Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet MOTIONSPERM (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Spermatozoa show great morphological diversity and share the function of fertilisation. They are often found as single cells, but in some organisms, such as insects, they can form aggregates ranging from two to hundreds of cells. One of the most intriguing parts of this phenomenon is the coordinated motility and improved swimming performance and reproductive success. Research on sperm motility in insects is still largely unexplored, with most studies focusing on vertebrates. The MOTIONSPERM project seeks to address this research gap by analysing the biomechanics and fluid dynamics of different types of sperm aggregates and insect species and placing these findings in an evolutionary context. The collective motility of sperm aggregates is influenced by both their cellular characteristics and the microenvironmental conditions of the reproductive organs where they swim. These include the properties of the reproductive fluids and the geometry of the organs. I will use advanced microscopy techniques, 3-D reconstruction of reproductive tracts, and innovative measurement of fluid viscosity and viscoelasticity to perform microfluidic device assays that simulate realistic reproductive models, allowing us to observe sperm motility under conditions that closely mimic their natural environment. Reproductive traits, including sperm motility novelty, will be investigated in a temporal phylogenetic frame. This project will contribute to a deeper understanding of insect aggregate sperm motility and its impact on fertility, sperm competition, evolution and cooperative cellular functions. In addition, the project will produce relevant and high-impact research results, potentially applicable to sustainable agriculture, future biomedical applications and public health plans in the EU. The project will also enrich my research skills in advanced techniques, enhancing my professional competitiveness and increasing my abilities and potential for an independent and successful career.

Mots clés : biophysics coevolution fluid viscosity sperm competition sperm cooperation

Participants :
- Université de Lincoln (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 276187.92 €
Projet HEIDI (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2022)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

In a world of shifting geopolitics and increasing societal and economic challenges, higher education institutions (HEIs) have become critical actors in promoting economic, social, and educational relations among nations. They also contribute to enhancing the global science-policy interface by providing knowledge and expertise during crises while pursuing Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, we know surprisingly little re how higher education institutions combine political agency with knowledge production and thus act as autonomous agents of informal diplomacy. A truly interdisciplinary project bringing theoretical, methodological and empirical innovations, HEIDI studies HEIs' nature and role as informal diplomatic actors. Focusing on the European Universities Initiative (EUI), HEIDI: 1): defines the concept of higher education informal diplomacy; (2) maps the nature, governance, and policy practices of HEIs as informal diplomatic actors; 3) traces how HEIs are advancing informal diplomacy by looking at the role of stakeholders in this process. HEIDI proposes a two-year fellowship at the School of Transnational Governance of the European University Institute in Florence. The expertise and facilities offered by the host and the supervisor (Prof. Stone), together with my existing experience and talent, mutually reinforce my development as an independent researcher during the fellowship. In addition, advanced training (e.g. statistics, grant writing, science communication) and two-way knowledge transfer will allow me to realize my long-term career goals after the fellowship. A customized dissemination and communication plan ensures that the project and its results are known well beyond the academic community. Altogether, HEIDI bridges a major scientific gap and represents cutting-edge research in a vital field for the future of Europe in enhancing awareness of the importance of higher education to foster international cooperation and solve global challenges.

Mots clés : science diplomacy, higher education, internationalization, transnational governance, european union, knowledge, alliances, sustainable development goals, global challenges, eu foreign policy

