Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : Dam2Age (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions
Entité participante : Erasmus MC — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2251719.0 €

We pioneered an initially highly controversial connection between DNA damage and (accelerated) aging. In the previous ERC grant ‘DamAge’ we reached the stage that (segmental) aging in DNA repair-deficient mice can be largely controlled. The severity of the repair defect determines the rate of segmental aging; the repair pathways affected influence which organs age fast; conditional repair mutants allow targeting accelerated aging to any organ. Importantly, we found that dietary restriction (DR), the only universal intervention known to delay aging, extends remaining life- and healthspan in progeroid Ercc1Δ/- mutants by 200% (see Vermeij et al., Nature 2016 and fig.2). Also Xpg-/- progeroid repair mice strongly benefit from DR, generalizing this finding. The prominent Alzheimer- and Parkinson-like neurodegeneration is even retarded up to 30-fold(!) disclosing powerful untapped reserves unleashed by 30% less food, with enormous clinical potential. Also we discovered that in accelerated and normal aging gene expression declines due to accumulating stochastic transcription-blocking lesions and that DR counteracts genomic dysfunction. In Dam2Age we will focus on the cross-talk between DNA damage, aging and DR with emphasis on the relevance for normal aging, elucidate underlying mechanisms and use our unique -for DR research superior- mouse models and a variety of novel assays to search for effective nutritional-pharmacological DR mimetics. This serves as a stepping stone towards potent universal therapy for a range of repair-deficient progeroid syndromes and prevention of many aging-related diseases, most urgently dementia’s, to promote sustained health.

Mots-clés : premature aging,nutritional intervention,dietary restriction,progeroid syndromes,mouse,models,dna repair defects,life healthspan extension,transcriptomics,bioinformatics,clinical,translation
Projet ERC : HD-App (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
Entité participante : Technion – Israel Institute of Technology — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1432730.0 €

We present a large variety of novel lines of research in Homogeneous Dynamics with emphasis on the dynamics of the diagonal group. Both new and classical applications are suggested, most notably to • Number Theory • Geometry of Numbers • Diophantine approximation. Emphasis is given to applications in • Diophantine properties of algebraic numbers. The proposal is built of 4 sections. (1) In the first section we discuss questions pertaining to topological and distributional aspects of periodic orbits of the diagonal group in the space of lattices in Euclidean space. These objects encode deep information regarding Diophantine properties of algebraic numbers. We demonstrate how these questions are closely related to, and may help solve, some of the central open problems in the geometry of numbers and Diophantine approximation. (2) In the second section we discuss Minkowski's conjecture regarding integral values of products of linear forms. For over a century this central conjecture is resisting a general solution and a novel and promising strategy for its resolution is presented. (3) In the third section, a novel conjecture regarding limiting distribution of infinite-volume-orbits is presented, in analogy with existing results regarding finite-volume-orbits. Then, a variety of applications and special cases are discussed, some of which give new results regarding classical concepts such as continued fraction expansion of rational numbers. (4) In the last section we suggest a novel strategy to attack one of the most notorious open problems in Diophantine approximation, namely: Do cubic numbers have unbounded continued fraction expansion? This novel strategy leads us to embark on a systematic study of an area in homogeneous dynamics which has not been studied yet. Namely, the dynamics in the space of discrete subgroups of rank k in R^n (identified up to scaling).

Mots-clés : ergodic theory,homogeneous dynamics,geometry of numbers,diophantine approximation
Projet ERC : N-Supercap (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
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 : 150000.0 €

We propose the combination of two performance boosters: (i) negative capacitance principle, exploiting ferroelectricity in doped high-k dielectrics, as developed and validated in 2D devices of our ERC Advanced grant Millitech, and, (ii) 2D graphene electrodes to enhance the performance of supercapacitors in on-chip 2D material systems, in an innovative device called N-supercap. While negative capacitance was until now explored mainly for digital and analog low power electronics, we propose to exploit NC in ferroelectric/dielectric/2D capacitors for on-chip energy storage to support autonomous sensory nodes. This will result in a versatile energy storage systems for IoT Edge AI systems, to enable a large scale deployment in tens of billions without maintenance costs, in a scalable and eco-friendly technology. The proposed PoC will serve as first step in the creation of startup that will aim at using such N-supercaps in various IoT node applications in environmental, industrial and healthcare monitoring. We have set a team of experts to exploit this technological breakthrough into the creation of a startup, based on a road to commercialization.

