Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : ACO (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Cultures and cultural production
Entité participante : Comite national francais du c.t.i.f. — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1497250.0 €

The Acts of the Ecumenical Councils of Late Antiquity include (purportedly) verbatim minutes of the proceedings, a formal framework and copies of relevant documents which were either (allegedly) read out during the proceedings or which were later attached to the Acts proper. Despite this unusual wealth of documentary evidence, the daunting nature of the Acts demanding multidisciplinary competency, their complex structure with a matryoshka-like nesting of proceedings from different dates, and the stereotype that their contents bear only on Christological niceties have deterred generations of historians from studying them. Only in recent years have their fortunes begun to improve, but this recent research has not always been based on sound principles: the recorded proceedings of the sessions are still often accepted as verbatim minutes. Yet even a superficial reading quickly reveals widespread editorial interference. We must accept that in many cases the Acts will teach us less about the actual debates than about the editors who shaped their presentation. This does not depreciate the Acts’ evidence: on the contrary, they are first-rate material for the rhetoric of persuasion and self-representation. It is possible, in fact, to take the investigation to a deeper level and examine in what manner the oral proceedings were put into writing: several passages in the Acts comment upon the process of note-taking and the work of the shorthand writers. Thus, the main objective of the proposed research project could be described as an attempt to trace the destinies of the Acts’ texts, from the oral utterance to the manuscript texts we have today. This will include the fullest study on ancient transcript techniques to date; a structural analysis of the Acts’ texts with the aim of highlighting edited passages; and a careful comparison of the various editions of the Acts, which survive in Greek, Latin, Syriac and Coptic, in order to detect traces of editorial interference.

Mots-clés : councils,acts,minutes,late antiquity
Projet ERC : MindsEyeBCI (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Maastricht University — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UM
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 148530.0 €

The Advanced ERC project ColumnarCodeCracking has pioneered ultra-high field fMRI at 7 Tesla for sub-millimeter neuroscience applications targeting cortical columns and cortical layers. One sub-project of the ERC project was to explore whether it is possible to build new brain computer interfaces (BCIs) exploiting the strong signal quality and higher resolution achievable at ultra-high magnetic fields. As part of our research (Emmerling et al., 2017, http://cordis.europa.eu/news/rcn/124885_en.html) we discovered that it is possible to reconstruct letter shapes from activity in early visual areas that are merely imagined by participants during 7 Tesla fMRI scanning. Importantly, we could demonstrate that imagined letter shapes can be decoded from single imagination events of about 10 seconds without the need to average across multiple repetitions. These observations stimulated the idea for this PoC application, namely to use letter imagery for the first time as a communication BCI. We also have tested deep learning auto-encoder networks as part of the analysis and observed that these tools substantially increase the robustness of letter reconstruction. The three major goals of this PoC are 1) to perform 7 Tesla fMRI experiments with healthy participants to evaluate whether decoding brain activity patterns during letter imagery can be performed robust enough to be used as a communication BCI for severely motor-impaired (locked-in) patients, 2) to develop a BCI/neurofeedback software performing all required advanced online analyses, and 3) evaluate whether showing the online decoded letter during imagery helps participants to fine-tune the resulting shape. While 7 Tesla fMRI is not yet widely available in clinical settings, we aim to prepare first tests of the developed prototype with locked-in patients.

Mots-clés : brain computer interface,fmri,7 tesla,imagery,brain reading,decoding,deep learning,locked in patients
Projet ERC : BIRTH (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The study of the human past
Entité participante : BioSense Institute — Pays : Serbie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1510875.84 €

The BIRTH project will investigate the key biological and cultural mechanisms affecting fertility rates resulting the Neolithic Demogaphic Transition, the major demographic shift in human evolution. We integrate skeletal markers with micro-nutritional and macro-scaled cultural effects on fertility rates during the Early-Middle Holocene (10000-5000 BC) in the Central Balkans. Human, animal and plant remains, will be analysed using methods from bioarchaeological, forensic, chemical sciences in order to: 1) Investigate variability in the pattern of birth rates (number of pregnancies, interval(s) between them and the duration of the reproductive period) through histological analysis of irregularities in tooth cementum of women; 2) Determine paleoobstetric and neonatal body characteristics, health status and nutrition through analysis of skeletal remains; 3) Determine micronutritional changes during the Early-Middle Holocene through trace element (Zn, Ca and Fe) analysis; 4) Investigate the micro and macronutritional value of prehistoric foodstuffs, through an analysis of animal and plant remains and to compare the nutritional intake in relation to health and fertility; 5) Establish a chronology of the NDT in the Balkans by summed radiocarbon probability distributions; 6) Explore the possible role of culture in driving fertility increases, through analysis of community attitudes to birthing trough investigation of neonate graves and artifact connected to the birthing process. Given that the issues of health and fertility are of utmost importance in the present as they were in the past, the BIRTH project offers new understanding of biocultural mechanisms which led to fertility increase and novel approaches to ancient skeletal heritage, and emphasizes their great potential for modern humanity.

