Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : COMPASS (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Politecnico di Milano — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : POLIMI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499020.97 €

Space benefits mankind through the services it provides to Earth. Future space activities progress thanks to space transfer and are safeguarded by space situation awareness. Natural orbit perturbations are responsible for the trajectory divergence from the nominal two-body problem, increasing the requirements for orbit control; whereas, in space situation awareness, they influence the orbit evolution of space debris that could cause hazard to operational spacecraft and near Earth objects that may intersect the Earth. However, this project proposes to leverage the dynamics of natural orbit perturbations to significantly reduce current extreme high mission cost and create new opportunities for space exploration and exploitation. The COMPASS project will bridge over the disciplines of orbital dynamics, dynamical systems theory, optimisation and space mission design by developing novel techniques for orbit manoeuvring by “surfing” through orbit perturbations. The use of semi-analytical techniques and tools of dynamical systems theory will lay the foundation for a new understanding of the dynamics of orbit perturbations. We will develop an optimiser that progressively explores the phase space and, though spacecraft parameters and propulsion manoeuvres, governs the effect of perturbations to reach the desired orbit. It is the ambition of COMPASS to radically change the current space mission design philosophy: from counteracting disturbances, to exploiting natural and artificial perturbations. COMPASS will benefit from the extensive international network of the PI, including the ESA, NASA, JAXA, CNES, and the UK space agency. Indeed, the proposed idea of optimal navigation through orbit perturbations will address various major engineering challenges in space situation awareness, for application to space debris evolution and mitigation, missions to asteroids for their detection, exploration and deflection, and in space transfers, for perturbation-enhanced trajectory design.

Mots-clés : orbital dynamics,orbit perturbations,dynamical systems theory,space trajectory design,optimisation,space applications,space debris,asteroids,space transfer,phase space,low thrust propulsion
Projet ERC : CODE (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Cellular, Developmental and Regenerative Biology
Entité participante : University of Oslo — Pays : Norvège — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UiO
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1905625.0 €

Specific recruitment of different proteins to distinct intracellular membranes is fundamental in the biology of eukaryotic cells, but the molecular basis for specificity is incompletely understood. This proposal investigates the hypothesis that coincidence detection of proteins and lipids constitutes a major mechanism for specific recruitment of proteins to intracellular membranes in order to control cellular membrane dynamics. CODE will establish and validate mathematical models for coincidence detection, identify and functionally characterise novel coincidence detectors, and engineer artificial coincidence detectors as novel tools in cell biology and biotechnology.

Mots-clés : membrane traffic,endocytosis,phosphoinositides
Projet ERC : Pho-T-Lyze (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
Entité participante : Technical University of Darmstadt — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Spectrum analysis and vector network analysis are enabling technologies for component development throughout the microwave and millimeter wave band. Due to the lack of affordable electronics for frequencies above 100 GHz, vector network analyzers (VNAs) have to use frequency extenders to reach into the THz frequency band (100 GHz-10 THz). The bandwidth of frequency extended electronic systems is restricted to about 50%. Several extender setups have to be used for larger spans, requiring realignment and tedious recalibration. Further, extenders become increasingly expensive the higher the THz frequency and are, therefore, barley used. Electronic spectrum analyzers face similar problems as VNAs. Only a few examples of highly expensive photonic, pulsed frequency comb-based systems have been demonstrated. Affordable, large bandwidth commercial THz metrology tools are missing so far. This proposal aims for the development of photonic THz characterization tools based on telecom-wavelength compatible photomixing technology to satisfy this need: 1.) Photonic vector network analysers (PVNAs) with extreme frequency coverage will be realized by two approaches: a) A planar, on-chip, and broadband dielectric waveguide topology with integrated photomixers for the realization of a continuous-wave (CW) two-port PVNA, covering at least 100 GHz to 1.1 THz in a single setup. b) A pulsed, free space photonic two-port VNA for frequency extension towards 5 THz. 2.) CW photonic THz spectrum analyzers (PSAs) with a frequency coverage of at least 50 GHz -1.1 THz and a simple extension towards 2.7 THz. This system will be realized both free space and on-chip by using a photonic sweep oscillator that is mixed with the signal to be investigated and down-converted by a room-temperature operating THz detector. These systems will provide a solid basis for THz component development. The long term goal beyond this proposal is a competence center for THz device engineering.

