Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet SPFireSD (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Wildfires have a great impact on the environment and can pose a threat to property and human lives and health. The occurrence of fire in natural vegetation is dependent on human activities and climate variability. In tropical areas such as the Amazon basin and Indonesia, wildfires are greatly affected by inter-annual fluctuations in tropical Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs). During the El Niño events of 1997-1998 and 2015-2016, uncontrolled wildfires caused record impacts on health, transportation and the economy. The European countries of the Mediterranean basin are frequently plagued by drought episodes (e.g. during the summer of 2016), causing dangerous wildfires which result in deaths, health problems and economic losses. Seasonal climate prediction is a field which typically forecasts seasonal average precipitation and temperature anomalies with a few months lead time. The main sources of predictability are SSTs, soil moisture, snow cover and teleconnections with the tropics. Seasonal climate predictions are performed operationally in Europe and globally, and are used in fields such as agriculture, health, water management and energy. While some effort has been put into short-term forecasts of fire danger in Europe, there is currently no operational seasonal wildfire forecasting system for Europe and only a few for other continents. The goal of this project is to develop and assess seasonal fire prediction capability through a variety of complementary and innovative methods, with a focus on Europe, the Amazonian basin and Indonesia.

Mots clés : wildfire, fire danger, seasonal climate prediction, drought, europe, tropics, enso

Participants :
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet OFFSHORE TALL TOWER (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Wind energy has rapidly developed as a clean and renewable energy source in recent years in order to meet the increasing demand for power. The European Union has already installed over 50GW of wind power generating capacity and has planned to increase the use of wind energy in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by the year 2020 (Tabassum et al., 2014). The use of wind turbines is nowadays the principal technology for generating electrical power from wind, and therefore wind energy converters need to be thoroughly investigated with respect to their capacity, effectiveness and integrity. It is widely known that wind energy potential (greater wind speeds) is greater in higher atmospheric levels, where wind flow is smooth enough as is far from the disturbed built environment. Therefore, higher towers are needed in engineering practice as the technology develops. The space used for offshore wind farms is also more flexible than that on land. For offshore wind turbines, their environmental loads are more complex than onshore ones including higher average wind velocity and wave loadings. Thus, this makes the development of a new tall offshore tower configuration imperative for the construction of offshore structures under wind and wave loadings.

Mots clés : offshore wind turbine tower, wind and wave loading, fatigue performance, experimental study, scaled down model, wind tunnel test

Participants :
- University of Birmingham (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet ConvExt (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Wind storms, hurricanes, and heat waves, are atmospheric extreme events with a huge societal impact and significant economic costs. Thus, their correct identification is important, e.g. for off-shore wind power generation. This project is a fundamental study on hydrodynamics turbulence, whose results will provide a methodological basis for innovation in wind energy technology. Extreme atmospheric convection events are characterized by large local amplitudes of the rate at which turbulent kinetic energy is dissipated, a central quantity that cannot be predicted from the highly nonlinear mathematical equations of fluid motion. This project aims at understanding the formation and predicting such extreme events of energy dissipation in Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC), a paradigm for atmospheric motion. Advanced high resolution measurements of the small-scale velocity field and its gradients will therefore be performed in a pressurized convection chamber at TU Ilmenau which allows to downscale turbulence and to use Particle Image Velocimetry for flows at Rayleigh numbers up to a million or higher. By combination of measured kinetic energy dissipation rate in the bulk and wall shear stresses in the boundary layer, we will identify the advection patterns that generate the extreme dissipation events. The present experimental analysis will be complemented by existing training data records of high-resolution direct numerical simulations of the same flows. They serve to develop data-driven methods and algorithms, such as recurrent neural networks, to predict such extreme events in experimental analyses. The goal of this project is to advance our understanding of the dynamic evolution of such extreme events in a RBC flow and to develop reliable tools to predict the events. This research objective will be reached in a multidisciplinary way by a combination of high resolution optical flow measurements with the data-driven modeling and data analytics by machine learning.

