A pioneering step in sustainable construction has been achieved through the SMACORT project, which has successfully demonstrated how advanced 3D printing technology can be

used to produce a low-carbon, thermally efficient 3D-printed façade panel for existing structures. The project’s most visible milestone is the installation of a 3D-printed façade system on an existing structure at the Public Abattoir in Marsa, Malta.

What makes the innovation particularly significant is its environmental sustainability. The façade panels were produced using a cement-free geopolymer mortar made entirely from recycled construction and demolition waste, including crushed concrete and ceramic tiles. Using a gantry-style 3D printer, the material was shaped into modular 40x40 cm panels designed for efficiency and adaptability.

Nine of these modules were assembled into a 1.2 x 1.2-meter test section directly on an industrial building at the Public Abattoir. The panels feature a specially designed reciprocating pattern that improves insulation and helps naturally regulate indoor temperatures, reducing the need for mechanical cooling systems.

The successful transition from laboratory development to real-world application demonstrates that 3D-printed retrofitting is not only feasible but also highly effective for upgrading existing building stock. The project highlights a promising pathway for making Malta’s historic urban environment more energy-efficient while preserving its architectural identity.

SMACORT is funded through the Xjenza Malta–TÜBİTAK 2023 Joint Call for R&I Proposals.

For more information, contact Principal Investigator Prof. Ruben Paul Borg, Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta (ruben.p.borg@um.edu.mt)

The Management Committee of the OFF-SOURCE COST Action (CA21112) is delighted to announce its final conference. This event is the main dissemination hub for our network, uniting leading researchers, industry professionals, policymakers, and early-career investigators to share the latest advancements in the study of Offshore Freshened Groundwater (OFG). Together, we will foster new collaborations, explore the culmination of four years of work, and chart the future for this promising unconventional water resource. We look forward to you joining us to shape the next chapter in OFG research and application.

The primary objective of the RESCUE project is to build knowledge of deep-coastal and offshore low salinity aquifers in European coastal areas, to evaluate novel water resources and to help secure a steady supply of water to both population and industry in times of hydroclimatic extremes.

Objectives

This conference seeks to:

• Disseminate of the key findings and outcomes of the OFF-SOURCE COST Action
• Connect a diverse community of scientists, engineers, water managers, and policymakers.
• Expand the OFG network by fostering collaboration between academic and non-academic partners.
• Define future research priorities and pathways for the sustainable use of OFG resources.

Themes

The scientific program is organized around four key themes reflecting the OFF-SOURCE Working Groups.

Mapping and Characterizing Global OFG Systems

Exploring the fundamental understanding of OFG through data compilation, literature synthesis, and database development. Contributions highlighting the extent, volume, and hydrogeological context of OFG bodies in Europe and beyond are welcome.

Innovative Methods and Technologies for OFG Exploration

Presenting cutting-edge tools for OFG detection and analysis, including geophysical surveys, geochemical methods, hydrogeological modelling, and integrated interpretation of multidisciplinary datasets.

From Resource to Reality: Utilization, Economics, and Feasibility

Bridging science and application by examining the technological, economic, and practical feasibility of OFG as a potable water source. Case studies, industry collaborations, and economic models are encouraged.

Sustainable Management and Governance of OFG Resources

Addressing environmental, legal, and policy challenges for long-term OFG sustainability. Topics include responsible abstraction, environmental impacts, and governance frameworks.

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🌿Protecting the Mediterranean means more than drawing lines on a map.

The Mediterranean is one of the world’s richest marine ecosystems — but also one of its most pressured. From tourism and shipping to fisheries and coastal development, human activities continue to place increasing strain on marine habitats already affected by climate change.

Yet nature protection remains one of the weakest areas of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) implementation across the region.

Key challenges identified include:
⚠️ Limited ecosystem restoration actions
⚠️ Insufficient Marine Protected Area networks
⚠️ Weak protection of blue carbon ecosystems like Posidonia seagrass meadows
⚠️ Lack of clear measures to reduce environmental pressures at sea

There are still important signs of progress.

