Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet SiBaToGA (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Great ape populations are dwindling. There is an urgent need to measure the impact of stress on great ape physiology and fitness so that detrimental effects can be mitigated. The stress response is usually studied through hormone analyses in living animals, but acute episodes also leave behind a permanent record in bones and teeth. This project characterizes three separate hard tissue stress markers that reflect developmental perturbations at different life stages: facial asymmetry (in utero), dental enamel defects (early life), and dental cementum abnormalities (adulthood). This project represents the first time that these stress markers will be coinvestigated, and it does so using innovative and cutting-edge techniques. The study sample includes wild and captive great apes that were the focus of intensive monitoring during life. The associated health, behavioral, and climate data provide an unparalleled context in which stress markers can be interpreted. While these common stress markers are well understood in modern humans, never before have they been linked to particular causes in wild primates. Given our close genetic relationship, understanding stress markers in wild primates will facilitate the interpretation of the same features in human remains from fossil or historical contexts. The Applicant is an ideal candidate to conduct this multidisciplinary project as she has the necessary background knowledge and imaging expertise. The sample is almost entirely assembled and ready to analyze. She will receive training-through-research to dramatically expand her expertise to include analytical techniques that are foundational to her field (i.e., 3D geometric morphometrics) as well as new and highly-specialized confocal profilometry- and histology-based methods. This project will mutually benefit from its close association with the CemeNTAA Project led by Supervisor Dr. Rendu which aims to develop and refine methods used to study dental cementum.

Mots clés : stress, great apes, teeth, bones, dental development, skeletal development, conservation, human evolution, 3d imaging

Participants :
- Université de Bordeaux (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 185076.0 €
Projet GridTIMES (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

GridTIMES explores innovative solutions for the accurate and up-to-date identification of power distribution network topology consequently a comprehensive grid monitoring. The EU priority of increasing the penetration of renewable energy sources in the power system has led to install a wide range of them into low voltage distribution grids. While the focus of power systems control and observation has traditionally been at the generation, transmission, and high voltage distribution levels, a need for accurate information of the network topology at the low voltage distribution network level is essential. Since generally, distribution system operators may not have an accurate and up-to-date knowledge of the distribution network topology, GridTIMES tackles this gap by proposing an identification methodology based on complex network theory using measurement data from metering infrastructures, end-users smart meter data, and GIS information. In addition to the grid topology identification, GridTIMES addresses other functionalities needed by distribution system operators such as detection of losses (non-technical, and technical losses), sustainable grid operation, system resiliency, renewable energy sources exploitation and etc. Moreover, GridTIMES determines the optimal status of switches for the optimal grid operation enabling distribution system operators to get a return on investment for their smart meters. Besides GridTIMES’s advances in the multidisciplinary research fields, it is expected to impact the EU power sector, the industry, and society as a whole, by contributing to the effective integration of renewable energy sources to smart grids in the industrial environments, and to the increase power systems' sustainability and reliability and the decrease of cost of distribution system operators consequently decrease electricity prices of end electricity users.

Mots clés : topology identification, grid monitoring, complex network theory, optimal topology of grid, loss detection, sustainable grid operation, smart meter, power systems, smart grids

Participants :
- Depsys sa (Suisse) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes privés (hors enseignement), subvention : 191149.44 €
Projet Light-Trap (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy in the Very High Energy (VHE, E>100 GeV) regime has fast become one of the most interesting and productive sub-fields of astrophysics today. Utilizing the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique (IACT) to reconstruct the energy and direction of incoming gamma-ray photons from the universe, several source-classes have been uncovered by previous and current generations of IACT telescopes (e.g. Whipple, MAGIC, HESS, VERITAS). The next generation IACT experiment, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will provide increased sensitivity across a wider energy range and with better angular resolution. However, research into new and improved technology for potential upgrades of the CTA system are already being considered. Improving the light-collection efficiency (hence reducing the energy threshold) and field-of-view of CTA cameras is high on the agenda of future upgrades. One may also consider increasing the number of telescopes if the cost of the cameras could be significantly reduced. The primary path to these goals is to replace PhotoMultipliers (PMTs) with Silicon-PMs (SiPM). These new photodetectors will also find multi-disciplinary use in e.g. in fluorescence telescopes for detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays and PET scanners in medical physics. However SiPMs are not yet mature enough to replace PMTs for several reasons: sensitivity to unwanted longer wavelengths while lacking sensitivity at short wavelengths, small physical area, high cost and electronic noise. Here we propose a novel method to build relatively low-cost SiPM-based pixels utilizing wavelength-shifting material which overcome some of these drawbacks by collecting light over a larger area than standard SiPMs and improving sensitivity to shorter wavelengths while reducing background. We aim to optimize the design of such pixels, integrating them in an actual 7-pixel cluster which will be inserted into a MAGIC camera and tested during real observations.