Mots clés : thermal convection, kinetic energy dissipation, particle image velocimetry, machine learning, numerical simulations, heat exchange, metheorology, extreme events, velocity gradient, 3d piv, wind energy

Participants :
- Technische Universität Ilmenau (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 162806.4 €
Projet THERMOGUIDE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

With 1.67 million of diagnoses and 522,000 deaths in 2012, breast cancer is the most common and the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Most patients with breast cancer undergo chemotherapy before or after surgery. Chemotherapy is generally applied as a systemic therapy, with only less than 1% of the administered drugs actually reach the tumour. This causes severe side-effects in normal tissue, and often prevents the administration of sufficient dose for effective cure. Thermotherapy, also known as hyperthermia, that is the increase of tumour temperature to 40-43°C, improves drug delivery at the tumour area and amplifies the anti-tumour effect of the drugs (biological and spatial selectivity). Despite this two-fold potential, thermo-chemotherapy is currently not used in breast cancer due to the inability to heat only the tumour area. Thermotherapy improves perfusion, extravasation and membrane fluidity in the heated region, leading to an increased bioavailability and drug concentration. Furthermore, heating above 41°C inhibits DNA double strand break damage repair and induces an anti-cancer immune response. As for the future potential of thermotherapy, it will be the key for the groundbreaking technology of thermosensitive smart nano-carriers, enabling a focalized delivery of chemotherapy load. Exploiting the full potential of my envisaged approach of improving clinical outcomes for primary breast cancer requires a precise application of thermotherapy. Unfortunately, current state-of-the-art commercial and experimental solutions do not conform to the intact breast, cannot selectively treat deep-seated tumours near the chest wall nor provide the 3D heat steering capabilities to specifically heat large tumour volumes. Therefore I propose this project with the main research goal to develop a novel, MR compatible thermotherapy system for MR-adaptive spatial and biological chemo-targeting in primary breast cancers.

Mots clés : thermotherapy, hyperthermia, medical device, breast cancer, primary breast cancer, chemotherapy

Participants :
- Erasmus MC (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 187572.48 €
Projet FORM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

With FORM the experience researcher (ER) will develop and apply a novel tool to investigate methane (CH4) sources and estimate their emissions through the measurement and modelling of radiocarbon (14C) in atmospheric CH4. CH4 is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas but CH4 emissions, and particularly their attribution to specific sources, are not well-constrained. 14C measurements provide the most accurate way of identifying fossil fuel-derived methane (from natural gas leaks, coal mining, and petroleum refining) vs biogenic methane (agriculture, waste and wetlands). Fossil carbon has lost all 14C after millions of years of radioactive decay during burial underground and it is entirely depleted in 14C. When emitted into the atmosphere, fossil-derived methane will cause a strong decrease into the atmospheric ratio of radiocarbon to total carbon in methane (Δ14CH4). By measuring variations in Δ14CH4, the fossil fraction of methane emissions can be quantified. Despite their incredible usefulness, there are presently very few Δ14CH4 measurements made anywhere in the world, because there is no available system for sampling atmospheric methane for radiocarbon analysis that is easy-to-use and versatile. This challenge has been addressed by the latest work of the ER, who has developed a unique sampling method for high precision Δ14CH4 measurements. The ER’s sampling system is currently a laboratory prototype. To realize its potential, she will further develop the system at the Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIP) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH). She will make Δ14CH4 measurements easier to perform, ultimately enabling systematic Δ14CH4 measurements to be produced. The new Δ14CH4 measurements will be integrated into a modelling framework as a further constraint on the contribution from different methane source categories and for verification of local inventories.