Mots-clés : prehistoric fertility,birth rate,obstertic,micronutrition,micro and macronutritional value of prehistoric food,paleosoil and anthropogenic activities,thermal condition of birthing
Projet ERC : CRISPRsition (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems
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 : 2000000.0 €

The CRISPR-Cas system has been extensively studied for its ability to cleave DNA. In contrast, studies of the ability of the system to acquire and integrate new DNA from invaders as a form of prokaryotic adaptive immunity, have lagged behind. This delay reflects the extreme enthusiasm surrounding the potential of using the system’s cleavage capabilities as a genome editing tool. However, the enormous potential of the adaptation process can and should arouse a similar degree of enthusiasm. My lab has pioneered studies on the CRISPR adaptation process by establishing new methodologies, and applying them to demonstrate the essential role of the proteins and DNA elements, as well as the molecular mechanisms, operating in this process. In this project, I will establish novel platforms for studying adaptation and develop them into biotechnological applications and research tools. These tools will allow me to identify the first natural and synthetic inhibitors of the adaptation process. This, in turn, will provide genetic tools to control adaptation, as well as advance the understanding of the arms race between bacteria and their invaders. I will also harness the adaptation process as a platform for diversifying genetic elements for phage display, and for extending phage recognition of a wide range of hosts. Lastly, I will provide the first evidence for an association between the CRISPR adaptation system and gene repression. This linkage will form the basis of a molecular scanner and recorder platform that I will develop and that can be used to identify crucial genetic elements in phage genomes as well as novel regulatory circuits in the bacterial genome. Together, my findings will represent a considerable leap in the understanding of CRISPR adaptation with respect to the process, potential applications, and the intriguing evolutionary significance.

Mots-clés : crispr acquisition,crispr adaptation,molecular recording,bacteria,bacteriophage,directed evolution
Projet ERC : IsoCAN (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The study of the human past
Entité participante : Linköping University — Pays : Suède — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : LiU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 53101.25 €

The Canary Islands were settled 2,000 years ago by farming populations from North Africa representing the westernmost limits of Eurasian human colonisation until European contact with the Americas. This is a superlative example of colonisation because the first colonists remained isolated until the arrival and colonization of Europeans in the 15th century AD. When Europeans arrived, Canarian populations spoke distinct dialects and did not have the seafaring skills needed to navigate between islands. The colonisation of the Canary Islands is an example of adaptation and sustainability because people were able to create anthropogenic landscapes capable of supporting increasing human populations on diverse and isolated island ecologies with a low density of food resources. Nevertheless, how first colonisers transformed pristine islands into domestic landscapes to make islands more habitable for humans remains unresolved. IsoCAN project will explore the first colonisation of the Canary Islands from the beginning of the Common Era to the 15th century AD, which represent the last expansion of the Mediterranean farming package, This project will (1) establish the chronology of the initial colonisation of the Canary Islands; (2) determine the geographic origins and the genetic variability of the human population, domesticates (animals and plants) and parasitic species (insects); (3) define the process of adaptation and resilience of the first settlers; and (4) investigate human impact on landscape and the management of natural resources. This set of evidence will enable us to investigate two transcendental questions: how do humans colonise new territories, and what are the cultural and biological adaptations? This ambitious project will provide insights about the adaptive mechanisms through which isolated and fragile insular ecosystems were successfully colonised by human societies, focusing on social complexity, subsistence practices and landscape transformation.

