Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : FutureSpace (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Soci al World and Its Interactions
Entité participante : Université de Vienne — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Uni Wien
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1476276.0 €

When we think about practices of European integration, we rarely think about how they may extend to outer space. Yet, a new global space race is in full swing, in which commercial and government actors worldwide are putting forward bold visions of human futures in outer space. Europe is at the cusp of deciding which role to play in this new space age. Do we witness the emergence of shared European visions for outer space, and how would these build on and inform current European integration practices? These questions are at the center of FUTURESPACE. They will be investigated using the joint European rocket Ariane as a case study. While Ariane was heralded as a symbol of European integration since its first launch in 1979, the rise of commercial companies like SpaceX has spurred profound debates about the future of the European Ariane program. My project will be unique in its attempt to expand questions of European integration to outer space by asking: Which kind of space futures are projected onto and realized through Ariane, and how do these futures relate to ideals and tensions of European integration? By exploring the intricate relations between large-scale technological projects, practices of European integration, and envisioned space futures, my project will provide empirically and theoretically rich insights into how the future of European integration in space is imagined and enacted in the global space race. Methodologically, FUTURESPACE conducts an interdisciplinary ethnography that links social science and engineering to better understand the material and imaginative aspects of this unique space infrastructure. With the increasing relevance of outer space for societies on Earth, such a project is much needed. FUTURESPACE will offer highly relevant and timely insights into how future visions of space shape forms of European collaboration in the present and how, conversely, geopolitical relations on Earth shape how, and by whom these futures are imagined.

Mots-clés : outer space european integration sociotechnical imaginaries new space,infrastructures,technopolitics
Projet ERC : MountBuzz (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental B iology, Ecology  and E volution
Entité participante : Université de Vienne — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Uni Wien
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1498634.0 €

Adaptive evolution of flowers to optimize pollen transfer by animal pollinators is considered a key driver of plant speciation and the success of flowering plants. Plant-pollinator interactions are embedded in complex abiotic (climatic) and biotic (other plants/pollinators) contexts, and the structure and function of interaction networks changes across such contexts. To date, however, we lack a broad-scale perspective on how these contexts affect which flower phenotypes are ‘fit’, and how flowers evolve to adapt to these contexts. This knowledge gap limits our understanding of the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity, critically important in light of current global change. In MountBuzz, I aim at developing a novel context-dependent ecological perspective on the processes structuring the evolution of flower diversity by linking the commonly separated fields of community ecology and macroevolutionary modelling. First, to determine which flower phenotypes are ‘fit’ (high reproductive success) in different a-/biotic environmental contexts, my team and I will analyze plant-pollinator interactions and flower and pollinator trait data along four elevational gradients across the tropics. We will combine empirical field observations with pollination experiments to pinpoint context-dependent changes in phenotype-fitness relationships. Second, synthesizing across these results, we will test whether patterns of flower macroevolution follow predictable, context-dependent trajectories by employing machine-learning based predictive modelling and phylogenetic comparative methods. The results of MountBuzz will deliver a new perspective on the relative importance of pollinator-mediated selection and environment-dependent processes in driving flower evolution and plant diversification. My study set-up (cross-continental, cross-environmental, cross-lineages) further allows for identifying generalities in patterns, thereby delivering novel hypotheses for future research.

Mots-clés : plant pollinator interactions elevational gradients tropics melastomataceae trait matching competition reproductive strategies fitness bipartite networks buzz pollination flower morphology community phylogenetics phylogenetic comparative methods
Projet ERC : D-MAP (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Immunity, Infection and I mmunotherapy
Entité participante : Danderyds sjukus aktiebolag — Pays : Suède — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : Danderyds Hospital Limited Liability Company
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 179935.0 €

