Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet EVOREL (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Evolution of animal forms largely depends on changes in developmental gene expression patterns. These genes are controlled by a large number of cis-regulatory elements (CREs) distributed in extended genomic regions organized in 3D chromatin structures known as regulatory landscapes (RLs). However, it is currently unknown how these RLs originate and evolve and how changes in RL architecture and associated CREs have impacted the evolution of gene expression and animal body plans. The aim of this proposal is to understand the evolution and origin of vertebrate regulatory genomic architecture. For that, I will generate an extensive epigenetic and topological profiling of the European amphioxus genome, a slow-evolving basal invertebrate chordate. I will study RLs 3D chromatin architecture, enhancers, promoters, open chromatin and nucleosome positioning through amphioxus embryogenesis using 4C-seq, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq and RNA-seq and compare these datasets with equivalent results from vertebrates. This will allow me to identify the core RLs organizations that we and other vertebrates share and that underlie the novel and conserved features that characterize our body plan. These results will make ground breaking advances in our understanding of how the regulatory architecture of our genome was assembled during evolution, providing new insights on how RLs organization has impacted gene expression and, ultimately, evolution of animal morphology. By the execution of EVOREL innovative techniques and multi-disciplinary approaches to unveil the deep roots of the human regulatory architecture, I will start a promising research program that will secure my future career as an independent group leader.

Mots clés : amphioxus, evodevo, regulatoy landscapes, vertebrate evolution, genome architecture

Participants :
- Spanish National Research Council (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 158121.6 €
Projet SATORI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Excepting III-N compounds, the III-V and group-IV semiconductors that underpin contemporary optoelectronics crystallise in a cubic structure. Recent advancements in semiconductor growth enable switching between cubic and hexagonal phases in these materials, allowing fabrication of hexagonal semiconductors and crystal phase heterostructures (CPHs). Growth in metastable phases radically alters material properties, with so-called crystal phase engineering (CPE) constituting a new paradigm to tailor semiconductors for practical applications. However, detailed understanding of the implications of CPE for technologically-relevant material properties is currently lacking. The SATORI project will employ a multi-scale approach, encompassing atomistic first principles calculations and continuum model/software development, to establish a new state of the art in theory and simulation for CPE. This platform will be applied to quantify key hexagonal phase and CPH properties, and hence to identify optimised materials and nanostructures for photonics applications. This significantly enhanced understanding of the properties and potential of CPE will provide critical insights to a burgeoning experimental community. The outgoing phase will proceed at the University of California Santa Barbara, USA (UCSB) under the supervision of Prof. Chris Van de Walle, and will focus on first principles analysis of electronic properties and carrier recombination. The return phase will proceed at Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Ireland (TNI-UCC) under the supervision of Prof. Eoin O’Reilly, and will focus on multi-scale simulation and optimisation of the properties of CPHs for visible and infrared photonics applications. By combining the expertise of UCSB in first principles analysis with that of TNI-UCC in multi-scale device simulation, SATORI will deliver new insights and simulation tools to drive development of photonic devices based on this emerging class of semiconductors.

Mots clés : crystal phase engineering, crystal phase heterostructures, first principles calculations, electronic structure, carrier recombination, optical properties

Participants :
- National University of Ireland (Irlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 257561.28 €
- University of California System (Etats-Unis) — Partner, organization partner, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 0.0 €
Projet ArCAN (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Social Sciences and Humanities
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Exchange networks have played a major role in the history of Central Africa, but their exact location and how they operated remain largely unknown. This project aims at investigating the history of these networks by studying the exchange from and to the copper deposits in the Niari Basin (southern Republic of Congo) and in the Copperbelt (south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo). Both areas were part of large scale and extensive economic spaces during the 2nd millennium AD. An interdisciplinary approach – including archaeology, materials science, historical geography and history – will be used for unravelling the course of the trade routes and their regional interconnectivity. The late 19th century networks are historically well documented, and will serve as a starting point for tracing their earlier configurations, origins and precursors, using material culture as the main source of evidence. Copper and ceramic artefacts will be studied in order to provide information on trade networks as well as on exchange of knowledge and ideas through the examination of their style and manufacturing processes. The investigation – including laboratory analyses – will result in the reconstruction through time of the exchange networks, and of the socio-economical spaces of which they were a part. This will allow reconstruction of the history of regional and long-distance connections and interactions, and assessment of the respective roles of geographical features and the socio-political context in shaping and maintaining exchange networks through time. Besides improving our knowledge on the ancient economic history of the area, the project results will provide empirical grounds for the development of more robust analytical and theoretical frameworks for interpreting ancient interaction and exchange networks in Africa using material culture. The Researcher will receive training in archaeological theory, archaeometry, GIS and spatial analysis, and pottery analysis (secondment).