Mots-clés : terahertz
Projet ERC : SORBET (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : Max Planck Society — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : MPG
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2750000.0 €

Spintronics is a vibrant field of research that involves the intimate interaction of magnetic structure on the atomic scale with spin currents and spin-polarized charge currents. SORBET is focussed on an emerging sub-field of spintronics, namely that of spin orbitronics. Recent discoveries in this field concern the interplay of several distinct spin orbit coupling derived phenomena that, together, allow for the highly efficient current induced motion of domain walls (DWs) in magnetic nanowires. It is proposed to explore two classes of domain-wall device concepts: a novel two terminal single-domain wall device composed of a spin-valve based structure that is deposited on a vertical wall or other 3D structure; and a 3D racetrack memory that involves multiple domain walls. The main objectives of the project involve the exploration of atomically engineered thin film magnetic nano-structures that could enable these revolutionary devices, and to unravel and exploit the new physics of this emerging field of research. To achieve these objectives fundamental breakthroughs are needed both in the thin film materials themselves and in the physics that determines the material properties and controls the motion of the DWs. These devices are innately three-dimensional and thus can overcome challenges that limit the scaling of existing two-dimensional electronic technologies. Novel methods to fabricate these devices will be explored, especially, the use of atomic layer deposition and 3D printing techniques. An important objective will be to understand the origin of the spin orbit torques that drive domain walls in nanowires and the detailed relationship of these torques to the DW structure; it is anticipated that this will enable even more complex 3D spin textures to be realized that have, for example, much lower threshold currents for motion than is currently possible, and that exhibit topological transport phenomena that could even be used to generate or detect domain walls.

Mots-clés : spin currents,spin hall effect,spin orbit coupling
Projet ERC : SPINBEYOND (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : Utrecht University — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1617500.0 €

Spintronics is motivated by the quest for the next-generation beyond-Moore electronics. The conventional approach that is based on single-electron spin currents does, however, not solve the thermodynamic bottleneck that is caused by the dissipation associated with moving electrons. A revolutionary new approach to electronics is based on information processing and transfer by means of magnons, i.e., quanta of the collective spin-wave excitations in magnets, so that the electrons do not move at all. On top of this application perspective, magnons give rise to completely new physical phenomena that arise due to magnonic collective effects and that do not fit the paradigm of single-electron spintronics. This shift from single-electron to collective degrees of freedom to carry spin current – in large part substantiated by a 2015 experimental breakthrough involving the PI – calls for the formulation of a new basic model that includes these novel collective phenomena on equal footing with single-particle spin currents. It is the central and unifying scientific goal of this theoretical-physics proposal to develop this model. We focus on three material systems: ferromagnetic insulators, ferromagnetic metals, and antiferromagnets, and for each of these the objective is to bring out the new physics that arises due to i) coupled spin-heat transport in the linear-response regime, ii) collective effects in spin valves, and iii) magnon Bose-Einstein condensation and spin superfluidity. The latter paves the way for “magnon superspintronics”, the integration of room-temperature spin superfluidity with spintronics. In terms of methodology the proposed research spans the spectrum from phenomenological hydrodynamic theory to evaluation of the various bulk and interface parameters from microscopic descriptions. Our recent work gives us, combined with our background in cold-atom systems, a head start to carry out the proposed research.
Projet ERC : EVOCELFATE (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Entité participante : University of London — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : U. London
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Spiral cleavage is a highly stereotypical early embryonic program, and the ancestral, defining feature to Spiralia, a major phylogenetic clade including almost half of the animal phyla. Remarkably, spiral-cleaving embryos specify homologous cell fates (e.g. the progenitor cell of posterodorsal structures) conditionally –via cell interactions– or autonomously –via segregation of maternal inputs. This variation occurs naturally, even between closely related species, and has been related to the precocious formation of adult characters (adultation) in larvae of autonomous spiral-cleaving species. How spiralian lineages repeatedly shifted between these two cell fate specification modes is largely unexplored, because the mechanisms controlling spiral cleavage are still poorly characterized. This project tests the hypothesis that maternal chromatin and transcriptional regulators differentially incorporated in oocytes with autonomous spiral cleavage explain the evolution of this mode of cell fate specification. Through a comparative and phylogenetic-guided approach, we will combine bioinformatics, live imaging, and molecular and experimental techniques to: (i) Comprehensively identify differentially supplied maternal factors among spiral cleaving oocytes with distinct cell fate specification modes using comparative RNA-seq and proteomics; (ii) Uncover the developmental mechanisms driving conditional spiral cleavage, which is the ancestral embryonic mode; and (iii) Investigate how maternal chromatin and transcriptional regulators define early cell fates, and whether these factors account for the repeated evolution of autonomous specification modes. Our results will fill a large gap of knowledge in our understanding of spiral cleavage and its evolution. In a broader context, this project will deliver fundamental insights into two core questions in evolutionary developmental biology: how early embryonic programs evolve, and how they contribute to phenotypic change.