Numerous mucosal vaccines and IgA-based monoclonal antibodies aimed at a robust immunity within the respiratory tract are in development to combat viral endemics and pandemics. However, investigations into humoral immunity have predominantly focused on circulating antibodies, particularly those of the IgG isotype. This has left a significant void in our understanding of the role of mucosal IgA proteoforms in conveying effective immune protection. This crucial knowledge gap deprives vaccine and antibody development of crucial determinants or immune characteristics to replicate.  In response to this, we will conduct in-depth investigations of mucosal IgA including in vitro and in vivo functional evaluations. We will capitalize on recent advances in liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry-based approaches for the detailed characterization of mucosal IgA clonal repertoires and glycosylation profiles, a field that has remained completely unexplored until now, B-cell receptor sequencing, monoclonal IgA glycoengineering and in vitro functional assays. We will take advantage of our unparalleled biobank of human nasal secretion samples with clear documentations of infection outcomes on an individual level. What sets our approach apart is thereby the unprecedented molecular-level characterization of IgA, directly linked to their in vitro functionality and pre-defined clinical outcomes, which clearly surpasses current state-of-the-art.  By harnessing our in-depth characterization of mucosal IgA coupled to functional traits, we will generate IgA templates with enhanced binding and neutralization capabilities as well as functionally advantageous Fc effector potencies. Our overarching aim is to provide molecular-level blueprints for protective monoclonal IgA-antibodies, enabling the fine-tuning of vaccine formulations and monoclonal antibody generation with a higher degree of accuracy, ultimately enhancing their efficacy and safety.

Mots-clés : mucosal immunity,iga clonal repertoire,iga glycosylation
Projet ERC : IEK-CHANGES (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Human Mobility, Environment, and Space
Entité participante : Université autonome de Barcelone — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499922.0 €

Ethnobiological research provides contradictory evidence of changes in Indigenous Environmental Knowledge (IEK) systems, with some studies suggesting processes of knowledge erosion and others emphasizing adaptability and resilience. The ecological impacts of such changes are also largely unknown, given that ethnobiologists generally lack diachronic or longitudinal data for the study of IEK changes over long periods of time, and their knock-on effects on biodiversity. Using systematic ethnobiological place-based data collection in a unique research site in the Bolivian Amazon with an untapped wealth of long-term ethnobiological information, in this project I will rigorously assess the processes through which IEK systems change over time, and the ecological impacts associated with such changes. This project will be conducted in partnership with the Tsimane’ Indigenous Peoples through processes of knowledge co-production. The combined use of cutting-edge geospatial analyses with ethnographically-grounded data will allow me to disentangle the interwoven relationships between IEK changes and biodiversity loss, and provide a more granular interpretation of causality in hypothesis-driven ethnobiological research. The project will contribute to a paradigm shift in the way in which change and causality are addressed and theorized in ethnobiological scholarship, enriching scholarly discussions about the push and pull between continuity and change within IEK systems, and significantly expanding our knowledge of the pathways through which the loss of collective intergenerational memory impinges negatively on biodiversity conservation. The project’s ground-breaking nature lies on its focus not only on changes in IEK content (e.g., plant uses), but also on the contexts for such changes (e.g., biocultural landscapes), and its interwoven ecological impacts (e.g., forest loss).

Mots-clés : biocultural conservation environmental stewardship ethnobiology ethnoecology indigenous knowledge indigenous peoples
Projet ERC : InterReal (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Texts and Concepts
Entité participante : Université de Tampere — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1439590.0 €

What will be the shape of the mediated reality to come? Current models include a single interconnected immersive metaverse, an increasing integration between physical reality and ambient technology, and a postdigital disaffection towards immersive technologies. InterReal argues that the most probable outcome, in the near future, will not be the identification of a clear avenue, but rather a multiplication of “realities”: a Media Multiverse. This multiverse encompasses all kinds of media-generated virtual spaces, from those of immersive Virtual Reality (VR), to the layers of Augmented Reality (AR) visualized over the physical world, and to the virtual worlds of digital games. At the centre of the semiotic workings of the multiverse are mechanisms of interreal translations: specific forms of intersemiotic translation that transfer objects, spaces, or subjects across realities. InterReal aims to develop an innovative approach to study and understand translations between different realities, and how they could influence our future. The project objectives advance our empirical understanding of interreal translations (Obj1), our methodological capacity to approach them (Obj2) and the creation of a theoretical framework to understand the media multiverse (Obj3). To do so, we propose a combination and innovation of methods and approaches from translation studies and speculative research. The analytical approach (WP1) will provide us with a nuanced understanding of the current state of interreal translations. The speculative approach (WP2) will offer a critical look to the current ideologies and future possibilities related to the development of the media multiverse. The synthesis between the two (WP3) will pave the way for a new discipline: Multiverse Studies, which we urgently need as our mediascape becomes increasingly complex, difficult to navigate and fragmented.