Mots clés : central africa, exchange networks, social spaces, manufacturing process, copper metallurgy, pottery, archaeometry, spatial analyses, provenance studies

Participants :
- University of Cambridge (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 224933.76 €
Projet DQC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Existing quantum computers are on the verge of solving practical problems that are intractable for classical computers. The obstacles that are holding current generation quantum computers back are their limited number of qubits and the presence of noise, both of which prohibit lengthy computations. Tools that decrease the size of a given computation can hence greatly increase the scope of problems current quantum computers can solve. This project will build such tools. Firstly, we develop new methods and software for optimising quantum circuits. Secondly, we build powerful verification methods that ensure correctness of our optimisations. Thirdly, we develop classical simulators of quantum circuits to allow the testing of quantum computations. While these might seem like disparate problems, in our approach they become aspects of a single problem which is solved by employing powerful graph-theoretic simplification methods that combine techniques from measurement-based quantum computation, tensor networks and the ZX-calculus. This allows us to develop simplifications that would be hard to find with previous methods. In summary, this project unifies the problems of optimisation, verification and simulation of quantum circuits while improving upon the state-of-the-art.

Mots clés : quantum software

Participants :
- University of Oxford (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 212933.76 €
Projet REVErSI (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Exoplanetary science has thrived in the last three decades; we now know of thousands of new worlds orbiting other stars, and we are investing new ground-based and space facilities in characterizing them. However, the interaction between planets and their host stars is still poorly understood. In this new, exciting field, REVErSi will offer a comprehensive theoretical study of star-planet interactions using innovative analytical models and state-of-the-art numerical simulations. REVErSI will study the tidal, and magnetic interactions of the most common type of exoplanets, Hot Jupiters (HJs), with low-mass stars: M-dwarfs and Solar-like stars. HJs lie close enough to their host star to be magnetically interacting with it. We will study the effect of this interaction on the stellar dynamo, and the magnetic cycle of the star, analytically and numerically. In parallel, we will investigate the role of planet-induced tides on the magnetic activity of the star. Finally, we will examine the variation of the stellar activity as a means of estimating exoplanetary magnetic fields. This contribution will provide one of the very few currently feasible methods to estimate exoplanetary magnetic fields.

Mots clés : stellar activity cycles, stellar magnetism, star planet interaction

Participants :
- Spanish National Research Council (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 259398.72 €
Projet ESCSSE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2017)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Expanders are highly connected sparse graphs with certain expansion properties. The theory of expanders has enjoyed surprising growth in the past several decades, partial due to its close interplay with other areas of mathematics and theoretical computer science, including analysis, number theory, probability, complexity theory and design of robust networks. This proposed research is highly intra-disciplinary, concerning a variant called sublinear expanders. This notion is essential in the recent resolutions of several long-standing conjectures. The goal of this proposal is to develop general framework using sublinear expanders for embedding problems concerning sparse combinatorial structures that arise naturally in extremal graph theory, geometry and topology. The supervisor Professor Szabó is a world renowned expert in combinatorics, working on problems at the interface of algebra, graph theory, probability, and topology. His expertise on expander graphs and cycle embeddings will play a key role in the proposed project. He is also experienced in advising junior researchers, having advised 4 post-doctoral researchers and 13 PhD students. Dr. Liu obtained his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in December 2015. He then moved to the University of Warwick as a post-doctoral researcher. In September 2016, he was awarded by the Leverhulme Trust an Early Career Fellowship, a prestigious award for young researchers in the UK. He has published 21 papers, most of which appeared in journals of international repute. His work has established novel connections between extremal combinatorics and additive number theory. This proposed project will help Liu further improve his skills on teaching, research and supervising to pursue an academic career.

