Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : FireSpec (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Ghent University — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UGent
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 149685.0 €

Most fire deaths are not caused by burns, but by smoke inhalation. Toxic gases in smoke are beside heat and lack of oxygen the major lethal factor in uncontrolled fires. Drones are considered more and more as the ultimate assistants during firefighting operations. Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) provide critical top-down perspectives on dangerous areas. This is helpful in dealing with most fires, and especially important and effective when dealing with fires at high risk sites. There is an urgent need for small, low-weight, low power, real-time gas sensors with a high specificity that can be integrated in UAVs. Availability of such sensors could save lives as UAVs might detect and map toxic gas fields in fireplaces and evaluate how they spread. Besides integration in UAVs, such sensors can be integrated in firefighter’s cloths or installed in fire prone places. In FireSpec, we propose the concept of an integrated wavelength modulation spectroscopic sensor for real time hazardous gas detection based on a silicon photonics integrated chip comprising a series of InP lasers, a gasprobe and an InP detector. The wavelengths of the lasers are matched with the mid-infrared (MIR) absorption lines of the gasses to be detected. The concept directly builds upon knowledge and technology developed in the ERC-project Miracle (Mid-InfraRed Active photonic integrated Circuits for Life sciences and Environment). In Miracle, we are investigating and developing the field of photonic integrated circuits for the MIR wavelength band based on high-index contrast waveguide structures. To extend the functionality of the photonic integrated circuit, heterogeneous integration of other materials such as III-V dies, on the high index contrast waveguide system for particular optical functions, such as lasers and detectors is pursued. FireSpec technology is expected to be a game changer in mobile real time toxic gas detection applications.

Mots-clés : spectroscopic sensing,silicon photonics
Projet ERC : GESTIMAGE (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499192.0 €

Most of language functions are under the left brain control in both left- and right-handers and involve structural asymmetries between the two hemispheres. While this asymmetry was considered as associated with handedness, such a relation has been recently questioned. Considering the strong language/gesture links in humans and the continuities between the gestural system in apes and monkeys and some language properties, we recently suggested the hypothesis of a continuity between language lateralization and asymmetry of communicative gestures in both human and nonhuman primates. Given the phylogenetical proximity between those species, comparative research on brain specialization between a non-linguistic gestural system (i.e., in monkeys) versus a linguistic gestural systems in humans (i.e., sign language in deaf) might help evaluating the gestural continuities with language lateralization in term of manual asymmetries, structural and functional lateralization of the brain. To this purpose, a first objective is to evaluate the continuities of manual and brain asymmetries between (1) a linguistic gestural system in humans using MRI in 100 adult native deaf French signers, and (2) a non-linguistic gestural system of adult baboons Papio anubis using 106 MRI brain images. A second objective is to explore the functional brain lateralization of gestures production in baboons (versus manipulation) using non-invasive wireless Infrared Spectroscopy in 8 trained subjects within interactions with humans. A last innovative objective is to investigate, through the first non-invasive longitudinal MRI study conducted from birth to sexual maturity in primates, the development and heritability of brain structural asymmetries and their correlates with gesture asymmetries in 30 baboons. At both evolutionary and developmental levels, the project will thus ultimately contribute to enhance our understanding on the role of gestures in the origins of brain specialization for language.

Mots-clés : brain hemispheric specialization,gestures,handedness,language evolution,nonhuman primates
Projet ERC : DeLiCAT (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Entité participante : Eindhoven University of Technology — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : TU/e
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 26085.96 €