Mots clés : silicon pms, light trap, vhe astronomy, cherenkov radiation

Participants :
- Institute for High Energy Physics (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet RESOURCE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Groundwater protection is one of the latest environmental battlegrounds in Europe. It is used as a major source for drinking water production all over Europe and as such, the preservation of its chemical and microbiological quality is of vital importance. In agricultural areas with intensive livestock activities, groundwater quality might be seriously compromised by the excessive use of manure as organic fertilizer. Animal manure may contain high levels of organic contaminants (e.g. antibiotics, nitrogen-containing compounds) and bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and its reuse as soil amendment could be an important route of entry of these pollutants into groundwater bodies. This project aims at broadening the knowledge about the role of animal manure recycling as a major source of groundwater pollution by: (i) analyzing selected multiple-class antibiotics and ARGs and (ii) using an innovative approach, based on the bulk characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), to uncover the chemical pattern of selected manure-impacted groundwater bodies, used as sources for drinking water production, and provide evidence about the role of manure recycling as a major source of aquifer pollution. RESOURCE is a project with high societal relevance in Spain. The shutdown of large scale manure treatment plants in 2014 and the subsequent generation of large amounts of untreated waste might endanger the good chemical and microbiological status of drinking water wells. Thus, the outcomes of this project will be highly valuable to assess the current status of groundwater bodies and will contribute in preventing serious environmental and human health issues. The fellow’s expertise, gathered in international top research institutions and the outstanding infrastructure and capabilities available at ICRA, makes an ideal conjunction for the successful completion of the project.

Mots clés : groundwater pollution, antibiotoics, antibiotics resistance genes, manure

Participants :
- CERCA Institution (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 170121.6 €
Projet SPECMON (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Groups are abstract algebraic structures that mathematically encode the notion of symmetry. Groups are ubiquitous in all areas of mathematics and have applications, for example, to theoretical physics and computer science. Group theory tries to understand particular classes as well as global properties of groups. The theory of infinite monster groups is a crucial part of the theory. It provides examples of infinite groups with exceptional geometric, analytic, and algebraic properties, thus clarifying boundaries of classes of groups and often resolving outstanding open questions. This project aims to develop further methods for constructing and studying infinite monster groups, providing new techniques for producing such groups as well as a deeper understanding of the spectrum of phenomena encountered in the existing theory. The monsters within the scope of this project arise from methods of geometric group theory, which studies finitely generated infinite groups through their actions on geometric structures. The planned work will benefit greatly from the excellent synergies between the ER's geometric viewpoint and Prof. Thom's more analytic viewpoint on infinite groups, a combination which has produced outstanding results in the past. The methods and results developed in this project will lead to significant advances in outstanding open questions. Particular topics addressed by the project are, for example: Diximier's problem on unitarizability of groups (open since 1950), the Kaplansky zero-divisor conjecture (1956), the Baum-Connes conjecture (1982), and the open questions of residual finiteness of hyperbolic groups and of quasi-isometry invariance of acylindrical hyperbolicity. Furthermore, the project will lead to new models of random groups, in particular infinitely presented ones and periodic ones.