-France has mapped Posidonia oceanica ecosystems along its Mediterranean coast — a major step in protecting valuable carbon-storing habitats.

-Spain designated Natura 2000 sites as “Priority Zones for Biodiversity Protection” to help support EU conservation targets.

-Slovenia strengthened environmental assessments by considering cumulative impacts and land-sea interactions in its planning process.

Healthy marine ecosystems are not separate from economic development — they support fisheries, tourism, coastal resilience, biodiversity, and long-term sustainability across the Mediterranean.

As pressures on the region continue to grow, ecosystem-based Maritime Spatial Planning will be essential for ensuring that ocean development works with nature, not against it.

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📊 Source: WWF (2023), Maritime Spatial Planning in the Mediterranean Sea

The SMACORT project (3D manufacturing of developed sustainable coating materials for building retrofitting and energy efficiency) is showcasing how 3D printing can transform construction by combining digital fabrication with recycled waste materials to improve building performance and sustainability.

At its core, the project focuses on turning construction and demolition waste into valuable resources. Discarded ceramic tiles and crushed concrete are processed into fine powders and used to create a cement-free geopolymer mortar. This eco-friendly material reduces CO₂ emissions while helping to address the growing challenge of construction waste.

To further improve energy efficiency, the system integrates phase change materials (PCMs), which absorb and release thermal energy to help stabilise indoor temperatures. This passive approach reduces the need for energy-intensive heating and cooling systems, supporting more sustainable building operation.

A key achievement of SMACORT is the successful optimisation of 3D printing techniques to produce modular façade panels. These were installed in a real-world setting in an industrial building at the Public Abattoir in Marsa, Malta, demonstrating the transition of the technology from laboratory research to practical application.

Building on this work, the University of Malta is further developing 3D concrete printing using limestone waste, recycled aggregates, and industrial by-products. A gantry-type 3D printer is being used to test material performance, focusing on key properties such as pumpability, extrudability, buildability, strength, and durability.

Together, these initiatives highlight how 3D printing can enable high-performance, low-impact construction solutions and support the modernisation of existing buildings in a more sustainable way.

The project is funded through the Xjenza Malta–TÜBİTAK 2023 Joint Call for R&I Proposals. For further information contact Prof. Ruben Paul Borg, Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta (ruben.p.borg@um.edu.mt)

The PolyMEMSens (Polymer-MEMS-based sensors) project represents a significant step forward in the development of next-generation low-cost air quality monitoring technologies. Conducted through a collaboration between the University of Malta and Sabancı University in Turkey, the project focuses on designing highly sensitive microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based sensors for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly isopropyl alcohol (IPA), in real-time environments.

At the core of the innovation is a piezoelectric MEMS resonator coated with a functional polymer film. This polymer is engineered to selectively absorb target gas molecules, causing measurable frequency shifts in the resonator. This approach enables compact, high-sensitivity, low-cost, sensing suitable for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, including smart homes, industrial monitoring, and healthcare systems.

During the project, researchers developed and tested multiple MEMS prototypes coated with different polymer materials, including polypyrrole and poly(N-vinylcaprolactam). A custom-built experimental setup allowed precise control of environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and gas concentration. Using signal processing and amplitude-based frequency tracking techniques, the system demonstrated the ability to detect minute frequency changes, down to sub-ppm levels, correlated with VOC exposure.

Results confirmed a clear relationship between gas concentration and sensor resonant   frequency response, with fast response times of under two minutes. However, the study also revealed a critical challenge: the durability of polymer coatings. Several prototypes exhibited coating degradation and peeling, which affected measurement accuracy and long-term reliability.

The findings provide valuable insights for future improvements, particularly in enhancing polymer adhesion and sensor robustness possibly through the use of intermediate layers.

Overall, the PolyMEMSens project highlights the potential of combining MEMS technology with advanced materials to create efficient, scalable, and intelligent air quality monitoring solutions for the future.