Mots-clés : energy storage on chip,supercapacitors,ferroelectrics,negative capacitance,high k dielectrics,graphene 2d electrodes
Projet ERC : DOGMATRON (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
Entité participante : University of Bristol — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2499805.0 €

We propose to apply the power of synthetic chemistry to a new challenge in synthetic biomimicry: the translation of encoded information into molecular function. We propose to design and build switchable synthetic molecules that are capable of communicating and processing information. This ambitious aim will be achieved through new classes of extended dynamic molecules that respond to their environment by changing shape, principally by invertase polarity/directionality. They will receive, communicate, amplify, transmit, and process information encoded in their molecular conformation and orientation. New analystic methods will be developed to explore their kinetics and thermodynamics. Characterized by a high level of intramolecular structural organization, they will participate in strong, selective mutual interactions, allowing them to process information through intramolecular and intermolecular interactions in simple and complex mixtures, both solution and in the membrane phase. These chemical systems will be able to extract information from their environment (the presence of a specific metal or organic molecule, a genetically encoded message, pH, or irradiation at a specific wavelength) and process it into chemical function. Life takes information in the form of bond polarity encoded in base pairs and translates it into biochemical function in the form of protein structure, and our synthetic structures will likewise translate molecular polarity into function by using new classes of ‘promiscuous’ Watson-Crick-like base-pairs, able to switch between alternative hydrogen-bond polarities. Applications for these synthetic communication systems will ultimately see them embedded into cell membranes, allowing the selective control of function by communicating into the interior of both artificial vesicles and living cells.

Mots-clés : foldamers,conformation,dynamics,supramolecular chemistry,molecular interactions,molecular machines
Projet ERC : CepBin (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : Polish Academy of Sciences — Pays : Pologne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : PAN
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1351225.0 €

We propose to carry out a project which will produce a decisive step towards improving the accuracy of the Hubble constant as determined from the Cepheid-SN Ia method to 1%, by using 28 extremely rare eclipsing binary systems in the LMC which offer the potential to determine their distances to 1%. To achieve this accuracy we will reduce the main error in the binary method by interferometric angular diameter measurements of a sample of red clump stars which resemble the stars in our binary systems. We will check on our calibration with similar binary systems close enough to determine their orbits from interferometry. We already showed the feasibility of our method which yielded the best-ever distance determination to the LMC of 2.2% from 8 such binary systems. With 28 systems and the improved angular diameter calibration we will push the LMC distance uncertainty down to 1% which will allow to set the zero point of the Cepheid PL relation with the same accuracy using the large available LMC Cepheid sample. We will determine the metallicity effect on Cepheid luminosities by a) determining a 2% distance to the more metal-poor SMC with our binary method, and by b) measuring the distances to LMC and SMC with an improved Baade-Wesselink (BW) method. We will achieve this improvement by analyzing 9 unique Cepheids in eclipsing binaries in the LMC our group has discovered which allow factor- of-ten improvements in the determination of all basic physical parameters of Cepheids. These studies will also increase our confidence in the Cepheid-based H0 determination. Our project bears strong synergy to the Gaia mission by providing the best checks on possible systematic uncertainties on Gaia parallaxes with 200 binary systems whose distances we will measure to 1-2%. We will provide two unique tools for 1-3 % distance determinations to individual objects in a volume of 1 Mpc, being competitive to Gaia already at a distance of 1 kpc from the Sun.