Participants :
- Institut universitaire européen de Florence (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 164950.08 €
Projet GEOSENSOR (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The exponential growth of electromagnetic radiation pollution from electronic devices raises a lot of concern, resulting in biological threats. This adversely affects sectors, such as aviation, military, and medical industries. Thus, synthesizing smart, functionalized, and sustainable building materials with substantial shielding efficiency and thermal properties is needed to obtain safety and security demands. The self-sensing capability of geopolymer concrete is obtained from the piezoelectric effect, and can be enhanced by adding functional fillers, such as graphene oxide. Its reduced synthesis usually entails harsh chemicals and when improperly disposed, it creates a detrimental impact in the environment. Using an eco-friendly reducing agent, such as glutathione, and cross-linking with carbonyl iron aims to produce a high piezoelectric effect with high conductivity networks. While the surface functionalization improves both shielding efficiency and thermal stability when polydopamine is incorporated. The MSCA GEOSENSOR Postdoctoral Fellowship aims to demonstrate proof-of-concept by providing guidelines in geopolymer mix design construction and various assessments to check the sensing abilities, surface functionalization, shielding efficiency, and thermal stability of geopolymer products. It is a novel technique by utilizing green materials to further improve the aforementioned geopolymer properties. It also envisions a sustainable implementation anchored in MSCA Green Deal, resulting in lower energy usage, overall production costs, and environmental impact. Through scale-up production, the project's contribution to the circular economy and its economic feasibility can be evaluated. This project also addresses challenges stated by the UN SDG, such as building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation (SDG 9).

Mots clés : geopolymer, agro industrial wastes, self sensing, surface functionalization, circular economy

Participants :
- Université de Jaén (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 194074.56 €
Projet QBridges (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Quantum systems are inherently stochastic. At the quantum level, randomness is introduced not only through the act of measurement, but also due to the uncontrollable interaction with the surrounding environment. Indeed, the precise manipulation of quantum dynamics presents a challenge for emerging quantum technologies, such as computing, simulation, and quantum sensing. On the other hand, optimal transportation and Brownian/Schrödinger bridges are of central importance in applications requiring regulation and estimation of classical stochastic processes. These include unsupervised machine learning, motion planning in robotics or protein docking and single-cell genomics in biology. In this project, we set out to extend these classical theories into the quantum domain. Specifically, we will develop original methods to regulate and estimate the dynamics of open quantum systems. The research will lead to powerful optimization tools for state steering quantum control of noisy quantum dynamics, and will also provide novel insights into the thermodynamics of stochastic quantum processes. Furthermore, the project will deliver new methods to characterize the dynamics of complex quantum systems that better fit experimental observations, thus making a groundbreaking contribution to the theory of open quantum systems. Overall, this research will bridge the gap between mathematics and the next generation of quantum technologies, which will have broad implications, from quantum thermodynamics to quantum sensing or coherent control.

Mots clés : open quantum systems, stochastic quantum dynamics, weakly measured quantum systems, schr dinger bridges, diffusion bridges, optimal transportation

Participants :
- Université de La Laguna (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165312.96 €
Projet Med-Bridge (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

This project aims to explore potential connections between medieval stone-cut vaults in the Middle East and similar vaults that suddenly emerged in European regions such as the Valencian Kingdom, Northern Germany, and Southern Italy between the 15th and 16th centuries. The research endeavours to enhance our understanding of the geometric analysis, design, and construction techniques employed in these highly intricate vaults. While modern stone-cutting forms had yet to develop in Europe, a constructive and decorative technique that anticipated existing solutions in Western Christian culture had evolved in the Middle East. In this context, the study will progress by examining examples found in Eastern countries such as Armenia, Turkey, Israel and Egypt, which clearly exhibit construction similarities with Europe. Within this framework, the geometric analysis of five of the most complex vaults of the era will be conducted, and these vaults will be practically reconstructed. The existing knowledge has predominantly relied on sources and appears inconsistent in some aspects. The innovative approach of this project involves formulating hypotheses about vault design, supported by data obtained directly from constructed objects - a method not commonly used until now. In this context, by comparing the current interpretations of existing sources with the results of field and workshop studies, it will be possible to examine similar structures based on a scientific foundation, thus allowing for the establishment of new connections between Christian Western and Muslim Eastern can be established through the history of construction. Furthermore, the research findings are expected to make a significant contribution to the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage.

