Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : MEET (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 118808.13 €

Efforts to reconstruct the early Earth evolution lack critical information on the contents of mobile and volatile elements and their isotope signatures in the mantle and crust. Fortunately, this information is preserved in inclusions of melt in relicts of olivine from komatiites and picrites, and zircons from mafic and felsic rocks. In Aim I, we will use compositions and temperatures of primary mantle-derived melts reconstructed from the study of melt inclusions in olivine from komatiites and picrites to constrain the evolution of mantle composition. We will further study crust-formation, crust-mantle recycling, and crust-hydrosphere exchange based on composition of melt inclusions and host zircons. We will analyse a wide range of volatile elements and their isotopes in homogenized melt inclusions and the elemental and isotopic compositions of host olivines and zircons. The samples come from 24 localities of komatiites and picrites originating at different cratons between 3.7 and 0.06 Ga, and detrital and magmatic zircons with ages from 4.4 Ga to present. We will apply published and new models to constrain the temperatures and compositions of mantle and crustal sources. In Aim II, geodynamic modelling will relate our observations to the evolution of mantle convection, crustal production and recycling, and plate tectonics (PT). We will couple geodynamic modelling with surface and climate models and use derived geochemical proxies to test our hypotheses on the importance of surface processes in evolution of PT. We will thus address several fundamental issues: the rate of crustal growth and recycling through time; the cause and timing of the onset of large-scale subduction and PT, and factors controlling its evolution; concentration and origin of H2O and halogens in the deep mantle, and the extent (if any) of core-mantle interaction. MEET will, therefore, offer an unprecedented look at the evolution of Earth from 4.4 Ga to today, and from the atmosphere to the core.

Mots-clés : earth mantle,earth crust,geodynamics,melt inclusions,olivine,zircon,spinel
Projet ERC : SSID (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : University of Sheffield — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 0.0 €

Eighty million EU citizens are suffering from excessive environmental noise and billions of euros are being spent on noise control, under the EU Directive on Environmental Noise. Unfortunately, the conventional approach, i.e. reduction of ‘sound level’, simply does not deliver the required improvements in quality of life. The growing field of ‘soundscape studies’ is addressing this gap by considering sound environment as perceived, in context, with an interdisciplinary approach. However, soundscapes are hugely complex and measuring them as a basis for environmental design requires a step change to the discipline. This research aims to achieve a ground-breaking development through the establishment of ‘soundscape indices’ (SSID), adequately reflecting levels of human comfort, the impact of which will be reminiscent of that of the Decibel scale created by Bell Systems a century ago. This will provide the underpinning science for soundscape in the field of built environment, with wider intellectual goals of moving from noise control to soundscape creation. Key objectives, as coherent steps for achieving the main aim, are: (1) To characterise soundscapes, by capturing soundscapes and establishing a comprehensive database, which will be a cornerstone for the proposed analysis, and an invaluable resource for scientists for years to come. (2) To determine key factors and their influence on soundscape quality based on the database, by conducting laboratory psychological evaluation, physical/psychoacoustic factors analysis, and more importantly, to research at a physiological/biological level, including the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging. (3) To develop, test and validate the soundscape indices, through analysing the influences by various factors, using a number of inter- & trans-disciplinary approaches. (4) To demonstrate the applicability of the soundscape indices in practice, by establishing frameworks for soundscape prediction, design, and standardisation.

Mots-clés : soundscape,noise,built environment,prediction,design,standardisation,psychological evaluation,psychoacoustic factor,physiological indicator
Projet ERC : InfoAggregation (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Individuals, Markets and Organisations
Entité participante : University of Bonn — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 616003.0 €

Elections are the foundation for democratic decision making. This research program will examine the effects of biased and privately informed entities—election organizers—on the ability of elections to aggregate information: Existing theory demonstrates that large electorates can reach correct decisions by aggregating information dispersed among many voters. However, existing theory does not account for the ubiquitous presence of biased organizers who intend to affect the election outcome. Examples of biased organizers may include a CEO holding a shareholder vote, a regional government holding a referendum, and political parties in general elections. This project will develop and analyze new models of voting that account for the effects of biased organizers on information aggregation. One of the examples I consider is an election organizer who can increase voter participation at some cost (e.g., through advertising). Preliminary work suggests that the presence of biased organizers has significant impact. As increasing participation becomes cheap, equilibria exist where the election organizer recruits a large number voters and yet the majority votes almost surely for the organizer’s favorite policy. This failure of information aggregation contrasts starkly with existing results for elections in which the number of voters is exogenously large. I will study the effectiveness of institutional safeguards against such manipulation, including supermajority rules, publicity requirements, and the regulation of communication to voters, and I will apply the theory in the context of shareholder voting and corporate control. Thus, this research program has important implications for the design of elections in realistic voting scenarios.

Mots-clés : large elections,voting,information aggregation
Projet ERC : MINERGRACE (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University of Cambridge — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : U. Cambridge
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 149875.0 €

Electronic devices enabling communication with human nervous system are becoming increasingly prevalent, offering novel information and communication (ICT)-based treatment techniques to help people overcome various disorders ranging from spinal cord injuries (SCIs) to missing limbs. Millions of people worldwide suffer from such ailments with a cumulative cost to the society estimated in billions of Euros annually. Next-generation ICT-based treatment techniques demand for interfaces with higher spatial resolution compared to state-of-the-art. To address this demand, MINERGRACE aims to build a prototype transceiver with high spatial resolution based on nano-patterned graphene sheets (NPGSs), which can be utilised as high resolution neural interfaces (NIs) capable of differentiating and generating highly localised fluctuations in specific ion concentrations. As the project outcome, MINERGRACE will provide a proof-of-concept NPGS-based NI prototype, i.e., a portable electronic device that can be integrated with a microprocessor. High resolution aspects of the MINERGRACE project outcome will provide a very significant improvement to the state-of-the-art in terms of both the capacity of the communication and the complexity of data communicated with the nervous system, enabling the communication with individual neurons. The project outcome will have a wide spectrum of applications involving NIs, e.g., ICT-based SCI treatments and neuro-prosthesis, significantly contributing to their quality of service. Commercialisation process will involve investigation into other commercialisation activities towards other NI products, development of an understanding of intellectual property rights (IPR) positions, and strategies for patenting activities in light of the achieved understanding of IPR position. We will work with identified industrial partners and societal organisations to collaborate towards in-market positioning for delivering the product to potential end users.

Mots-clés : neural interfaces,graphene,neuro treatment,spinal cord injury,information and,communication technology
Projet ERC : IMAGINE (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ETH Zurich
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2491490.0 €

Electronic transport in nanostructures and thin films shows a rich variety of physical effects that have been fundamental to the development of modern electronics and communication devices. The standard method for investigating electronic transport – resistance measurements – does not provide any information on the nanoscale current distribution in such structures. The lack of spatial information is unfortunate, because the current distribution plays a key role in many intriguing physical phenomena. Having a technique at hand that could simply look at nanoscale current flow would be immensely valuable. In this project we propose to exploit sensitive magnetic microscopy to directly access the current distribution in nanostructures with ~15nm spatial resolution. Our approach is based on the recent technique of scanning diamond magnetometry (SDM), a scanned-probe method that utilizes a single spin in a diamond tip as a high-resolution sensor of magnetic field. Conceived in 2008 by the PI, SDM exploits quantum metrology to achieve very high sensitivities, and has recently enabled a breakthrough in the passive analysis of magnetic surfaces. Our proposal has three objectives: (i) Lay the instrumental and conceptual groundwork required for imaging tiny (<10nA) current variations in two-dimensional conductors. (ii) Demonstrate imaging of a variety of mesoscopic transport features on a well-established model system: Mono- and bilayer graphene. (iii) Explore the potential of our technique for probing electronic properties beyond transport, like phase transitions and photoexcitation. Together, our experiments are designed to establish a powerful new technology for imaging current distributions non-invasively and with nanometer spatial resolution. This capability will provide the unique opportunity for directly looking at electronic transport in nanostructures, with a potentially transformative impact on condensed matter physics, materials science and electrical engineering.

Mots-clés : quantum sensing,scanning probe microscopy,nitrogen vacancy center
Projet ERC : DIVI (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : LMU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1882083.0 €

Electronics is rapidly speeding up. Ultimately, miniaturization will reach atomic dimensions and the switching speed will reach optical frequencies. This ultimate regime of lightwave electronics, where atomic-scale charges are controlled by few-cycle laser fields, holds promise to advance information processing technology from today’s microwave frequencies to the thousand times faster regime of optical light fields. All materials, including dielectrics, semiconductors and molecular crystals, react to such field oscillations with an intricate interplay between atomic-scale charge displacements (polarizations) and collective carrier motion on the nanometer scale (currents). This entanglement provides a rich set of potential mechanisms for switching and control. However, our ability to eventually realize lightwave electronics, or even to make first steps, will critically depend on our ability to actually measure electronic motion in the relevant environment: within/around atoms. The most fundamental approach would be a direct visualization in space and time. This project, if realized, will offer that: a spatiotemporal recording of electronic motion with sub-atomic spatial resolution and sub-optical-cycle time resolution, i.e. picometers and few-femtoseconds/attoseconds. Drawing on our unique combination of expertise covering electron diffraction and few-cycle laser optics likewise, we will replace the photon pulses of conventional attosecond spectroscopy with freely propagating single-electron pulses at picometer de Broglie wavelength, compressed in time by sculpted laser fields. Stroboscopic diffraction/microscopy will provide, after playback of the image sequence, a direct visualization of fundamental electronic activity in space and time. Profound study of atomic-scale light-matter interaction in simple and complex materials will provide a comprehensive picture of the fundamental physics allowing or limiting the high-speed electronics of the future.

Mots-clés : attosecond science,light matter interaction
Projet ERC : MetElOne (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : University of Edinburgh — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499365.0 €

Element number one, hydrogen, is the simplest and most abundant element in the universe. The relative abundance is reflected in the gas giant Jupiter, where under extreme pressures and temperatures, hydrogen exists in a dense metallic fluid state. In 1935, it was predicted that such a metallic state could also be realised at considerably lower temperatures, whereby the quantum molecular solid would dissociate under compression into an atomic metal. With the development of modern quantum mechanics, this metallic state of hydrogen is now expected to exhibit a whole host of fascinating properties at high pressure, from room temperature superconductivity, to a novel superfluid liquid ground state. The pursuit of these phenomena has been the principal scientific driver in high-pressure research and inspires many from interdisciplinary fields of science. In the eight decades that have passed since the initial prediction, there has been a vast amount of interesting phenomena discovered experimentally. Breakthroughs in diamond anvil experiments in the past five years have led to the discovery of two novel solid phases, suggesting that we are tantalizingly close to the metallization conditions, but at the limit of what can be currently achieved. For now, the metallic state remains elusive. I propose a novel hydrogen research program that will combine complex diamond sculpting, time resolved spectroscopy and novel fast compression techniques to extend the pressures achievable in static compression experiments. Using these state-of-the art diagnostics, I will explore the phase diagram and pinpoint the P-T conditions at which hydrogen becomes metallic in the solid and fluid states. With my experience in ultra-high pressure studies of hydrogen, together with resources unmatched anywhere else, the project promises to resolve many outstanding questions surrounding one of the most fundamental unsolved problems in condensed matter physics: the metallization of element one.

Mots-clés : high pressure physics,raman spectroscopy,hydrogen,metallic hydrogen
Projet ERC : NONLOCAL (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Lund University — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1527136.25 €

Emergent particles with nonabelian exchange statistics are a key element in the understanding of topological condensed matter system. However, the nonabelian nature has never been demonstrated experimentally, nor has the intimately connected nonlocality of quantum states been observed in any physical system. With this proposal, we outline a research program whose goal is to design and carry out experiments, with close theoretical coupling, that can – for the first time – verify or falsify the existence of these fascinating novel degrees of freedom and then, if observed, quantify the spatial and temporal limits for the nonabelian and nonlocal properties. The platform for the research is based on topological superconductivity in hybrid materials, a field in which the applicants have played a leading role. We put together a team of experimental and theoretical physicists in a strongly collaborative setup. The focus of the proposal is Majorana bound states, which exist at the boundaries of topological superconductors. Experiments have over the past five years shown observations consistent with their existence. All these experiments are based on local probes which cannot reveal the inner nature of their nonlocal and nonabelian properties. To address the fundamental aspects of nonlocality, we will design quantum devices that combine topological superconductors with known condensed matter quantum technologies, including quantum dots, two-dimensional electron gases, and fast measurement techniques. The nonabelian nature will be explored by design of multi-Majorana devices and of protocols that can reveal the nonabelian nature of braids in the space of topologically-protected groundstate manifolds. The gained knowledge will provide a breakthrough in the fundamentals of emergent degrees of freedom and quantum states encoded in topological macroscopic systems. Their possibly profound character might have future applications in quantum technologies.

Mots-clés : majorana fermions,nonabelian particles,topological states,anyons,semiconductorsuperconductor hybrids,heterostructures
Projet ERC : RAPID (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : GBF;HZI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Emerging resistance towards antimicrobials marks this decade and the lack of therapy options especially against gram-negative pathogens underscores the need for optimization of current diagnostics, therapies and prevention of the spread of these organisms. In this proposal the PIs medical microbiology background and previous ERC-funded work on molecular resistance markers is exploited towards the development of a diagnostic assay for resistance profiling and genotyping. The implementation of the molecular StG-knowledge based RAPID (Rapid Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and Phylogenetic Identification) Assay could change the current paradigm of culture-based microbiological diagnostics and facilitate surveillance of multi-drug resistance. The overall objective is to initiate steps of pre-commercialization. Through the simultaneous pursuit of exploratory and exploitative innovation activities RAPID will be developed as a diagnostic tool for clinical microbiological laboratories. By applying our molecular assay in phase II diagnostic trials on a world-wide collection of multi-drug resistant pathogens, measures of diagnostic accuracy will be obtained. In addition to the assessment and critical appraisal of the diagnostic test, I will partner with the technology transfer company Ascenion, and apply for the CE label for RAPID. The CE mark will open the door for further commercialization opportunities such as licensing or offering the RAPID Assay as a service. In addition, market research, protection of intellectual property and contacts with end users and pharmaceutical industry for partnering activities will be central to the project. The implementation of RAPID as a tailored and cost-effective diagnostic tool in clinical microbiology laboratories holds promise to provide critical information for decision-making with respect to antibiotic use and for improvement of disease surveillance in multi-drug resistant nosocomial infections, and thus is of high priority.

Mots-clés : in vitro diagnostics,multi drug resistance,molecular diagnostics
Projet ERC : MIRACLS (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : European Organization for Nuclear Research — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CERN
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1463750.0 €

Employing laser spectroscopy (LS) to study radionuclides is equally rich in its long tradition as it is manifold in its active pursuit today as virtually all radioactive ion beam (RIB) facilities do or are planning to host dedicated setups. Probing the hyperfine structure of an atom or ion with laser light is a powerful technique to infer nuclear properties such as a nuclide’s spin, charge radius, or electromagnetic moments. This information provides insight into a wide range of contemporary questions in nuclear physics such as the mechanism driving the emergence and disappearance of nuclear shells far away from stability. In the last decade, LS has benefited from the advent of ion traps in rare isotope science. The bunched beams released from these traps have led to an increase in sensitivity by several orders of magnitude due to an improved signal-to-background ratio when gating on the passing ion bunch. This present proposal is determined to introduce another type of ion trap, an Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap, which has the potential to enhance the sensitivity of collinear LS by another factor of 20-800. This is achieved by increasing the laser-interaction and observation time by trapping the ion bunch between two electrostatic mirrors while keeping its beam energy at 30 keV to minimize Doppler broadening. Such a device promises to extend collinear LS to nuclides so far out of reach given their low yields of typically <1000 ions/s at RIB facilities. Among the accessible nuclides are 34Mg in the island of inversion, 20Mg at the neutron shell closure N=8, or Sn isotopes towards the doubly magic 100Sn. Their charge radii will benchmark modern theoretical models utilizing 3-body forces in their quest to understand the evolution of nuclear shells. Ultimately, the setup can be further enhanced in sensitivity when combined with other single-particle detection methods or by utilizing its multi-reflection time-of-flight aspect to suppress disturbing isobaric contamination.

Mots-clés : laser spectroscopy of short lived nuclides