Mots-clés : eclipsing binaries,cepheids,distance scale
Projet ERC : CepBin (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : University of Concepción — Pays : Chili — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : UdeC
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 506200.0 €

We propose to carry out a project which will produce a decisive step towards improving the accuracy of the Hubble constant as determined from the Cepheid-SN Ia method to 1%, by using 28 extremely rare eclipsing binary systems in the LMC which offer the potential to determine their distances to 1%. To achieve this accuracy we will reduce the main error in the binary method by interferometric angular diameter measurements of a sample of red clump stars which resemble the stars in our binary systems. We will check on our calibration with similar binary systems close enough to determine their orbits from interferometry. We already showed the feasibility of our method which yielded the best-ever distance determination to the LMC of 2.2% from 8 such binary systems. With 28 systems and the improved angular diameter calibration we will push the LMC distance uncertainty down to 1% which will allow to set the zero point of the Cepheid PL relation with the same accuracy using the large available LMC Cepheid sample. We will determine the metallicity effect on Cepheid luminosities by a) determining a 2% distance to the more metal-poor SMC with our binary method, and by b) measuring the distances to LMC and SMC with an improved Baade-Wesselink (BW) method. We will achieve this improvement by analyzing 9 unique Cepheids in eclipsing binaries in the LMC our group has discovered which allow factor- of-ten improvements in the determination of all basic physical parameters of Cepheids. These studies will also increase our confidence in the Cepheid-based H0 determination. Our project bears strong synergy to the Gaia mission by providing the best checks on possible systematic uncertainties on Gaia parallaxes with 200 binary systems whose distances we will measure to 1-2%. We will provide two unique tools for 1-3 % distance determinations to individual objects in a volume of 1 Mpc, being competitive to Gaia already at a distance of 1 kpc from the Sun.

Mots-clés : eclipsing binaries,cepheids,distance scale
Projet ERC : AI-CU (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Vrije Universiteit Brussel — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : VUB
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

We propose to develop two tools for creating, in a systematic way, better user interfaces based on continuous, non-symbolic actions, such as swipes on a touch screen, 3-D motions with a hand-held device, or breath patterns in a user interface for otherwise paralyzed patients. The tools are based on two experimental/computational techniques developed in the ABACUS project: iterated learning and social coordination. In iterated learning, sets of signals produced by one user are learned and reproduced by another user. The reproductions are then in turn learned by the next user. In the ABACUS project, it has been shown that this results in more learnable sets of signals. We propose to show how this can be applied to creating learnable and usable signals in a systematic way when design a user interface for a device that allows continuous actions. In social coordination, it has been shown that signals become simplified and more abstract when people communicate over an extended period of time. The ABACUS project has developed techniques to detect and quantify this. We propose to show how these can be used for a user interface that adapts to its user. This will allow novice users to use more extended and therefore more learnable versions of actions, while the system adapts when users become more adept at using the interface and reduce their actions. Because the system is adaptive, the user is not constrained in how they do this. Concretely, we propose to implement these two tools, investigate how they can be used optimally and advertise them to interested companies, starting with ones with which we have contact, but extending our network at the start of the project through a business case development. In order to disseminate the results we propose to involve a user committee and organize one or more workshops.

Mots-clés : user interface design,continuous user interfaces,iterated learning
Projet ERC : EXPROTEA (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer science and informatics
Entité participante : École polytechnique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : X
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499845.0 €

