science.
The award was officially presented on July 4th, 2025, during the Master@DEEC event at Técnico, as part of the celebrations leading up to EletroDay, held on July 5th at the Técnico Innovation Center.

His awarded thesis, entitled: “Ultra-Compact Sigma-Delta Modulator for Organ-on-Chip Systems” was supervised by Prof. Jorge Fernandes (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, IST) and Dr. Diogo Caetano (INESC MN), and developed in collaboration with INESC MN and INESC ID, within the scope of the European project UNLOOC.

🧬 Fábio’s work focuses on organ-on-chip technologies — microdevices that replicate the physiological conditions of human organs. These platforms are designed to test drugs safely, reducing the risk of adverse reactions after administration, as well as contributing to the reduction of animal testing and lowering costs associated with the pharmaceutical development process.

👏 We congratulate Fábio Dias for this well-deserved recognition and for his impactful contribution to biomedical engineering through innovative microelectronics!

About the Prof. Luís Vidigal Award

Now in its 24th edition, the Prof. Luís Vidigal Award was established in 2000 by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC) at Técnico, in memory of Professor Luís Manuel Vidigal.

The award aims to annually recognize the MSc dissertation that best demonstrates scientific excellence, innovation, and overall quality within the fields of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Informatics, as evaluated by an independent jury.

Image credits: DEEC