Acknowledgement

This project was financed by Xjenza Malta through the Xjenza Malta-TÜBİTAK 2023 Joint Call for R&I Proposals.

Author: Andrea Cuschieri

Neuroscientists usually scan real brains to understand the mind. A team at the University of Malta is doing the opposite: they are building a fake brain first – not to think, but to keep neuroscience reliable. Their project, SARA, blends Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) with delicate biochemistry in an unlikely marriage that could make brain imaging more reliable and more reproducible.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, better known as fMRI, is one of the most powerful tools modern neuroscience has ever created. It does not photograph neurons firing. Instead, it tracks changes in blood flow that occur when brain regions become active. When a cluster of neurons works harder, it consumes more oxygen. Fresh blood rushes in to replenish it, subtly altering the magnetic properties of that blood. The scanner detects these tiny shifts and transforms them into colourful maps that appear to show ‘thought in action’. Over the past two decades, fMRI has allowed researchers to peer into memory, emotion, decision-making, movement, and even creativity. Clinically, it holds promise for understanding conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and schizophrenia – all without a single incision. Yet behind its glossy images lies a much more complex reality.

WHEN BIG MACHINES GET IT WRONG

Like every scientific instrument, an fMRI scanner is imperfect. The signals it measures are weak, noisy, and heavily processed by complex software before scientists ever see them. What looks like brain activity is partly biology, partly physics, and partly statistics. Brains themselves make things even harder. No two are shaped the same, so researchers must warp each brain into a standard template by stretching and squeezing individual anatomy so that scans can be compared across people. That step is essential for research, but it also risks distorting the underlying data. The problem is not that fMRI is useless – far from it – but rather that it can be overtrusted. A bright blob on a brain image can look definitive even if it partly reflects scanner artefacts, software assumptions, or statistical quirks rather than true neural activity. As Dr Claude Bajada, the principal investigator of Project Synthetic Anatomy for Radiological Applications (SARA), explains, uncertainty is unavoidable: ‘Every analysis has noise… it is good practise to investigate what the noise is to validate how robust the analysis techniques are.’ This matters because if the technology is unreliable, the consequences could include misinterpretation of results or clinical trials built on unstable foundations. As Bajada bluntly put it: ‘If you get this wrong, you risk entering clinical trials on a foundation that doesn’t make sense, potentially wasting millions in funding.’ So, how do you test whether fMRI is producing accurate readings or not?

 FLIPPING THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD ON ITS HEAD

This is where Project SARA takes a radical turn. Normally, scientists scan real brains and try to infer what is happening inside them. SARA does the opposite: it works to create a fake brain where the answer is already known, then tests whether the scanner and analysis pipeline can find it. Instead of asking, ‘What is the brain doing?’ SARA asks, ‘If we already know what should be there, do the fMRI and data processing algorithms detect it correctly?’ This provides what researchers call ground-truth data, a reference reality against which every measurement, algorithm, and assumption can be checked. As Bajada described it, this is essentially neuroscience in reverse: ‘You know what to expect… it is more about calibration – if you know what the outcome is meant to be.
Unlike a real brain, the SARA phantom will never think, but it will always generate exactly the signal that it was designed to pro-duce.

THE TEAM BEHIND THE SYNTHETIC BRAIN

SARA is led by Dr Claude Bajada from UM’s Boundaries of the Brain (BOB) Lab, together with Prof. Therese Hunter from UM’s Biochemistry and Protein Science Lab. Dr Brandon Seychell and Sephora Galea contribute to the project through the physical construction of the phantom, experimental design, and data analysis. From the outset, the team faced two intertwined challenges: first, to make the phantom look like a real human brain; and second, to make it behave like one inside an MRI scanner. The shape matters enormously. Modern fMRI analysis depends on standardised brain templates, so a phantom that does not resemble real anatomy would be useless for testing real-world methods. As Bajada explains, ‘A lot of the analysis depends on preprocessing, and this needs to have the same shape of a brain to fit into the standard protocols.’

MIMICKING THE BRAIN: DEVELOPING HYDROGELBASED BRAIN PHANTOMS

Building a stable, detailed, brain like object that could survive inside a powerful MRI scanner required many rounds of optimisation, trial and error, and careful craftsmanship. The concept seems simple – to ensure that fMRI machines and associated data-processing algorithms are measuring what they intend to. Yet, as Hunter eloquently sums up, ‘The project started from a very simple place to create something that is not so simple for a very complicated and complex experiment.’ Such a complex undertaking requires creativity and an unlikely merger of two distinct disciplines on either end of the scientific spectrum. At first glance, fMRI neuroscience and biochemistry seem worlds apart – one deals with colossal magnets and radio waves, the other with delicate molecules and chemical reactions. Project SARA deliberately bridges this gap. The physical brain model is built from hydrogels, which are soft, water-rich materials that mimic the mechanical and magnetic properties of real brain tissue. These gels can be shaped to reproduce the brain’s intricate folds and differentiate between grey matter and white matter. But structure alone is not enough.

Most existing brain phantoms generate signals using simple electronics. The SARA team is trying something different by achieving
signals using biochemistry. They are experimenting with hemin, a molecule closely related to haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. By alternating hemin and saline solutions and exploring the magnetic changes in the presence and absence of hemin’s iron, the team aims to create controllable MRI signals that mimic changes of blood oxygenation in a living brain.
The goal is not to perfectly replicate human physiology, but to generate repeatable, predictable, brain-like signals that can be turned on and off at known locations inside the phantom. In a sense, SARA is a brain that rehearses activity without consciousness.

TOWARDS A BRAIN THAT ALREADY KNOWS THE ANSWER

One of the most powerful features of the SARA phantom is not just where the signal appears, but also how that signal switches on and off over time and whether analysis algorithms can correctly recognise that pattern. In human studies, many fMRI analyses are built around expectations. For example, during a task the brain should show a clear on–off–on–off pattern of activity that matches
the experimental design. Scientists then ask which parts of the brain follow that pattern. The problem is that this assumes both the scanner and the analysis are faithfully capturing what really happened. With SARA, that assumption is removed. The team can program a precise, known ‘on’ or ‘off’ signal into the phantom and then test whether the fMRI scanner and the analysis pipeline detect it as they should. This is especially important for newer, data-driven approaches such as resting-state fMRI, where people
lie still and researchers search for spontaneous patterns of connectivity. These methods are promising but difficult to validate because there is no obvious correct answer in a real brain. As Hunter emphasises, ‘You cannot assume anything is a real signal
– whether it is noted through an MRI or a huge DNA-sequencing machine.’ SARA therefore provides a controlled way to stress-test not just scanners, but the mathematical assumptions behind fMRI analysis itself, before those techniques are used to make big claims about how the human mind works.

FROM PHANTOM BRAIN TO REAL IMPACT

SARA is not meant to replace research on real brains; they will always be essential. Instead, the phantom acts as a quality-control
brain, a trusted benchmark that keeps the entire imaging system accurate. It helps scientists compare MRI scanners, identify sources of noise, test new analysis techniques, and understand how pre-processing and brain-warping affect results. In the long run, this could make fMRI more reliable in clinical settings.
Better-calibrated scanners and more trustworthy analyses may give doctors greater confidence when using fMRI to support diagnoses of conditions like schizophrenia, epilepsy, or neurodegenerative diseases. The impact is indirect but powerful: better tools lead to better science, which leads to better medicine. In many ways, SARA feels like science fiction: a manufactured brain built not to think, but to teach machines how to see thinking. Yet the aim is deeply practical. By reversing the usual logic of neuroscience, the team hopes to make one of science’s most dazzling tools more dependable.

The SARA research team gratefully acknowledges the provision of scanning services by the University of Malta’s MRI Platform (UMRI). Project ‘Synthetic Anatomy for Radiological Applications – Generating a Functional MRI Phantom (SARA)’ is funded by Xjenza Malta through the Research Excellence Programme (Grant no. REP-2024-033), on behalf of the Foundation for Science and Technology.

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