Mots-clés : island archaeology,bioarchaeology,colonisation,human environmental interactions
Projet ERC : ClustersXCosmo (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : University of Trieste — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UNITS
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 676229.92 €

The ClustersXCosmo ERC Starting Grant proposal has the goal of investigating the role of Galaxy Clusters as a cosmological probe and of exploiting the strong synergies between observational cosmology, galaxy formation and fundamental physics related to the tracers of the extreme peaks in the matter density field. In the last decade, astronomical data-sets have started to be widely and quantitatively used by the scientific community to address important physical questions such as: the nature of the dark matter and dark energy components and their evolution; the physical properties of the baryonic matter; the variation of fundamental constants over cosmic time; the sum of neutrino masses; the interplay between the galaxy population and the intergalactic medium; the nature of gravity over megaparsec scales and over cosmic times; the temperature evolution of the Universe. Most of these results are based on well-established geometrical cosmological probes (e.g., galaxies, supernovae, cosmic microwave background). Galaxy clusters provide a complementary and necessary approach, as their distribution as a function of time and observables is sensitive to both the geometrical and the dynamical evolution of the Universe, driven by the growth of structures. Among different cluster surveys, Sunyaev Zel'Dovich effect (SZE) detected catalogs have registered the most dramatic improvement over the last ~5 years, yielding samples extending up to the earliest times these systems appeared. This proposal aims at using a combination of the best available SZE cluster surveys and to interpret them by means of state-of-the-art computational facilities in order to firmly establish the yet controversial role of Galaxy Clusters as a probe for cosmology, fundamental physics and astrophysics. The timely convergence of current and next generation multi-wavelength surveys (DES/SPT/Planck/eRosita/Euclid) will be important to establish the role of Galaxy Clusters as a cosmological tool.
Projet ERC : ClustersXCosmo (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : National Institute for Astrophysics — Pays : Italie — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : INAF
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 554173.08 €

The ClustersXCosmo ERC Starting Grant proposal has the goal of investigating the role of Galaxy Clusters as a cosmological probe and of exploiting the strong synergies between observational cosmology, galaxy formation and fundamental physics related to the tracers of the extreme peaks in the matter density field. In the last decade, astronomical data-sets have started to be widely and quantitatively used by the scientific community to address important physical questions such as: the nature of the dark matter and dark energy components and their evolution; the physical properties of the baryonic matter; the variation of fundamental constants over cosmic time; the sum of neutrino masses; the interplay between the galaxy population and the intergalactic medium; the nature of gravity over megaparsec scales and over cosmic times; the temperature evolution of the Universe. Most of these results are based on well-established geometrical cosmological probes (e.g., galaxies, supernovae, cosmic microwave background). Galaxy clusters provide a complementary and necessary approach, as their distribution as a function of time and observables is sensitive to both the geometrical and the dynamical evolution of the Universe, driven by the growth of structures. Among different cluster surveys, Sunyaev Zel'Dovich effect (SZE) detected catalogs have registered the most dramatic improvement over the last ~5 years, yielding samples extending up to the earliest times these systems appeared. This proposal aims at using a combination of the best available SZE cluster surveys and to interpret them by means of state-of-the-art computational facilities in order to firmly establish the yet controversial role of Galaxy Clusters as a probe for cosmology, fundamental physics and astrophysics. The timely convergence of current and next generation multi-wavelength surveys (DES/SPT/Planck/eRosita/Euclid) will be important to establish the role of Galaxy Clusters as a cosmological tool.
Projet ERC : ELE (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer science and informatics
Entité participante : Czech Technical University in Prague — Pays : Rép. Tchèque — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ČVUT
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 3234000.0 €

The ELE project will study the foundational principles of programming language evolution and develop practical tools and technologies for supporting the evolution of complete ecosystems. If successful, ELE will drastically decrease the cost of evolution and avoid the need to invent completely new languages every time there is a shift in hardware trends or in programming methodology. Instead, ELE will allow evolution of languages and will support migration of code and knowledge bases. The project proceeds along two major axes. The first axis is language dynamics where new features and new capabilities are added to a preexisting language. This requires changing, at the same time, the language's specification, it's semantics, and the language's implementation, the compiler and interpreter that runs code written in the language as well the runtime libraries that provide basic capabilities. The second axis for evolution is language statics where new rules are added to enforce novel programming disciplines and where existing code artifacts are adapted to new semantics. These axes are not entirely disjoint, as static restrictions, such as a new type system, can feedback into the implementation by providing behavioral information that can be exploited by a compiler.