Mots clés : sublinear expanders, topological minors, cycles, routers

Participants :
- Freie Universität Berlin (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 159460.8 €
Projet SREACEP (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Expanders is a fundamental concept in combinatorics. From the application point of view, expanders have become a powerful tool in studying real life problems such as network design and error correcting codes. From the theoretical point of view, it is considered as a sparse analogue of Szemeredi's regularity (recognised by the 2012 Abel prize) with connections in algebra, analysis, geometry and topology. An exciting recent development has been the study of `sparse robust expanders' first introduced by Komlos and Szemeredi. Significant progress in several seemingly unrelated long-standing open problems has been established using techniques derived in this theory, including in work of Dr. Sharifzadeh. The proposed research aims to further develop this theory and derive a framework for solving embedding problems of combinatorial and topological nature. Tools developed here may find further applications that build bridges between combinatorics and other fields. The UK has been a leader in combinatorics and Warwick is one of the best in the UK with a combinatorics group of international reputation. The supervisor Professor Pikhurko is a world-leading expert in combinatorics. One of the focus of his projects funded by ERC and EPSRC is to study the expansion of graphs and groups with applications in analysis, which is closely related to this proposal. He is experienced in supervising postdocs and PhD students. Dr. Sharifzadeh obtained her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Summer 2016. She has written 9 papers, 7 of which are published in leading international journals. In her work, she successfully applied combinatorial methods to resolve classical open problems in additive number theory, extremal combinatorics and topological graph theory. As an ambitious young researcher, she is determined to pursue an academic career. This proposal will integrate her into the European system and help her acquire the necessary skills to achieve her goals.

Mots clés : sparse robust expander, hamiltonian cycle, topological minor

Participants :
- University of Warwick (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet BEQOM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2016)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

Experimental demonstration of superposition states of massive systems, often referred to as Schrödinger cat states, has been an exciting research line of several fields in quantum physics. There have been many impressive experiments with a variety of different systems over the past years and research along these lines is still highly popular. While the field of optomechanics, which is based on massive mechanical oscillators coupled to optical fields through the radiation pressure force, is ideally positioned to realize such measurements and hence test the boundaries between classical and quantum theory, in this proposal we want to take one step beyond purely curiosity-driven exploration of quantum states of large systems. In particular, we will perform experiments using optomechanical systems that are not only of interest for testing the foundations of quantum physics, but will actually have a real potential application in quantum information processing: we are proposing to realize an entangled state between two micro-fabricated, on-chip mechanical resonators that are coupled to laser light at telecommunications wavelengths. Such a system will be directly applicable to realizing quantum memories with truly tailorable properties that can distribute quantum information over large distances. The basic idea is to initialize two mechanical resonators in their quantum ground state and to create entanglement through Raman scattering and single-photon post-selection. The quantum state will be verified through a standard entanglement measure, as well as by violating a Bell inequality with this massive, entangled state. The exact technique, as well as advanced experiments, is discussed in detail in this proposal.

Mots clés : quantum optomechanics, entanglement, bell inequality, macroscopic quantum physics, quantum optics, photonic crystals