Most of the developments in catalyst are still based on serendipitous and trial-and-error approaches, in which potential systems can be overlooked simply because of the sub-optimal conditions of the initial activity assessment. Mechanistic and kinetic studies could provide a framework for a more adequate assessment of new catalysts, but such rigorous experiments are not practical for general catalyst discovery. Modern chemical theory and computations hold a promise to be employed in new efficient theory-guided approaches for rational catalyst and process development. The main aim of DeLiCat is to formulate a hierarchical computational strategy for the design and synthesis of new non-critical metal-based catalysts for sustainable chemical transformations. New, durable and cheap, yet, highly active and selective tailor-made catalyst for hydrogenation of carboxylic acids and their esters as well as for acceptorless dehydrogenation of alcohols will be developed. The research will follow an innovative strategy combining advanced chemical theory, computational screening and experimental approaches from the fields of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis in an efficient knowledge exchange loop. Computer simulations will reveal complex reaction networks that determine the “death” and the “life” of catalyst systems. These insights will be used in targeted design of novel multifunctional catalyst systems to direct the selectivity of the reaction network and to prevent deactivation paths. Complementary experimental studies will guide and validate the theoretical predictions. DeLiCAT represents a leap forward in unified first principles-guided catalyst design for liquid phase chemical transformations. The new theoretical concepts, methodological advances as well as the novel superior catalyst systems developed here will be applicable in various areas including biomass valorization, homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis as well as hydrogen technology.

Mots-clés : catalyst design,cooperative catalysis,sustainable chemistry
Projet ERC : ONE (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer science and informatics
Entité participante : Université Paris-Saclay — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2217640.5 €

Most of today’s computer interfaces are based on principles and conceptual models created in the late seventies. They are designed for a single user interacting with a closed application on a single device with a predefined set of tools to manipulate a single type of content. But one is not enough! We need flexible and extensible environments where multiple users can truly share content and manipulate it simultaneously, where applications can be distributed across multiple devices, where content and tools can migrate from one device to the next, and where users can freely choose, combine and even create tools to make their own digital workbench. The goal of ONE is to fundamentally re-think the basic principles and conceptual model of interactive systems to empower users by letting them appropriate their digital environment. The project will address this challenge through three interleaved strands: empirical studies to better understand interaction in both the physical and digital worlds, theoretical work to create a conceptual model of interaction and interactive systems, and prototype development to test these principles and concepts in the lab and in the field. Drawing inspiration from physics, biology and psychology, the conceptual model will combine substrates to manage digital information at various levels of abstraction and representation, instruments to manipulate substrates, and environments to organize substrates and instruments into digital workspaces. By identifying first principles of interaction, ONE will unify a wide variety of interaction styles and create more open and flexible interactive environments.
Projet ERC : NOVAMOX (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth system science
Entité participante : University of Southern Denmark — Pays : Danemark — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : SDU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2462500.0 €

Motivated by a series of recent discoveries, NOVAMOX provides the first comprehensive biogeochemical and microbial ecological analysis of methane consumption in anoxic freshwater systems and oceanic oxygen minimum zones, environments where such processes to date were largely ignored. I propose that anaerobic microbial methane oxidation pathways are important sinks in for methane in these environments, thereby affecting methane emissions and the cycling of nitrogen, iron, and sulfur, as the cycling of these elements is coupled either directly or indirectly to methane oxidation. With the development of new incubation and sensing techniques necessary to detect the processes in their environment, we will identify and quantify active pathways of anaerobic methane oxidation, identify the organisms that catalyse these transformations, analyse their environmental distribution, characterize kinetic controls of their growth and metabolic activity, and analyse the isotopic signatures they may leave behind. The project will generate robust estimates of the biogeochemical significance of anaerobic methane oxidation in these overlooked niches, and provide a quantitative mechanistic framework for analysis of the role of these processes in Earth’s biogeochemical evolution as well as for their implementation in forecasts of global change. The project will also provide fundamental new insights to the ecology of the highly specialized microorganisms involved in methane oxidation, for use in potential biotechnological applications.