Mots-clés : spiralia,spiral cleavage,evolution,cell fate,annelids,development,epigenomics,evolutionary developmental biology,evodevo
Projet ERC : REPLAY_DMN (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Radboud University Nijmegen — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2375000.0 €

Spontaneous activity accounts for most of what the brain does and is likely to be key for information processing in the brain, but its function is still quite mysterious. Two key spontaneous activity processes are the Default Mode Network, a set of areas that are most markedly connected and active during behavioural idleness, and memory replay, the spontaneous reactivation of neural patterns occurring during experience. I will test the hypothesis that the DMN plays a key role in memory replay processes. This theory, if confirmed, would bring important conceptual advances: to memory studies, as it would provide a mechanism supporting the formation and consolidation of complex memory representations. To the Default Mode Network field, as replay can be used as the “Rosetta Stone” to decipher the computations the DMN performs, moving beyond the connectivity, dynamics, and cognitive correlates, typical focus of DMN research. I will explore this theory by an experimental study of spontaneous neural activity over the whole mouse cortex, going from large field-of-view 2-photon imaging and high-volume electrophysiology for the single neuron scale, to voltage sensitive imaging and electrocorticography, to resting state fMRI, in animals running memory tasks. I will characterize the network dynamics and the encoding and replay of memories by quantifying conveyed information and assessing its nature (e.g. about simple percepts vs. complex events, remote vs. memories). I will also measure critical behaviour in these networks, and test whether neuronal avalanches, that occur in spontaneous activity, play a role in conveying information across distant brain areas. I will model the consequences of these mechanisms for computation by formulating a machine learning based model of memory formation and consolidation, endowing a deep network with critical properties and memory replay.

Mots-clés : default mode network,analysis of neural data,semantic memory,brain dynamics,cell assemblies
Projet ERC : DREAM (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
Entité participante : University of Luxembourg — Pays : Luxembourg — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Sport research and procedures that aim to increase performance or assist recovery after an injury often require capture of athlete’s motion. However, implementing a motion capture system in routine practice takes significant effort. Capture volume, weather conditions, motion dynamics and athletes' timing (where timing defines coincide movements in relation to external factors) are the key parameters for outdoor sport activities (e.g. track and field or football), yet no available motion capture system is suitable for much needed high accuracy absolute position measurements of body segments in outdoor conditions with minimal setup effort for large capture volumes, which is capable of measuring the athletes' timing. Therefore, there is a significant unmet need for a portable motion capture system that can perform accurate infield measurements on a large volume, even in diverse weather conditions (e.g. sunlight, fog, rain) with the capability of the athletes' timing analysis, which is a combination of reaction time, decision -making and co-ordination in relation to external factors. DREAM aims to generate a motion capture and mapping system (minimum viable product) that creates a complete orientation and absolute position measurement with no external position reference, provides reliable orientation of body segments even for high dynamic motions, and has a small form factor, which is minimally invasive for the athlete. Further, the offered solution is complementary to existing solutions and operates in real time. DREAM’s value proposition is a cost-effective, robust and accurate infield motion capture and mapping system with minimal setup effort, for large field coverage in any place and in any condition. The uniqueness of the product stems from the complementarity between radar and IMU sensors, enhanced athletes timing analysis, all enabled through an innovative algorithm developed in the AGNOSTIC ERC Advanced grant (ID 742648).

