Advanced Materials is an interdisciplinary field with a reserach focus on the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. 

In the research area of Advanced Materials, ProDEF students can work closely with IFIMUP - Institute of Physics for Advanced Materials, Nanotechnology and Photonics - the research unit is located at FCUP or with INEGI - Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering - which is located in the FEUP campus.

IFIMUP carries out research over a wide range of topics focused on the innovative physical properties of materials at different scales, boosting the development of new technologies in order to contribute to solve today’s Grand Challenges. 

One of their main thematic vectors is Quantum Materials, where they work alongside with EU new flagship project to promote quantum technologies (QT). IFIMUP, in collaboration with UM and INL, is instituting the new QuantLAb, a CoLab initiative, to prepare for the newest EU flagship program. Their two main activities in the research field correspond to: Strongly correlated systems for room temperature cross coupling effects and Low-dimensional electronic/magnetic systems.

INEGI has several research groups related with Advanced Materials like the Materials and Manufacturing Processes. The goal of this group is to contribute with new knowledge, scientific and engineering practices that advance the state-of-the-art in areas related to the formulation and processing of advanced materials. Their research lines revolve around several topics such as: Materials Processing and Characterization, Materials Modelling, Manufacturing Processes, Modelling and Simulation of Manufacturing Processes.