Mots-clés : translation studies virtual realities speculative design
Projet ERC : SolWator (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and Processes Engineering
Entité participante : Université de Birmingham — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1495250.0 €

Facing water scarcity that affects two-thirds of the global population, our planet's demand for sustainable solutions has never been more critical. Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) is a promising method to produce fresh water using solar energy. Despite many advancements in material development, the fundamentals of interfacial transport have been left untouched. With localized heating proximate to the interface, SDIE departs from conventional evaporation mechanisms by creating pronounced temperature and pressure gradients proximate to the interface, substantially affecting liquid-vapor interactions. This distinction prompts reevaluating traditional models and concepts, highlighting the pressing need for an updated framework. With its primary objective as crafting a transport scheme for accurate interfacial flux predictions, I will examine SDIE using concurrent advanced microscopic thermography, fluorescent, and optical imaging techniques along with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and theoretical approaches to reveal uncharted dimensions of desalination. SolWator proposes innovative 3D patterned hybrid structures that provide optimum hydrothermal conditions for maximum evaporation from liquid meniscus. This will be accompanied by the formulation of updated CFD and theoretical models to understand the effects of localized intense heating on the coupling of interfacial heat/momentum transport and vapor diffusion in SDIE. With SolWator identifying bottlenecks, it provides optimization guidelines and sustainability studies. The outputs address one of the most pressing challenges of our time, making SDIE highly feasible for clean water shortage challenges and enhancing the socio-economic facets of our global community. The predictive tools and the knowledge gained will also have far-reaching benefits for other phase change and localized heating areas, including microreactors, oil recovery, and propulsion technologies.

Mots-clés : solar driven interfacial evaporation,liquid vapor phase change,carbon based 3d structures,interfacial heat and mass transfer,evaporation rate,energy efficiency,computational fluid dynamics,optimization
Projet ERC : GENOMICIDE (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental B iology, Ecology  and E volution
Entité participante : Swedish Museum of Natural History — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

In this proposal, I seek to quantify the impact of structural variants on species genome diversity and extinction by sequencing ancient genomes of extinct megafauna. Structural variants are large genomic rearrangements capable of significantly affecting gene function and fitness. While in previous work I have investigated the genomes of extinct species at the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) level, the accurate identification of structural variants has been hampered by molecular and computational challenges, thus impeding their incorporation into genomic extinction research. Recent advancements in long-read sequencing technologies have led to considerable improvements in accuracy and affordability, making it feasible to characterize structural variants at population level scale in non-model organisms. Despite the fragmented nature of ancient DNA, our preliminary results show that millions of ancient DNA sequences exceeding 500 basepairs in length can be obtained from extraordinarily well-preserved samples. This project capitalizes on these samples, combined with state-of-the-art sequencing technologies, to recover high-quality long-read sequencing data from ancient specimens and subsequently reconstruct extinct genomes de-novo. Focussing on megafaunal that went extinct during the late Pleistocene, this project will examine the evolution of structural variants under scenarios of increased genetic drift and reduced selection at unprecedent resolution. Moreover, the project will pioneer the direct quantification of within-species structural variant changes through time, and provide new insights into genetic variants within previously unassembled genomic segments. By expanding our understanding of the genetic role of structural variants on extinction events, we will contribute valuable insights into the genetic determinants beyond SNPs that influence species diversity, adaptations, survival and eventual extinction.
Projet ERC : HeaT2Defects (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Materials Engineering
Entité participante : Université autonome de Madrid — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