We propose to lay the theoretical foundations and design efficient computational methods for analyzing, quantifying and exploring relations and variability in structured data sets, such as collections of geometric shapes, point clouds, and large networks or graphs, among others. Unlike existing methods that are tied and often limited to the underlying data representation, our goal is to design a unified framework in which variability can be processed in a way that is largely agnostic to the underlying data type. In particular, we propose to depart from the standard representations of objects as collections of primitives, such as points or triangles, and instead to treat them as functional spaces that can be easily manipulated and analyzed. Since real-valued functions can be defined on a wide variety of data representations and as they enjoy a rich algebraic structure, such an approach can provide a completely novel unified framework for representing and processing different types of data. Key to our study will be the exploration of relations and variability between objects, which can be expressed as operators acting on functions and thus treated and analyzed as objects in their own right using the vast number of tools from functional analysis in theory and numerical linear algebra in practice. Such a unified computational framework of variability will enable entirely novel applications including accurate shape matching, efficiently tracking and highlighting most relevant changes in evolving systems, such as dynamic graphs, and analysis of shape collections. Thus, it will permit not only to compare or cluster objects, but also to reveal where and how they are different and what makes instances unique, which can be especially useful in medical imaging applications. Ultimately, we expect our study to create to a new rigorous, unified paradigm for computational variability, providing a common language and sets of tools applicable across diverse underlying domains.
Projet ERC : HKADeC (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Individuals, Markets and Organisations
Entité participante : Institute for Fiscal Studies — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : IFS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1781278.0 €

We propose to study the process of human capital accumulation during the early years of life in developing countries. The research is motivated by the importance of early years to human development, both because of the long run consequences of events during that period and because of high malleability across key developmental domains during that period, making it particularly salient for policy interventions. The research is organized into three parts. First, we need to understand the process of formation of human capital, what economists refer to as the production function of human capital. Human capital is understood as a multidimensional object whose components (cognition and intelligence, socio-emotional skills, health) evolve in a complex way interacting with a variety of inputs and environmental factors. Disentangling the role played by different factors and inputs (including initial conditions, environmental shocks, parental inputs, centre based care) is important for our understanding of the process and for policy analysis. Second, we need to understand parental behaviour, as parents choose many of the investments in human capital development. Many questions are open: what are the constraints (resources, information, beliefs and attitudes) that parents face in making investment choices? Do parents make optimal choices? Do parents reinforce or compensate shocks? How are resources allocated across children of different gender and/or ability? Who makes decisions within the family? Third, measurement and the design of measurement tools is central to our research. We need to examine the performance of existing measurement tools and propose, design and validate new ones. The research, led by an economist, is interdisciplinary, using inputs from psychologists, child development specialists, geneticists, anthropologists and is organized around a unified framework, whereupon parents make choices taking into account the production function and a number of constraints

Mots-clés : human capital,early childhood development
Projet ERC : STAMP (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
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 : 2283955.0 €

We propose to study turbulence and mixing in stably stratified fluid. Mixing is central to a wide range of questions from the heat uptake in the global ocean, the transport and dilution of pollutants in the atmosphere, the efficient cooling of buildings, to the homogenising of products in the food industry. However, the mechanisms that are responsible and their physical and dynamical aspects are largely unknown, and it is not possible to predict mixing rates from a knowledge of the overall flow and density fields. We have invented a new laboratory experiment that produces a maintained stratified shear flow in parameter ranges directly applicable to the situations described above. The experiment, consisting of a two-layer counterflow in a stratified inclined duct, is easy to use and highly flexible. A rich variety of flows from transitional, to spatial and temporal intermittent flow, to fully turbulent flow are obtained, and can be maintained for long times to explore the life-cycles of the turbulence. We have also developed a unique capability to make near-instantaneous, highly spatially resolved, measurements of all three components of velocity and the density field over a volume. This capability allows, for the first time in a laboratory experiment, measurements of all the quantities of interest over a three-dimensional region. In addition we have a computational code with which we will carry out direct numerical simulations (DNS) of the experiments over a limited region of parameter space. We will use data from the experiments as initial conditions for the DNS, and compare the time evolution of the flow in the computations and the experiments. We will then use the experiments to extrapolate the results to the full scale. This study, using the new experiment and diagnostics and state-of-the-art computations, will provide new insights into the dynamics of stratified turbulence and set the standard for future studies of this problem.

Mots-clés : mixing,turbulence,stratification,oceanic parameterisation,climate models