Mots-clés : programming languages,compilers,virtual machines,static analysis
Projet ERC : ELEPHANT (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
Entité participante : Technische Universität Berlin — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TUB
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1894375.0 €

The ELEPHANT project aims at combining the best of four worlds by bringing together the fastest electronics, photonics, plasmonics and antennas to create a novel enabling technology for future THz signal processing. The THz range has a tremendous untapped potential for a breadth of applications, as next-generation wireless communications, sensing, security, medical imaging, and more. However, efficient transport and processing of THz signals is a major challenge to this date, as at those frequencies electronic circuits are inherently limited by high dispersion and material losses. As a consequence, current approaches still rely on low-efficiency discrete components, which suffer from limited power, high losses and very high costs. While photonics allows low-loss transport of THz frequencies over large distances and broadband processing, today’s electronic-photonic platforms do not offer the required conversion speeds. Current efforts using organic materials have not proven sufficient stability and scalability. I plan to solve the challenge of THz signal processing by creating a novel integrated THz platform that allows to convert THz signals to the optical domain efficiently and with high fidelity, and to process them using a low-loss photonic processing core with THz bandwidth. The project fully builds on my cutting-edge results on photonic signal processing blocks with THz bandwidths using compact (10s µm-long) silicon photonics nanowires, and my recent demonstration of plasmonic modulators offering 500 GHz speeds, the fastest to date. I will create novel architectures suitable for analog processing and realize them in a scalable manner on bipolar CMOS platforms, together with THz antennas for wireless interfacing, and high-speed amplifiers to achieve the signal powers needed in real-world applications. The new platform will impact all the crucial THz fields, and it will be put to the test by creating the first photonic-wireless THz beamforming transceiver.

Mots-clés : microwave photonics,antennas,integrated optics,silicon photonics,plasmonics,signal processing
Projet ERC : SERENITY-X (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : Imperial College London — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

The ERC frontier project ADG-670406 develops a novel very high performance tracking calorimeter for the precise measurement of the energy of the particles produced in high-energy collisions. One of the key challenges that we have had to overcome is that of reading out the unprecedented quantity of information that such a calorimeter produces. To address this we have developed a novel, state-of-the-art FPGA based digital platform (SERENITY), including machine learning. We have developed a generic platform that has potentially very wide applicability wherever there are high data rates or high throughput. This PoC seeks to apply this technology in the wider context, from the health to security and fintech sectors.

Mots-clés : high throughput digital electronics,fpga,machine learning
Projet ERC : EUSTRONG (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : Technical University of Darmstadt — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2252375.0 €

The ERC project EUSTRONG will enable major breakthroughs in understanding strong interactions in nuclei and neutron stars, and where strong interactions are essential in dark matter direct detection and neutrino physics. Recently, great progress has been made in constraining the nuclear equation of state from nuclear physics combined with neutron star observations and the neutron star merger GW170817. At the same time, ab initio calculations of nuclei using chiral effective field theory (EFT) interactions have reached nuclei with up to 100 nucleons. These successes are based in parts on developments in my past ERC Starting Grant. Taking these to the next level, we will explore the equation of state with the goal to provide first constraints directly on dense matter interactions from astrophysics, including from new NASA NICER observations. This will enable us to answer which microscopic interactions are consistent with astrophysical observations, or where there are tensions. To this end, we will develop the equation of state to high densities using Fermi liquid theory, and explore new degrees of freedom at intermediate densities. The second work package will advance the ab initio frontier to key heavy nuclei including full uncertainty quantification. This will be realized by developing eigenvector continuation and tensor network methods to the ab initio in-medium similarity renormalization group. Another milestone will explore EFTs and novel power countings for nuclei. This will open new horizons in the physics of nuclei, with global ab initio predictions of nuclear masses for r-process simulations. The third work package will derive ab initio nuclear responses for dark matter direct detection and coherent neutrino scattering, where a reliable understanding of strong interaction effects is crucial. Moreover, universal correlations and EFTs will be explored to predict nuclear matrix elements for neutrino physics.

Mots-clés : strong interaction,effective field theories,nuclear equation of state,neutron stars,exotic nuclei,ab initio calculations,nuclear physics of dark matter direct detection and neutrino physics