The unstoppable race towards miniaturization is pushing the limits of electronics. This has to be conciliated with the inevitable Joule heating that affects all electronic devices, ultimately compromising miniaturization itself, as denser circuits require improved thermal management. Understanding and eventually controlling heat transport at the nanometer scale will lay the foundation for the design of present and future electronics, where the use of complex architectures and new nanomaterials, such as two-dimensional (2D) materials, holds a great potential. At such scales, atomic-scale defects, which are present everywhere in nature, play a fundamental role as just a single defect can greatly impact the properties of materials. However, our knowledge of the influence of an individual defect on heat propagation is surprisingly scarce. This is partly due to the limited spatial resolution of state-of-the-art thermal imaging. HeaT2Defects aims to explore the fundamental properties of matter at a much smaller scale than is currently possible, engineering the influence of defects (namely vacancies, ripples and unconventional stacking) on heat transport of 2D devices. To this end, hinging on my extensive experience in scanning probe microscopy, I will develop an imaging technique with pioneering advances based on atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and nanoheater engineering. The versatility and resolution of AFM plus the thermal capabilities of Raman will allow thermal mapping with nm precision, improving state-of-the-art resolution by one order of magnitude. This will enable a deep understanding of the influence of defects on heat transport, and ultimately the engineering of the striking properties of 2D materials as thermal management components, vital to avoid energy waste and device malfunction. Far-reaching implications are expected, both from the profound impact of heat transport in many scenarios and from the technological developments.

Mots-clés : atomic force microscopy,2d materials
Projet ERC : SegrEd (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Soci al World and Its Interactions
Entité participante : Université de l'est de la Finlande — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499835.0 €

There is concern on the European level about the diminishing attractiveness of teaching as a profession, as well as about the shortage of qualified staff in schools and the increasing turnover of teachers in segregated education markets. However, analyses of both teacher segregation, i.e., the regionally uneven distribution of qualified staff in affluent, mixed and disadvantaged schools, and the stratification of the teaching profession, i.e., teachers with different social-class backgrounds, have attracted relatively little attention. Many countries are struggling to provide equal access to quality education for all children. The academic community is currently engaged in four parallel debates on inequalities: 1) the stratification of education markets, 2) the socio-spatial (regional) segregation of schools, 3) the socio-economic segregation of schools and 4) the segregation of teachers. There appears to be no shared conceptual framework for empirical analysis, thus there are gaps in the current understanding of how educational inequalities arise.  In addressing these gaps, the SegrEd project is developing a comprehensive research approach to scrutinising conceptual and empirical debates on stratification and the segregation of teachers. On the empirical level it explores how, why and with what societal consequences stratification and segregation among teachers emerge in education markets in Finland, France and Sweden. How does this segregation reproduce, reinforce or reduce existing inequalities between social groups? SegrEd renews the academic debate and proposes a novel conceptual tool, namely the social space of educational choice, which facilitates the simultaneous conceptual and empirical exploration of stratification and segregation. A multilevel, comparative methodological strategy combining quantitative and qualitative methods advances this approach. The aim is to arrive at an in-depth understanding of educational inequalities and their construction.

Mots-clés : segregation,stratification,sociology of education,social class,teacher
Projet ERC : AMF (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and Processes Engineering
Entité participante : Université de Naples - Frédéric-II — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1412500.0 €

Understanding and managing the complex interactions between water and energy is a major challenge. To meet the increasing demand for clean water it is necessary to rely on the reclamation of water from unconventional sources such as domestic or industrial wastewater. Membrane filtration is a key technology to augment water resources, but its performances are strongly impacted by membrane fouling that increases the energy consumption of the process. On the other hand, the formation of a biofilm during the membrane fouling deposition has been reported to positively affect the treated water quality. Yet, due to its complexity, membrane fouling is still a puzzling phenomenon with many unexplained aspects due to the lack of appropriate tools. In the last few years, I have been developing an innovative approach that enables monitoring membrane fouling under-continuous operation. The use of this tool is a unique opportunity for a combined experimental-theoretical approach, where the experimental results can be used as input for the modeling. The main objective of this project is to progress towards a deep understanding of the deposition and removal phenomena in membrane filtration processes. The project will include the development of a membrane platform, comprising of observation method and model (i), the understanding of the impact of fouling mechanical proprieties on cleaning efficiency by using Optical Coherence Elastography (ii), development of a selective and sustainable membrane cleaning strategy to allow the tailored recovery of valuable byproducts, removal of target compounds and restorage of membrane performance (iii) and the development of a sensor for full-scale membrane processes (iv). The outcome of this project is a fundamental step towards the necessary advancement of membrane-based processes for water reclamation as sustainable and efficient solution to the global water challenges.

Mots-clés : fouling biofilm nades desalination water reuse wastewater treatment