Mots-clés : methane cycle,oxygen minimum zones,freshwater sediments,wetlands,nitrogen cycle,iron reduction,sulfur cycle
Projet ERC : REMOTIVATE (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : Ghent University — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UGent
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1257000.0 €

Motivation is a central topic in psychology, not least because of its strong interrelation with other psychological concepts, as well as with various clinical conditions. Beyond globally energizing behavior, recent studies have begun to describe effects of extrinsic reward on various specific cognitive operations like conflict resolution, inhibitory control, and memory formation. Intriguingly, these functions appear to be disturbed in a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders, like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, addiction, and Parkinson’s disease. On the neural level, these disorders have been related to disturbances in the dopaminergic (DA) and/or the noradrenergic (NA) system, which are the very same systems that are also thought to be vital for the cognitive benefits of reward observed in the healthy mind. Despite this central, probably interrelated, role in the healthy and the diseased mind, our understanding of how exactly reward impacts specific cognitive operations is still rudimentary, both on the level of psychological theory as well as concerning the underlying neural mechanisms. The aim of this proposal is to develop a novel unifying conceptual and neural framework of how reward influences human cognition. To achieve this goal, it is essential to extend our conceptual understanding of the nature of such reward effects by integrating additional interrelated factors, such as stimulus saliency, different cognitive-control and response modes, and the influence of irrelevant information. In order to match this conceptual progress at the neuromechanistic level, it is critical to employ optimized neuroimaging methods that allow for a reliable, yet non-invasive investigation of neural activity in the source and target regions of the DA and NA system. Given the critical role of motivation in the healthy and the diseased mind, the results will provide new valuable insights for both basic and applied psychological and neuroscientific research.

Mots-clés : neural basis of motivation,cognitive control,memory,emotion,fmri
Projet ERC : ICED (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth system science
Entité participante : University of Lausanne — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UNIL
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1431285.0 €

Mountain ranges evolve in response to tectonic uplift, erosion and climatic change, but decoupling the feedbacks between these processes remains one of the most active debates in Earth Science. Resolving this debate is fundamental for successful projection of Earth’s surface response under a changing climate. The Impact of ClimatE on mountain Denudation remains highly contested because no technique is available to resolve changes in erosion rates over the timescale of glacial-interglacial cycles i.e. 10^3-6 years, a key time range for quantifying the role that silicate weathering and denudation plays in modulating global climatic change. ICED will resolve this debate through establishing time-series of rock erosion over 10^3-6 years, allowing erosion rate changes to be related to specific climatic changes, and specific processes, for the first time. These data will show whether tectonics or climatic feedbacks on surface processes are dominant in determining rates of surface denudation, providing insights into the influence of the lithosphere on global climatic change throughout the Quaternary period (ice age). The objective of ICED will be achieved through the development and application of recently established thermochronometers based on the luminescence and electron spin resonance of quartz and feldspar minerals. Thermochronometers measure the rate of rock cooling, from which rates of rock exhumation and thus erosion rates can be calculated. Unlike existing methods, the new techniques developed within ICED are capable of resolving changes in erosion over timescales of between 10^3-6 years. Combining these new methods with cosmogenic nuclide data, using numerical models developed within ICED, will allow the generation of high-resolution time-series of erosion. The strategic application of these new techniques to the western European Alps will allow the Impact of ClimatE on mountain Denudation rates to be resolved for the first time.

Mots-clés : geochronology,quaternary,electron spin resonance dating,luminescence dating,geomorphology
Projet ERC : CoCoFlex (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Complexity
Entité participante : Ghent University — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UGent
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1476812.0 €

