Filipe Marques, Fernando Isaac, Nuno Dourado and Paulo Flores, researchers from the CMEMS Centre, were awarded the prize for the best scientific article, which is awarded annually by the prestigious publisher Elsevier. This award is attributed to the article published in the last two years, with the highest factor of scientific and technological impact in the area of Machinery and Mechanisms, all over the world.

The four researchers were awarded the prize for the best scientific article with the work titled “An enhanced formulation for spatial modeling with radial and axial clearances” , which stood out among the 500 articles from more than 70 countries that were in the competition in this issue.This research aimed to study and develop advanced models of mechanical, robotic and human joints, capable of faithfully reproduce the existing interactions in kinematic joints of systems at various scales, ranging from the conventional dimensions in mechanical applications, to the micro and nanoscale .This wide range of application was one of the main factors of innovation and the impact caused by the publication. In addition, the award-winning article is, according to the recognized Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), the top 1% of the most cited articles among all articles published in 2018 in the field of Engineering worldwide.

The researchers Filipe Marques, Fernando Isaac, Nuno Dourado and Paulo Flores develop their scientific-pedagogical activities in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Minho and in the Research and Development Center in MicroElectroMechanical Systems of the University of Minho (CMEMS-UMinho), with Excellent rating .The domain of intervention of the CMEMS- UMinho focuses on the areas of micro and nanotechnologies, associating the valences of the mechanical and electronic systems with application to new biomedical solutions.