Mots clés : atmospheric methane, radiocarbon, greenhouse gases, methane urban sources

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191149.44 €
Projet BioExtrusion (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

With a raised global awareness of industrial environmental pollution, the polymer research is focusing on green biopolymers. The spinning gland of spiders and silk moths is the holy grail in green extrusion, as silk is spun at ambient conditions and is water based. This is achieved by finely tuned spinning parameters in the silk gland (pH, ion concentration, stress and water removal), whereby the soluble silk solution is converted into a solid fibre. To date, no one has ever succeeded in spinning at these ambient conditions, used in the natural spinning system. In this project, one missing spinning parameter will be investigated, namely small molecules, in the form of polyphenolic compounds, that are also extruded together with the silk. We formulate the hypothesis that these small molecules help to align and may even induce β-sheet aggregation by removing the water necessary for converting the silk protein solution into a solid fibre during spinning. As this same aggregation of proteins also occurs in many diseases, we will tackle this hypothesis with different techniques from quite different disciplines namely organic chemistry, structural-molecular biology and polymeric sciences. In this way we hope to answer our question that could never be answered by one field alone, as these disciplines will provide complementary data. In a first phase, the polyphenol-induced conversion of proteins to β-sheet structures will be investigated, necessary for a successful transformation of a protein solution into a solid material, supervised by world-leading experts (UGent). In a second phase, this knowledge will be applied for the cold extrusion of protein-based materials in the secondment, a company Luxilon, with extended expertise in fibre extrusion technology. Combining the knowledge of both partners, will enable us to spin protein-based biomaterials like nature does for the first time, resulting in green extrusion, impacting the industrial, medical and social sector.

Mots clés : protein, extrusion, polyphenols, small molecule, folding, biomaterial

Participants :
- Ghent University (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 160800.0 €
Projet GoldTrace (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

With an increasing importance of green technologies, today’s world relies on an increasing supply of minerals. As the discovery of large deposits of strategic minerals—such as copper and gold—is becoming rare, explorers now focus on the deepsea to ensure demand is met. We know since decades that large copper, silver and gold-rich volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposits are associated with seafloor arc volcanism. Therefore, understanding arc volcanism and in particular the source and transport of copper, silver and gold in arc lavas is critical in understanding how, when and why these deposits form. The Kermadec arc offshore New Zealand is arguably the world’s most hydrothermally active volcanic arc. Here, hydrothermal mineralization and the highest copper and silver contents occur in southern Kermadec arc lavas formed above thick subducting plateau crust. This suggests that the composition and thickness of the subducting plate strongly affects the flux and transport of these metals beneath arcs. However, the processes surrounding the source and transport of copper, silver and gold remain unknown. To fill this knowledge gap we will analyse, at high precision, copper, silver and gold in volcanic glasses (and melt inclusions) at GEOMAR/University of Kiel and compare the results from the northern and southern Kermadec arc. This will enable us, for the first time, to determine the extent to which the thickness and composition of the subducting slab influences copper, silver and gold contents within arc volcanoes. It will also allow us to quantify the amount of these elements that is being removed from the melt during its evolution and ascent. Understanding the processes behind the source and transport of strategic metals will provide vectors for explorers to discover new mineral deposits. Our GoldTrace project has the potential to provide a globally applicable model delineating where and why explorers can expect to find hydrothermal mineralization on the seabed.

Mots clés : subduction zones, intra oceanic arcs, arc magmatism, volcanism, kermadec arc, element flux, copper, silver and gold origin and transport

Participants :
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 85730.4 €
Projet D4M (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

With increasingly advanced manufacturing techniques, architected materials or metamaterials continue to gain popularity. Researchers have produced ultrastrong, ultrastiff and ultralight metamaterials, whose anomalous properties emerge upon mechanical actuation. Their vast majority are designed with a periodic and regular lattice structure. On the other hand, architected disordered materials have received little attention (e.g. earlier studies on foams) despite their robustness and flaw tolerance compared to regular lattice-based materials. This is largely due to their vast design space, which has been inaccessible with standard sampling techniques. The aim of the project D4M (DEFORM) is the development of a novel rational framework for material design, that systematically exploits disorder, and is completely data-driven, and hence experience-free. The framework relies on four synergistic elements: i) a unified network-theoretic representation of disordered material architectures, ii) the use of mechanics and complex networks as tools for evaluating design objectives, iii) the development of efficient graph machine learning techniques for executing the design, and iv) the practical implementation and validation of a suite of designs by additive manufacturing and testing. By focusing on design objectives such as high energy absorption and tailored nonlinear deformation response, the proposed research is expected to have a diverse impact in the design of cellular, granular and fibrous materials with applications in biomechanics (prosthetics, orthotics, bioimplants) and the sports industry (protective equipment, clothing, shoes). The implications of the proposed research stretch beyond these engineering applications and into the scientific understanding of complex biological systems such as bone and collagen. This project will constitute a significant next step for the academic reintegration and professional establishment of the researcher in Europe.