Much of human behavior is characterized by the extraordinary ability to quickly reconfigure our mind, and switch between different tasks, often referred to as cognitive flexibility. While most psychologists agree on the kind of behaviors that fall under the term cognitive flexibility, we have only a poor understanding on what drives cognitive flexibility. When defining cognitive flexibility, its putative underlying processes are often distinguished from other functions of the brain by opposing them to low-level learning. In contrast, this project starts from the idea that cognitive flexibility is grounded in reinforcement learning and associative learning, and thus sensitive to the same rules that low-level learned behavior is subject to. Therefore, the first two aims of this project will be to demonstrate that the processes behind cognitive flexibility can be conditioned by reward and controlled by the context. This approach breaks with a traditional view on cognitive flexibility as originating from a vague, independent supervisory system. Instead, it allows us to get a grip on cognitive flexibility, and study its neural mechanisms more closely. To this end, a third aim will be to test the counterintuitive hypothesis that increased neural variability (or "noise") in control regions of the brain is what allows for cognitive flexibility. Finally, I will apply this fundamentally different way of understanding cognitive flexibility to the clinical domain. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been linked to deficits in cognitive flexibility, but studies have shown mixed results. Accordingly, a fourth aim will be to further the understanding of the assumed deficits in cognitive flexibility related to ASD. Overall, this project intends to change the current way of thinking about cognitive flexibility, and cognitive control more generally, and to cause a paradigmatic shift in how we go about assessing its neural mechanisms and deficits in clinical conditions like ASD.

Mots-clés : cognitive control,cognitive flexibility,executive functions,task switching,reward
Projet ERC : INTERDIFFUSION (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : KU Leuven — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : KUL
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1496875.0 €

Multi-materials, combining various materials with different functionalities, are increasingly desired in engineering applications. Reliable material assembly is a great challenge in the development of innovative technologies. The interdiffusion microstructures formed at material interfaces are critical for the performance of the product. However, as more and more elements are involved, their complexity increases and their variety becomes immense. Furthermore, interdiffusion microstructures evolve during processing and in use of the device. Experimental testing of the long-term evolution in assembled devices is extremely time-consuming. The current level of materials models and simulation techniques does not allow in silico (or computer aided) design of multi-component material assemblies, since the parameter space is much too large. With this project, I aim a break-through in computational materials science, using tensor decomposition techniques emerging in data-analysis to guide efficiently high-throughput interdiffusion microstructure simulation studies. The measurable outcomes aimed at, are 1) a high-performance computing software that allows to compute the effect of a huge number of material and process parameters, sufficiently large for reliable in-silico design of multi-materials, on the interdiffusion microstructure evolution, based on a tractable number of simulations, and 2) decomposed tensor descriptions for important multi-material systems enabling reliable computation of interdiffusion microstructure characteristics using a single computer. If successful, the outcomes of this project will allow to significantly accelerate the design of innovative multi-materials. My expertise in microstructure simulations and multi-component materials, and access to collaborations with the top experts in tensor decomposition techniques and materials characterization are crucial to reach this ambitious aim.

Mots-clés : computational materials engineering,thermodynamics and kinetics,diffusion,material assembly
Projet ERC : PySightBox (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Tel Aviv University — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TAU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Multi-photon microscopy is the gold-standard brain imaging approach to study the brain and other organs in action and is used across hundreds of laboratories worldwide. The current attempts to imaging increasingly large tissue volumes pushed multi-photon microscopy into the photon-deprived regime (i.e. the dim conditions that result from moving faster allowing collection of less photons per pixel/voxel). Under these condition, the relative few photons detected can be lost in the electronics noise of the system. Photon-counting techniques overcome this hurdle yet its implementation requires either custom electronics (and electronics expertise) or the use of relative expensive commercial solutions that are not tailored for this type of imaging thus providing only a partial solution. Therefore there is an unmet need in the market today for an easy to implement photon counting solution that seamlessly integrates into existing imaging setups and provides all the required software to perform intravital multi-dimensional imaging. This project aims to commercialize PySight, an add-on hardware and software solution tailored exactly to fill this market gap. Moreover, the product I propose to develop here targets both the academic and medical sectors as multi-photon diagnostic are becoming more common nowadays. Beyond achieving the unmet needs, our prototype improves many aspects of imaging (such a neuronal population imaging in single and rapid volumetric imaging). Its spatio-temporal resolution outperforms top-tier imaging setups while retaining over 200 times lower data rates. Importantly, PySight requires no electronics expertise and its software is open-source.

Mots-clés : neuroscience,multi photon imaging,photon counting,volumetric imaging