Mots clés : geometric group theory, analytic group theory, negatively curved groups, small cancellation theory, random groups

Participants :
- TU Dresden (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 162806.4 €
Projet METAPHOR (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Growing up near Great Zimbabwe, I was always fascinated by the myths and legends associated with the site. However it was surprising that these stories never featured in my studies as an archaeology student. This essential contradiction is at the root of this project which seeks to address the significance of these myths and legends in understanding and managing cultural landscapes. More specifically its aims are to 1) map sacred landscapes through metaphors represented by myths, legends and folklore linked to the two places chosen as case studies; 2) explore how ‘metaphors’ sustain sacred cultural landscapes in traditional societies in Zimbabwe and Australia; and 3) examine how metaphors can be useful to archaeological research, the management of heritage places and ethical heritage practice. In this study, metaphor is the language used in defining certain elements of the landscape through stories by communities that revere them. Through this understanding, sites and artefacts are anthropomorphised to behave like people and to take physical characteristics of humans. The project utilises two sites as case studies: Great Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe) a cultural site revered by Shona communities living near it, and Uluru a natural landscape on which local Aboriginal communities have inscribed culture through metaphors. The study will have a practical purpose: understanding metaphor by both experts and other users to create new interpretations of sacred landscape that can reduce conflicts with communities that inscribe cultures on the landscape . I argue that to understand landscapes that are sacred, one has to understand the cultural and environmental metaphors of those communities that own them. Current approaches tend to divide landscapes into natural and cultural but emphasizing this separation fails to understand the investment communities have in landscapes. This research seeks to redress this imbalance, and emphasise ways of drawing this approach into the mainstream.

Mots clés : myth, legends, folklore, metaphor, cultural landscapes, archaeology, traditional knowledge, communities, interpretation, sustainability, great zimbabwe, uluru

Participants :
- University of York (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet NanoBioS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Gypsum-based stromatolites (GS) make excellent paradigms for the investigation of fine-scale mineral-microbial interactions and for the detection of life remnants on gypsiferous deposits of Earth and Mars. Yet, they have been largely overlooked compared to the carbonate microbialites. To date we do not know: i) what is their exact mineralogy, ii) which microbial communities are associated to these structures, iii) what is the exact role of microbes and related bioproducts (e.g., exopolymeric substances) in mineral precipitation and stromatolite construction, and iv) which biosignatures may be preserved in GS. NanoBioS aims to address this knowledge gap by employing an interdisciplinary approach to study newly discovered gypsum-based stromatolites from Lake Bakili (Danakil Depression, Ethiopia) from a combined microbiology and mineralogy perspective. The Danakil Depression and the difficult-to-access and so-far unexplored Lake Bakili constitute a unique, natural laboratory for the study of both living and fossil gypsum microbialites, and a terrestrial Martian analogue-site. Besides the possibility to discover novel microbial lineages/metabolisms, we will attempt to identify characteristic associations of microbial groups with mineral assemblages and look for biosignatures. The overarching goal of NanoBioS is to gain a deeper understanding of the microbial influence on Ca-sulfate precipitation, as well as, to develop insights for distinguishing fossil life remnants from inorganic biomorphs on Earth and Martian chemical sediments. The host and secondment host laboratories that have advanced the subject of geomicrobiology of microbialites, will offer me intensive training in cutting-edge molecular biology and mineralogic tools, complementary to my so far geochemical expertise, aside to other, transferable skills. Overall, the development of NanoBioS will be career-defining and it will transform me in an independent, highly competitive, early stage bio-geo-chemist.

Mots clés : biogeochemistry, geomicrobiology, nanomineralogy, stromatolites, biosignatures, sr based stxm

Participants :
- Université Paris-Saclay (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 196707.84 €
Projet HACKIT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