Mots-clés : radar,data fusion,wearables,motion capture system,sport,recovery,environment mapping
Projet ERC : TeStability (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
Entité participante : Weizmann Institute of Science — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 766344.0 €

Stability in algebra in general and in group theory, in particular, is a general name for questions of the following type: Is every "almost solution" a small deformation of an "exact solution"? E.g. (a) Are two unitary matrices which almost commute small deformations of matrices that do commute? or (b) Is every "almost homomorphism" from a group D to topological group G, a small deformation of a true homomorphism? So (a) is a special case of (b), with D = Z x Z and G = Un(C). In recent years, it has been discovered that "Group Stability" can be the path to the solution of some longstanding problems in group theory such as: Are all groups sofic? hyperlinear? (Two well known problems of Gromov and Connes, respectively). In computer science, property testing is an area which studies the possibility of having (random) algorithms that can check a property while reading only a small amount of the information. A major problem here is: Are there good locally testable codes? Namely, error correcting codes for which one can decide with a high degree of certainty that a vector is in the code, while reading only a small number of its bits. The current project will look at these group theoretic and codes problems from a unified point of view. Some partial works show that they are related to high dimensional expanders, Ramanujan complexes and to lattices in p-adic simple groups and their actions on the associated buildings. We plan to develop further methods to study stability and testability and eventually also to attack the holy grail problems of these areas.

Mots-clés : groups,cohomology,codes,stability,testability
Projet ERC : NanoStaph (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Entité participante : Université Catholique de Louvain — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UCL
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2481437.5 €

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, which are often complicated by the ability of this pathogen to grow as biofilms on indwelling medical devices. Because biofilms protect the bacteria from host defenses and are resistant to many antibiotics, biofilm-related infections are difficult to fight and represent a tremendous burden on our healthcare system. Today, a true molecular understanding of the fundamental interactions driving staphylococcal adhesion and biofilm formation is lacking owing to the lack of high-resolution probing techniques. This knowledge would greatly contribute to the development of novel anti-adhesion therapies for combating biofilm infections. We recently established advanced atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques for analyzing the nanoscale surface architecture and interactions of microbial cells, allowing us to elucidate key cellular functions. This multidisciplinary project aims at developing an innovative AFM-based force nanoscopy platform in biofilm research, enabling us to understand the molecular mechanisms of S. aureus adhesion in a way that was not possible before, and to optimize the use of anti-adhesion compounds capable to inhibit biofilm formation by this pathogen. NanoStaph will have strong scientific, societal and economical impacts. From the technical perspective, force nanoscopy will represent an unconventional methodology for the high throughput and high resolution characterization of adhesion forces in living cells, especially in bacterial pathogens. In microbiology, the results will radically transform our perception of the molecular bases of biofilm formation by S. aureus. In medicine, the project will provide a new screening method for the fast, label-free analysis of anti-adhesion compounds targeting S. aureus strains, including antibiotic-resistant clinical isolates that are notoriously difficult to treat, thus paving the way to the development of anti-adhesion therapies.

Mots-clés : atomic force microscopy,nanoscopy,single molecules,single cells,microbial biofilms,adhesion,bacteria,staphylococcus aureus