Mots clés : stereotomy, arris vaults, construction history

Participants :
- Brandenburg University of Technology (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 189687.36 €
Projet AIDDRI (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : SIGNED

In recent years, the importance of biomedical implants has surged in addressing various medical conditions, including bone fractures, heart ailments, and other healthcare challenges. As healthcare complexities continue to escalate, there is a growing demand for biodegradable implants. Pioneering research in medical science is driving the scientific community toward the latest generation of biomedical implants, which closely mimic natural bone and tissues, greatly enhancing their biocompatibility. For instance, temporary medical implants are now based on biodegradable metals like magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe), offering promising potential. Mg alloys, in particular, have a long and illustrious history, especially in bone-support applications. Their elastic modulus closely matches that of natural cortical bone, thereby reducing the occurrence of stress-shielding effects. Furthermore, the body's established pathways for excreting excess Mg via urine make Mg-based alloys ideal candidates for resorbable implants. It is anticipated that Mg-based implants will degrade within a suitable timeframe within the human body. However, there are challenges associated with metallic implants. Firstly, achieving a uniform and predictable degradation rate of implant within the human body. Complete dissolution of the implant after fulfilling its function can provide substantial benefits to the patient by eliminating the risks and costs associated with secondary surgeries and complications, such as hypersensitivity. The second major challenge lies in using biologically safe, low-alloyed magnesium, which, unfortunately, results in high corrosion rates and the formation of hydrogen bubbles that can hinder the healing process. To address these challenges, we propose the development of a novel methodology for producing Mg-based alloys suitable for biodegradable, resorbable implant applications, offering excellent performance.

Mots clés : biomedical implants, resorbable implants, biodegradable alloys, artificial intelligence, machine learning

Participants :
- FZU  Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Rép. Tchèque) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 166278.72 €
Projet MagnOIv (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Spintronics, technologies which make use of electron spin rather than solely its charge, represent a promising pathway towards new, efficient technologies. Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials are promising candidates for these new technologies as they exhibit exotic electronic and magnetic properties, including recently observed ferromagnetism, and they can be combined with other low-dimensional materials in layered heterostructures. Meanwhile, the development of on-surface synthesis (OSS) protocols for organic and metal-organic materials has led to a pool of magnetic materials whose properties can be tuned via careful selection of molecular precursor. This project aims to develop new hybrid organic/inorganic vdW heterostructures to combine the tuneability of organic and metal-organic materials with 2D ferromagnetic vdW materials. This project will develop new OSS protocols for low-dimensional organic and metal-organic materials on 2D inorganic ferromagnets. It will also seek to characterize the interfacial magnetic and electronic properties of the hybrid vdW heterostructures using scanning probe microscopy. These growth protocols and magnetic properties could inform the design of future spintronics technologies.

Mots clés : scanning probe microscopy metal organic 2d materials on surface synthesis ferromagnetism spintronics

Participants :
- FZU  Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Rép. Tchèque) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191918.16 €
Projet INSPIK (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2024)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

INSPIK aims to investigate the sociolinguistic prehistory of a language called Konkani, which is spoken in scattered pockets across four states (Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala) on the western coast of India. As a southwestern Indo-Aryan language neighbouring Dravidian languages such as Kannada, Tulu, and Malayalam, Konkani is intriguing from a language-contact perspective. Konkani has, until recently, remained in a diglossic ‘low’ relationship with other local and colonial literary, more powerful languages. In the absence of any written materials in Konkani prior to the 16th century, resources to undertake historically-oriented research on the language have been limited. INSPIK proposes an innovative use of Sanskrit/Kannada/Prakrit inscriptions discovered in today’s Konkani-speaking regions, oral histories of migration recorded in Sanskrit Puranic texts, modern dialectological documentations of Konkani and other neighbouring languages, and comparative analysis of contemporary linguistic data to reconstruct a sociolinguistic prehistory of Konkani. Recent research has revealed that the Konkani language structure shows robust traces of prehistoric long-term, stable Dravidian and Indo-Aryan language contact. INSPIK will develop the idea further by examining previous language documentations complemented with new data collected for the project. Drawing on these linguistic data, and the insights gathered through inscriptions and ancient literary texts, INSPIK will then critically apply the sociolinguistic typological framework to identify the possible prehistoric sociolinguistic settings during the formation period of Konkani. At the end of the project, INSPIK will introduce an innovative methodology for undertaking historical research on languages with limited written materials, apply the sociolinguistic typology framework to a lesser-known language and test its limitations, and contribute data on Konkani to the Kiel South Asian Typological Database.