Participants :
- Delft University of Technology (Pays-Bas) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 165598.8 €
Projet MiDiROM (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Mathematics
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Exploiting the subsurface as an energy storage site is a crucial step to meet some of the challenges arising from energy production by renewable sources. For such applications, a proper understanding of the subsurface flow is essential and calls for efficient and effective computational models. The main difficulties in the mathematical modeling arise from the highly varying material parameters as well as the presence of fracture networks, the latter aspect being crucial due to its leading impact on flow characteristics. These features are a leading source of computational complexity, often making it infeasible to use full order simulation models in real-life situations, particularly when there is the need to investigate different scenarios and/or quantify uncertainties. In this project, I will build on my acquired expertise in mixed-dimensional models of fractured porous media, where fractures are represented as a collection of immersed, lower-dimensional manifolds. Although these models lead to accurate numerical methods, the computational cost remains impractically high. To overcome this, I propose to develop reduced order models for mixed-dimensional flow problems. In particular, I will investigate how to properly capture non-linear dependencies on model parameters such as the fracture network configuration by extending and adapting the deep learning enhanced reduced order modeling techniques recently investigated by researchers of the host institution. The combination of research fields is reflected by the composition of the project: the proponent has a strong theoretical background in analyzing and discretizing mixed-dimensional models whereas the supervisor and associated host institute are leading experts in fractured porous media flow and application-driven reduced order modeling. Additionally, the host institution offers the necessary research and complementary skill training for the proponent to further develop and thrive as an independent researcher.

Mots clés : reduced order modeling, machine learning, mixed dimensional computational models

Participants :
- Politecnico di Milano (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 171473.28 €
Projet GraFludicDevices (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Exploration of molecular transport in nanometre (nm) and sub-nm capillaries has big implications in the emergence of novel nanofluidic phenomena with interesting applications, including desalination, water purification, energy harvesting and smart membrane technologies. Recent advances in graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) materials based membranes with interlayer gallery of nanochannels have witnessed high water-ion selectivity and fast water permeation—manifesting their potential for desalination and smart membrane applications. However, a systematic and extensive experimental investigation of water permeation kinetics, including the demonstration of slip effects, in these atomically smooth 2D nanochannels is still lacking. Therefore, the main objective of the current research proposal is to gain a complete mechanistic understanding of water transport in nanochannels made of different 2D materials, which is crucial for the rational design of functional membranes for energy and environmental applications. This will be achieved by employing the state-of-the-art fabrication and experimental techniques based on van der Waals assembly, Landau-Squire flow measurement set-up and ultrasonic force microscopy. In this project, atomically smooth angstrom-scale 2D nanochannel devices will be prepared to investigate the flow dynamics of water using a custom-made ultrasensitive flow measurement technique. Throughout the project, advanced modelling techniques will be utilized to fundamentally understand transport and further optimize the system. Building on these findings, a scale-up methodology will be developed for the large-scale production of membranes for desalination and energy harvesting applications. The proposed research action will address Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges related to water security and resource efficiency while advancing the field of nanofluidics and membrane technology through the development of new fabrication and flow measurement methods.

Mots clés : nanofluidics, molecular transport, two dimensional materials, graphene, graphene oxide, fluid dynamics, membrane technology, desalination, water energy nexus

Participants :
- Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 196707.84 €
Projet CRADLE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : TERMINATED

Exploring asteroids and other small bodies in the solar system is a challenging task, which carries immense scientific benefits. Our understanding of the early Solar System would advance greatly by studying the chemicals stored in carbonaceous asteroids. Through the development of advanced technology, we will be able to process asteroid material into fuel, oxygen, and water, making long-duration mission self-sustainable. Metallic asteroid could offer a great source of mineral resources through asteroid mining. The knowledge of asteroids composition is also fundamental to help defend our planet from possible impactor, enabling effective asteroid deflection missions. The overall aim of this action is to advance the way we design and operate deep space missions to asteroids, and especially, how we model, track, and collect asteroid fragments. They give invaluable insight on the composition and the dynamical environment of asteroids, as well as key information on how we can deflect them. The research objectives will be achieved through the theoretical studies on particle dynamics, the development of machine-learning algorithms for tracking them, and the design of a particle collection device to gather them in orbit. These objectives are relevant to H2020 Work Programme, specifically regarding the “market creating innovation” and “strengthening international R&I cooperation”. The approach combines my current skills with the ones that I will have acquired during the fellowship. I will improve my professional maturity and foster new collaboration under the supervision of eminent researchers, in preparation for an independent career.

Mots clés : asteroid, space mission, sample collection, particle ejecta, collection device, instrument design, image processing

Participants :
- Politecnico di Milano (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 229704.64 €
- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Japon) — Partner, organization partner, Recherche, subvention : 0.0 €