HACKIT will advance our understanding of how individuals acquire information technology (IT) expertise in informal learning environments. IT skills, such as coding, are crucial for economic growth in the European Union (EU). But it is estimated that there will be a shortage of 900,000 IT professionals by 2020. Women are underrepresented in IT professions in all EU countries. These issues impede the competitiveness of the European IT sector and prompt questions about its inclusiveness. In order to develop effective, inclusive educational policies and initiatives addressing this IT skills shortage and gender gap, we need answers to pressing questions: Why, where, how, and by whom are IT skills trained? The relevance of informal learning for IT professions has been emphasised in this context. Yet, empirical, particularly observational research on IT learning in informal environments is largely missing. My project will tackle this research gap by conducting a digital ethnography of ‘hackerspaces’ in the United Kingdom. Hackerspaces are key examples for informal IT learning environments: they are physical places where community members engage in activities involving coding and electronics. Misleadingly, ‘hacking’ is predominantly associated with illegal acts, but hackerspace members actually pursue legal, innovative IT practices. By ethnographically approaching hackerspaces, I will realise three main objectives: First, with participant observations, I will investigate how individuals acquire and cultivate IT skills in hackerspaces. Second, through interviews, I will examine which factors (de-)motivate members’ IT learning. Third, I will detail how my study can inform educational policies and initiatives fostering IT expertise in Europe. Overall, while I will investigate how hackerspaces function as facilitative environments, I will likewise examine factors of in- and exclusion relevant to informal IT learning, especially regarding minority groups.

Mots clés : information technology  it, informal learning, hackerspaces, digital ethnography

Participants :
- University of Sussex (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet HEAAT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

HEAAT aims to develop a 200-year, high-resolution record of material culture and identity change among the Ilchamus community in Kenya from c. 1800 to the present and understand when and why certain objects are chosen as identity markers, why they persist, and when and why changes in daily practices occur. The goal is to contribute to scholarly debate on communal/individual identities and use the Ilchamus case study to establish a data-driven theoretical framework and research agenda for East African historical archaeology. Alternative information sources, the unique past of the region and previous studies demand an adjusted historical archaeology that privileges internal dynamics of local societies, historicises the use of analogies and relates to extant communities. This theory-focused project includes the investigation of old and new archaeological, archival, oral historical, GIS and other materials already collected, and training in ethnoarchaeology, micromorphology and multivariate statistics bringing together a diverse dataset from which minute social changes can be discerned and related to other events. Special emphasis is put on training in theoretical thought (with a focus on materiality, collective action and assemblage theories) as the most significant component of the action, which will contribute to the development of a new theory of identity formation and a research agenda. The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, is the ideal environment to develop these skills. By contributing a framework to a less established and understudied sub-branch of archaeology in East Africa, HEAAT will give the field fresh direction. Also, the action will actively draw from historical and anthropological thought, bringing the two disciplines with their separate lines of study on the recent past closer to archaeology, facilitating interdisciplinary research.

Mots clés : historical archaeology, east africa, theory, ethnoarchaeology, quantitative analyses, identity change, materiality, oral history

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet HEAAT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : SIGNED

HEAAT aims to develop a multidisciplinary, theory-focused and data-driven research framework and agenda for East African historical archaeology that will privilege the research of the internal dynamics of African communities and account for the region’s history of complex identities. By investigating a 200-year, high-resolution record of material culture and identity change among the Ilchamus community in Kenya, from c. 1800 to the present, the action will identify when and why certain objects are chosen as identity markers and how identities are negotiated, addressing questions raised by recent historical research. Historical archaeology in Africa has been drawn into a Eurocentric discussion with a focus on colonial disruption, pushing aside studies of communities in their own right and investment into archaeological theory in the region. Moreover, existing historical archaeological frameworks are not adapted to the African social and historical contexts, its alternative information sources and the multi-layered and multi-scalar identities that characterise the landscape, thus emphasizing the need to develop new approaches. To achieve its goal, the theory-focused action includes the investigation of old and new archaeological, archival, oral historical, GIS and other materials already collected, and training in ethnoarchaeology and multivariate statistics. Special emphasis is put on training in theoretical thought (with a focus on materiality, collective action and assemblage theories) as the most significant component of the action. The action will stimulate global discussions on identity formation in archaeology and anthropology, and it will facilitate cross-disciplinary interaction between history, anthropology and archaeology, which currently follow separate lines of research in the region. Through the advanced training, the ER will advance his career prospects in academia and establish long-lasting multidisciplinary research networks.

Mots clés : historical archaeology, theory, ethnoarchaeology, identity change, east africa, quantitative analyses, materiality, oral history

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €