Campus and Community

Técnico alumnus is among Bosch Top 10 inventors

Engineer Luís Monteiro won the Bosch Inventor Award for his project Optiflow.

Engineer Luís Monteiro, a Técnico alumnus, was one of the winners of Bosch Inventor Award. He was chosen among 50 thousand engineers worldwide, becoming the first Portuguese to receive this award.

Taking into account the company’s size and quality, engineer Luís Monteiro “didn’t expect to become one of the 10 winners of this award in 2017”, he confesses. “It occurred to me that maybe the best researchers and engineers at Bosch did not apply”, he says modestly.

Optiflow brings together a technological innovation in water combustion management systems. According to engineer Luís Monteiro, “this invention will ease the work of the appliance technicians and will bring energy savings to final users, as well as a high comfort level for hot water”.

The higher thermal efficiency and the modulation range have been decisive for this award attribution.

The initial idea and the easiest way to run this project was to implement an air flow meter and a gas flow meter. “However, the cost of these sensors was unbearable for the type of products that we produce. The need comes first, then comes the challenge and, afterwards, the idea arises”, shares the Bosch engineer. The project took two and a half years, followed by validation and product integration.

The speed and success of this innovation are a result of “an immense work and dedication carried out by an extraordinary team”, says the engineer.

This award is an important milestone in engineer Luís Monteiro’s career: “My professional performance is the result of my university training”, he points out. Técnico strengthened his innovative spirit as he recalls: “In my opinion, passion and need are key to become an innovative person. I was fortunate because I met passionate people at Técnico who genuinely knew how to transmit their passion”.