Mots clés : metamaterials, computational mechanics, machine learning

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203149.44 €
Projet COFFEE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

With modern data demands and computational burdens rapidly expanding, technology must quickly move beyond the traditional von Neumann architecture that has driven computational advances since the 20th century. Taking its inspiration from the remarkable plasticity and power efficiency of the human brain, neuromorphic computing offers a promising approach to overcome the fundamental limitations imposed by the von Neumann architecture and the imminent demise of Moore’s Law. One notable formulation of neuromorphic hardware relies on analog memory elements called memristors (resistive switching devices). While resistive switching is a well-known phenomenon, its implementation in neuromorphic computing currently suffers from several serious issues, including significant device-to-device variations, binary (as opposed to analog) switching and cycle-to-cycle variability. In COFFEE (Controlling and Observing Filaments For Enhanced memristive Elements), we seek to overcome these shortcomings by studying the fundamental materials physics of conductive filaments as well as through iterative and targeted device optimization efforts. We will utilize novel experimental techniques, including in operando transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning thermal microscopy (SThM), to visualize the formation and behavior of conductive filaments in practical devices. Insights gained from filament visualization experiments will be used to modify device design through geometric, chemical, and electrode engineering in the hopes of improving device performance. Improved memristors will be used for the fabrication of cross-bar arrays to perform benchmark computational tasks in neural network hardware and for neural network simulations. Through the study of conductive filaments and targeted engineering efforts, the performance of filamentary memristors can likely be dramatically improved and their implementation in viable neuromorphic technologies can move closer to reality.

Mots clés : resistive switching, memristor, neuromorphic, transmission electron microscopy, filament

Participants :
- IBM Research - Zurich (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 203149.44 €
Projet ECLIPSE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

With more energy from the sun striking the earth's surface in an hour than is consumed annually by fossil fuels, solar energy has the potential to provide significant part of the required global energy, in addition to substantially reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. Two of the most severe limiting factors of using solar power are the inconsistency of the power output, due to the day/night cycle and weather conditions, and the transportation issues due to geographical location. Solar fuels, produced by combining concentrated solar power with thermochemical processes, are a promising concept to overcome both limitations. These fuels, acting as chemical energy carriers, can be generated at suitable sites and easily transported worldwide, where they can be stored and used. Current methods for solar fuel generation are based on a 2-step reduction-oxidation cycle, with each step at different pressure and temperature, thus creating technological difficulties. Moreover, the solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency of the best process is less than 6%. The goal of this research is to develop a novel method for solar thermochemical splitting of CO2 and H2O, achieving high conversion efficiency. To do so, a unique approach utilizing the use of Ceria membranes will be investigated. The research will include rigorous modelling of the physics, followed by a detailed characterization and optimization, providing a solid understanding of the overall process for the first time. In addition, a novel configuration for the solar reactor will be developed, with steady-state operation and heat recovery, a challenging feat requiring innovative design capable of operating at 1600°C. Following the theoretical research, a large scale (50kW) solar reactor will be designed and fabricated, using the acquired knowledge. The experimental data that will be acquired, combined with the theoretical knowledge, will lead to major advances in the field of solar fuels and energy production.

Mots clés : solar fuels, solar energy, thermochemical cycle, carbon dioxide splitting, water splitting, syngas production

Participants :
- Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191149.44 €