Mots clés : language contact, india, sociolinguistics, typology, dialectology, indo aryan, dravidian, historical dialectology, konkani, marathi, kannada

Participants :
- Université Christian Albrecht de Kiel (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 217965.12 €
Projet ATOSENSE (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2023)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

The dramatic effect of air contaminants on global health and Earth’s climate change require a reliable, real-time monitoring of pollutants for their effective reduction. The limitation of existing sensing technologies for this need in terms of production cost, fabrication processes, miniaturization, sensitivity and selectivity push the search for new materials and sensing concepts to address the challenge of ultra-sensitive gas sensors. In this framework, graphene appears as the most promising candidates due to its large surface-to-volume ratio, low electronic noise, miniaturization capability and cost-effectiveness. However, its semimetallic nature limits its application in the most sensitive, field-effect transistor (FET) architecture, and its inertness severely limits its selectivity. This project aims at overcoming these limitations by developing FET sensors using a new class of graphene-based nanomaterials where sensing units with atomically precise, analyte-specific functional groups are covalently linked to the transductor channels constituted by a semiconducting graphene backbone. The multidisciplinary strategy proposed in this project covers the whole value chain from the synthesis of the nanomaterial to the characterization of the sensing devices, by merging synthetic chemistry, advanced nanomaterials characterization and device fabrication. The proof-of-concept of such devices will pave the way towards ultimate "4S" sensor performances (selectivity, sensitivity, speed and stability), thus having a profound impact on the NEXT Generation EU challenges of “Environmental protection” and “Pollution prevention and control”.

Mots clés : graphene nanoarchitectures, nonporous graphene, doping, scanning tunneling microscopy, gas sensing, in operando regime, graphene based fets, next generation sensing devices

Participants :
- Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 165312.96 €
- FZU  Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Rép. Tchèque) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet Deledda (Horizon Europe, appel à projets 2021)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Gravitational wave astronomy has opened an extraordinary new window to test the theory of gravity in the genuinely strong, highly dynamical and relativistic regime. The LIGO-Virgo Collaboration has now detected over 50 mergers of compact binary systems and this number will considerably increase in the coming years. There are currently two main issues related to the possibility of testing gravity with gravitational wave observations: the weakness of parametric tests of General Relativity to go beyond null tests and the very long inference time required by standard samplers which can take up to months. Specific waveform models and new techniques to speed up statistical inference are therefore crucial to maximise the scientific return of already available and upcoming data. In this project, we will construct an analytical model of the gravitational waves emitted during the late inspiral and merger of compact objects in theories of gravity that are cosmologically motivated, namely that have a chance to explain Dark Energy. We will then leverage deep learning techniques to promptly produce the posterior for the corresponding parameters given the detector data. To this aim, we will build up on two codes developed by one of the supervisors - ROMAN and PERCIVAL - which pioneered the use of machine learning in gravitational wave science. We will then apply this new pipeline to the real LIGO-Virgo data and perform Bayesian inference of Dark Energy parameters. All together this project will provide a new and complete framework to test the dark Universe with gravitational wave observations, exploiting state-of-the-art deep learning techniques.

Mots clés : gravitational waves, tests of general relativity, data analysis, machine learning, dark energy, gravitational wave sources, gravitational wave detection, astrophysical studies of gravity

Participants :
- Université de Pise (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 288859.2 €
- Institut de technologie de Californie (Etats-Unis) — Partner, associated partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €