Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : WHIRLS (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : École normale supérieure PSL — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ENS PSL
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2924295.0 €

WHIRLS is about small processes having large-scale impacts. Heat and carbon are the currencies of regional and global climate, constantly exchanged between the ocean and the atmosphere. This exchange is strongly influenced by fine-scales ocean eddies—whirls—that flux heat and carbon towards, or away from, the air-sea interface. When the ocean gives up heat and carbon to the atmosphere, climate is warmer and wetter, and vice versa. Carbon that is fluxed towards the air-sea interface, where sunlight is available, can be taken up by phytoplankton that form the base of the oceanic food web. Eddies and fronts alter vertical nutrient fluxes and ocean stratification which help shape biodiversity and ecosystems. The proliferation of fine-scale processes, and their interdisciplinary and large-scale impacts are poorly understood. In WHIRLS we will use a synergistic and interdisciplinary approach to study fine-scale processes across a continuum of scales (1–100 km) and assess their impacts on air-sea exchange and marine biogeochemistry and biodiversity. We focus on the Agulhas Current System around South Africa because it is a global hotspot of eddy activity, ocean-atmosphere heat exchange, and marine productivity and diversity It is also a region that plays a key role for the global ocean circulation and global climate and climate change. We will use multiple coordinated observing strategies, including research vessels and a large ensemble of autonomous platforms, to collect physical, chemical, and biological datasets across scales. These data will be supplemented by high-resolution models of the ocean and the atmosphere, developed with a focus on the Agulhas Current System, as well as the latest data science methodologies. WHIRLS will improve the understanding of fine-scale processes and its representation in future earth system models for better predictions and projections of the future climate.

Mots-clés : submesoscale and mesoscale ocean dynamics,air sea exchange,biogeochemistry,ocean and climate modelling,climate change,agulhas current system
Projet ERC : OPEN-2QS (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Université Johannes-Gutenberg de Mayence — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : JGU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 3506256.0 €

OPEN-2QS aims to deliver a disruptive change in our capabilities of analog quantum simulation of open 2D many-body systems. For the first time, this will allow us to investigate quantum matter with competing coherent and dissipative processes over extremely long times - a regime that is inaccessible by current technology. This will open a new window for the discovery of emergent dynamical phenomena and states of matter, such as quantum glasses. As any system in Nature eventually couples to an environment, and thus is open, the research program of OPEN-2QS will deliver foundations and concepts whose relevance extends to chemistry, biology and information processing, thereby also forming a basis of future technological innovation. OPEN-2QS’ ambition to redefine the state-of-the-art of open system quantum simulation will be achieved by employing ion crystals, forming two-dimensional geometries, which host >100 individually addressable and mutually coupled particles. Strong state-dependent tunable dipolar Rydberg interactions will allow for a full control over the build-up of quantum correlations in 2D geometries. Vibrational phonon quantum degrees of freedom will enable the engineering of irreversible dissipative processes. The ensuing complex dissipative dynamics will be stabilized over thousands of dissipation cycles via coherence-preserving in-situ optical cooling. Monitoring quantum trajectories under dissipative dynamics and an unprecedented access to reservoir correlation functions will enable the investigation of collective relaxation behavior and exotic forms of matter. We will study the impact of quantum effects on phase transitions, explore correlated dynamics in quantum glasses, test fundamental principles of quantum thermodynamics, and advance numerical algorithms through a close theory-experiment interplay. To achieve these goals, we have gathered a world-wide unique team of pioneers in trapped ions, Rydberg physics and quantum non-equilibrium theory.

Mots-clés : trapped ions,open quantum systems,phase transitions,rydberg states
Projet ERC : PEPS (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : CO-PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HGF
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 3973625.25 €

Neural stem cell (NSC) populations in the vertebrate brain generate adult-born neurons for plasticity, growth, and repair. Neurogenic and gliogenic capacity, based on long-term NSC maintenance, functionally define “stemness”. Stemness embodies massive NSC heterogeneity at the single cell level and requires control of maintenance or differentiation decisions at the population level. These features remain mechanistically unreconciled. We hypothesise that spatiotemporal interactions among heterogeneous NSCs are coordinated to control the population behaviour. Thus, we propose a multi-dimensional project exploring these features in time and space, to decode the mechanistic principles of stemness. To this end, we bring together experimental and theoretical groups with complementary expertise in NSC biology, biostatistics and mathematical modelling. In an iterative experimental-mathematical approach, we will (1) solve the topology of individual NSC trajectories in transcriptomic space, (2) identify local cell-cell coordination mechanisms that impact these trajectories in situ, and (3) decode the resulting systemic properties and outputs of NSC ensembles at long-term and large spatial scales. This programme will result in original methods, including retrospective transcriptomics in single cells, innovative barcode transfers, and a novel mathematical framework to describe structured spatio-temporal population dynamics. We will focus on two biological model systems, the adult mouse ventricular sub-ventricular zone and zebrafish pallium, where NSC ensembles display comparable heterogeneity but differ in spatial organisation and fate dynamics. Together, PEPS will uncover the general principles and regulatory mechanisms of perpetuating stemness in time and space. It will lay the conceptual and methodological foundation to manipulate stem cell systems to improve their stability or output, and also produce new methods of universal value for studying cellular systems.

Mots-clés : adult neural stem cells,zebrafish pallium,ventricular subventricular zone,spatio temporal population dynamics,single cell multi omics,barcoded transfer connectome,brain injury,single cell perturbations,mathematical modelling,structured population models,partial differential equation,high dimensional statistics,dimension reduction
Projet ERC : CHRONOLOGY (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : École normale supérieure PSL — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : ENS PSL
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 0.0 €

Experiencing the world and inferring its causal structure rely on the flexible temporal organization of information in the brain, enabling future planning in thoughts and actions. Understanding how the brain maps events in time is essential, yet surprisingly little is known about the neural mechanisms by which the brain represents time and uses it for computations. Based on the observation that complex neural activity accompanies the mental evaluation of time across species, our project aims at testing the hypothesis that the collective dynamics of brain circuits involved in memory generate and organize representation of temporality. To identify the key structures of time representations in the brain, we will record neural activity at different neuroanatomical scales (from neuron to whole-brain) in three species (rodents, non-human primates, and humans) while individuals are behaving in timing tasks of varying cognitive complexity. A geometrical analysis of neural activity will determine the existence of temporal cognitive maps that provide individuals with a mental chronology of experienced events. We will test if the navigation of temporal cognitive maps is involved in tasks where individuals mentally travel in time. Exploiting state-of-the-art artificial intelligence methods to build interpretable recurrent neural network models, we will identify generic processes supporting the emergence of time representations by comparing signatures of theoretical mechanisms with brain activity. Targeted causal manipulation at the single cell resolution will help select precise mechanisms among model-based hypotheses, including the role of local and long-range neuronal connectivity in the establishment of circuit dynamics that develop across time scales. Our synergistic cross-disciplinary team will establish an innovative, biologically-grounded, overarching framework for the representation of time in the brain, its dependence on context, and its relation to memory.

Mots-clés : time perception geometry of neural representations cognitive maps multielectrode recordings all optical electrophysiology acousto optic two photon calcium imaging recurrent neural network models computational neuroscience neural dynamics
Projet ERC : SAFEr Grid (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Université technique de Rhénanie-Westphalie à Aix-la-Chapelle — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : CO-PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 8107094.2 €

Electrical power systems are experiencing significant challenges because of the substitution of fossil-based power plants with inverter-based renewable energy sources. This transition pushes power systems to the limits; first severe blackouts have already emerged in developed countries. Although applied for more than 100 years, the rigid coupling of the entire power system infrastructure to a global synchronous 50Hz-frequency is now turning into a liability, making a fundamental paradigm shift inevitable.  The ambitious goal of our project is the exploration, conceptualization, and evaluation of a radically new theory, architecture, and operational principle for power systems. The groundbreaking idea is to go beyond the synchronous balance of power and to replace it with an asynchronous balance of energy leveraging the established role-models from the Internet and telecommunications domain. The elimination of the global synchronicity requirement in power systems represents a quantum leap and is realized through the decoupling and asynchronous operation of independent subgrids. Our fully intrinsic, scalable, and gradually deployable approach is based on the store-and-forward balancing of energy. Networked control, the evolution of power electronics, and the availability of energy storage are the enabling technologies for this revolutionary approach. SAFEr Grid will enable a fundamental breakthrough in the stable, resilient, efficient, scalable, and fully automated delivery of energy and will stimulate widespread innovation in the energy sector--comparable to the rise of the Internet economy.  The project is clearly a high-risk/high-gain endeavour that requires the expertise of multiple research disciplines. The four PIs constitute a perfect team and the synergy of their expertise will successfully address Europe's most pressing grand challenge in terms of sustainability goals: energy supply, energy infrastructure, and energy independence.

Mots-clés : power system dynamics,modeling and simulation of energy systems,power system control,power converters,power electronics,smart transformers,power hardware in the loop,environmental change,societal impact,communication systems,cyber physical networking,infrastructural internet of things,energy transition,open innovation,ecosystem emergence,ecosystem governance,transformation
Projet ERC : GERACLE (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Université d'Helsinki — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2056295.0 €

The intensity of Earth’s magnetic field, which forms an important shield for our habitat, drops dramatically during geomagnetic excursions and reversals (termed GERs). The Laschamps excursion (~41 000 years ago) occurred during profound climatic changes, possibly leading to drastic effects on the biosphere. While impacts of GERs on the atmosphere can be expected, the magnitude, time scales, and even the direction/sign of effects on our habitat are unknown. The significantly weakened magnetic field shrinks the magnetosphere, enhancing energetic particle fluxes from outer space to the middle and lower atmosphere and even ground. The impact of GERs on the energetic particle precipitation from the magnetosphere is also unknown. The dynamics of near-Earth space and the atmosphere during GERs and their potential impacts have not yet been addressed in full complexity, due to a lack of reliable data, precise models and interdisciplinary approaches. We will unravel key dynamics and connect physical processes during GERs and establish their environmental consequences by synergistically bringing together expertise from palaeomagnetism, magnetospheric, solar, heliospheric, atmospheric physics and climate. We will combine new data-based geomagnetic field models with state-of-the-art magnetospheric, atmospheric, and global Earth-system models for a complete process view. Expected breakthroughs will include new knowledge on the very existence and structure of the magnetosphere and radiation belts, radiation fields and ionization patterns in the atmosphere, and induced physical, chemical and dynamical effects and climate responses during GERs. Further emphasis will be put on potential hazards for our technological society during a potential future GER. GERACLE will go far beyond the current state–of–the–art, provide ground-breaking advances, and form a new paradigm of the consequences of past and yet unexplored GER events for our habitat and the impacts of possible future GERs.

Mots-clés : solar terrestrial relations magnetospheric physics
Projet ERC : TASTADE (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Fluminense Federal University — Pays : Brésil — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UFF
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 620362.5 €

Abstract  From the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, slave traders of mostly European origin violently transported more than 12.5 million African men, women, and children to the Americas. This was the largest forced transoceanic migration in human history. Scholars have focussed on the effects of this migration on African and American history, while treating the slave trade’s effects on European societies as marginal. This supposition of marginality stems from two biases in existing research: a focus on the companies and individuals who directly outfitted slaving voyages instead of on the far larger group of people who invested in these voyages, and an over-emphasis on slave trade profits, leaving out many other relevant indicators of the economic, political, and cultural significance of slave traders. The trans-Atlantic slave trade and the development of Europe project (TASTADE) will correct this imbalance by identifying thousands of men and women who financed the slave trade and scrutinizing their embeddedness in their local, regional, national, and transnational contexts, to answer the following research question: How did the investors in the trans-Atlantic slave trade based inside and outside Europe shape the economies, politics, and cultures of Europe? TASTADE will transform existing scholarship by delivering a ground-breaking assessment of the national and trans-national networks that facilitated this trade and by linking these networks to key aspects of European development. In realising this overarching objective, TASTADE will reshape our understanding of the history of capitalism, colonial and commercial politics, and European culture. Our unique pan-European perspective relies on the distinctive synergy of approaches provided by the members of the core research team, who will inscribe the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade fully into the story of European development and help European society confront, disclose, and memorialise the sl

Mots-clés : slavery,slave trade,trading companies,prosopography,investment,transnational analysis,legacies of empire
Projet ERC : GravNet (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Institute for High Energy Physics — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : IFAE
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1598488.0 €

The overarching goal of the GravNet project is to develop, test and deploy a novel experimental platform that could enable the first detection of gravitational waves (GWs) in the frequency range of MHz to GHz, thereby providing a new and unique window into astrophysical processes that have so far eluded observation. The first detection of gravitational waves by LIGO in 2015 ushered in a new era of fundamental physics. Since then, a network of ground-based GW interferometers has probed the frequency range from 10 Hz to 10 kHz, detecting nearly a hundred mergers of black-hole and neutron-star binaries. In 2023, a signal at much lower frequency, in the nHz band, was detected by timing radio signals from pulsars. The race is now on to explore other bands. Of particular interest in this context is access to the MHz-GHz range, as in this range signals may be generated copiously by events such as primordial-black-hole-merger, by the dynamics of ultra-light dark matter overdensities or violent phenomena in primordial cosmological times - all processes related to some of the most pressing open questions about our Universe.  The use of cavities in strong magnetic fields has been identified as one of the most promising techniques to search for high-frequency gravitational waves. So far, efforts were focused on cavities with small volumes that are tuned to search for axion-like particles. By contrast, the GravNet scheme is based on combining different technologies and methodological approaches to measure synchronously cavity signals from multiple devices in magnetic fields operated as a network across Europe, increasing the sensitivity to high frequency GWs (HFGWs) by several orders of magnitude compared to current approaches. In this way, GravNet will open up a new, vast parameter space for gravitational-wave searches and might be the enabling step towards the first detection of HFGWs - with the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the Universe.

Mots-clés : high frequency gravitational waves,electromagnetic cavities,quantum sensors,sensor network,machine learning
Projet ERC : CHRONOLOGY (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CEA
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2499799.5 €

Experiencing the world and inferring its causal structure rely on the flexible temporal organization of information in the brain, enabling future planning in thoughts and actions. Understanding how the brain maps events in time is essential, yet surprisingly little is known about the neural mechanisms by which the brain represents time and uses it for computations. Based on the observation that complex neural activity accompanies the mental evaluation of time across species, our project aims at testing the hypothesis that the collective dynamics of brain circuits involved in memory generate and organize representation of temporality. To identify the key structures of time representations in the brain, we will record neural activity at different neuroanatomical scales (from neuron to whole-brain) in three species (rodents, non-human primates, and humans) while individuals are behaving in timing tasks of varying cognitive complexity. A geometrical analysis of neural activity will determine the existence of temporal cognitive maps that provide individuals with a mental chronology of experienced events. We will test if the navigation of temporal cognitive maps is involved in tasks where individuals mentally travel in time. Exploiting state-of-the-art artificial intelligence methods to build interpretable recurrent neural network models, we will identify generic processes supporting the emergence of time representations by comparing signatures of theoretical mechanisms with brain activity. Targeted causal manipulation at the single cell resolution will help select precise mechanisms among model-based hypotheses, including the role of local and long-range neuronal connectivity in the establishment of circuit dynamics that develop across time scales. Our synergistic cross-disciplinary team will establish an innovative, biologically-grounded, overarching framework for the representation of time in the brain, its dependence on context, and its relation to memory.

Mots-clés : time perception geometry of neural representations cognitive maps multielectrode recordings all optical electrophysiology acousto optic two photon calcium imaging recurrent neural network models computational neuroscience neural dynamics
Projet ERC : 2DPolyMembrane (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Synergy grants)
Entité participante : Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : CO-PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Société Max Planck
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 3800000.0 €

Current separation technology is crucial for many aspects of human life and accounts for ~15% of the world’s energy consumption. While the particle flow through separation columns is directional at the atomistic scale, undirected Brownian motion dominates in state-of-the-art membranes. 2D membranes have the potential to overcome this intrinsic deficiency and shift the paradigm of particle transport from disordered Brownian motion to unidirectional flow. We will develop unprecedented 2D polymer heterostructure membranes (2DHMs) combined with functionalized graphene. They offer ultimate thinness (leading to shortest diffusion lengths), precision pore geometry/size (resulting in high size-selectivity, even for hydrogen isotopes), and high functionality (fostering chemical/charge selectivity and ionic gating), making them ideal membrane materials to realize selective and unidirectional ion transport. We will combine our complementary expertise in theory and prediction, chemical design, and on-water/liquid surface synthesis, as well as in-situ ion transport investigations to develop robust 2DHMs. We will synthesize 2DHMs in the form of horizontal and vertical heterostructures, for which reliable structure-property correlations will be established. We will take advantage of lattice vibrations, nuclear quantum, and electrochemical effects, and consequently reformulate classical diffusion theory to consider these game changers. As a result, we will achieve innovative 2DHMs for selective proton and ion transport with high permeance, laying the foundations for the next-generation membrane technologies. 2DPolymembrane will unlock the unique opportunities of 2DHMs for innovative energy device integrations (proton/aqueous metal batteries, fuel cells, and reverse osmotic power generators), where the merits of ultrathin precision 2DHMs will result in the highest selectivity and highest particle flow, and thus a fundamental device performance beyond the state-of-art.

Mots-clés : interfacial synthesis two dimensional polymer heterostructures hydron sieving ion transport separation membranes