Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : HARMONIC (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
Entité participante : Bar-Ilan University — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : BIU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1260625.0 €

This proposal is concerned with several themes which lie in the crossroads of Harmonic Analysis and Discrete Geometry. Harmonic Analysis is fundamental in all areas of science and engineering, and has vast applications in most branches of mathematics. Discrete Geometry deals with some of the most natural and beautiful problems in mathematics, which often turn out to be also very deep and difficult in spite of their apparent simplicity. The proposed project deals with some fundamental problems which involve an interplay between these two important disciplines. One theme of the project deals with tilings of the Euclidean space by translations, and the interaction of this subject with questions in orthogonal harmonic analysis. The PI has recently developed an approach to attack some problems in connection with the famous conjecture due to Fuglede (1974), concerning the characterization of domains which admit orthogonal Fourier bases in terms of their possibility to tile the space by translations, and in relation with the theory of multiple tiling by translates of a convex polytope, or by a function. A main goal of this project is to further develop new methods and extend some promising intermediate results obtained by the PI in these directions. Another theme of the proposed research lies in the mathematical theory of quasicrystals. This area has received a lot of attention since the experimental discovery in the 1980's of the physical quasicrystals, namely, of non-periodic atomic structures with diffraction patterns consisting of spots. Recently, by a combination of harmonic analytic and discrete combinatorial methods, the PI was able to answer some long-standing questions of Lagarias (2000) concerning the geometry and structure of these rigid point configurations. In the present project, the PI intends to continue the investigation in the mathematical theory of quasicrystals, and to analyze some basic problems which are still open in this field.

Mots-clés : tiling,spectral set,fuglede conjecture,quasicrystals,convex polytopes,fourier analysis,spectral gaps,equidecomposability
Projet ERC : OMVCRC (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University of Trento — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 93750.0 €

This proposal originates from recent results obtained in the course of the Advanced ERC Project “OMVac”, the scope of which is to exploit the unique adjuvanticity properties of bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs) for developing innovative vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer. In particular, Synthetic Biology was applied to engineer OMVs with FAT1, a tumour associated antigen expressed in most primary and metastatic colorectal cancers (CRC). Using cancer models in immunocompetent mice, immunization with FAT1-decorated OMVs inhibited subcutaneous growth of FAT1-positive CT26 cancer cells and protection correlated with an increase in tumour infiltration of CD4+/CD8+ T cells and concomitant decrease of Treg and MDSCs. These promising results prompted the submission of the present proposal which has as main objectives: 1) the demonstration that FAT1-OMV immunization can synergise with the protective activity of checkpoint inhibitors, and 2) the development of a scalable FAT1-OMV production and purification process which could allow testing FAT1-OMV/checkpoint inhibitor combination in the clinical setting.

Mots-clés : cancer vaccines,bacterial outer membrane vesicles,fat1,checkpoint inhibitors,anti cancer combination therapies
Projet ERC : EMPCONSFIN (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Individuals, Markets and Organisations
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 : 1550945.0 €

This proposal presents three broad projects on information frictions in households' credit markets and on the consequences of these frictions for durable good markets. Specifically, an influential theoretical literature in information economics has shown that borrowing constraints can arise in equilibrium when borrowers and lenders have asymmetric information about borrowers' risks. Hence, the first project aims to provide the first empirical analyses of markets (i.e., demand and supply) with asymmetric information and nonexclusive trades---i.e., markets in which households can purchase multiple insurance contracts, such as in life insurance markets, or can open multiple credit lines, such as in credit card markets. The second project aims to study recent regulations of fees and prices in markets for consumer financial products, such as mortgages, that could have the unintended consequences of increasing households' cost of credit and, thus, of tightening their borrowing constraints. Finally, the third project aims to study the role of borrowing constraints in durable goods markets, with a special focus on car markets during the Great Recession. All these projects aim to develop and estimate structural models using data from different markets. I further plan to use the estimated structural parameters to perform counterfactual policy analyses in each of the specific markets analyzed in these projects.
Projet ERC : FACT (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : Hebrew University of Jerusalem — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HUJI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2443932.0 €

This proposal puts forth a novel strategy to tackle large quantum systems. A variety of highly sophisticated methods such as quantum Monte Carlo, configuration interaction, coupled cluster, tensor networks, Feynman diagrams, dynamical mean-field theory, density functional theory, and semi-classical techniques have been developed to deal with the enormous complexity of the many-particle Schrödinger equation. The goal of our proposal is not to add another method to these standard techniques but, instead, we develop a systematic way of combining them. The essential ingredient is a novel way of decomposing the wave function without approximation into factors that describe subsystems of the full quantum system. This so-called exact factorization is asymmetric. In the case of two subsystems, one factor is a wave function satisfying a regular Schrödinger equation, while the other factor is a conditional probability amplitude satisfying a more complicated Schrödinger-like equation with a non-local, non-linear and non-Hermitian “Hamiltonian”. Since each subsystem is necessarily smaller than the full system, the above standard techniques can be applied more efficiently and, most importantly, different standard techniques can be applied to different subsystems. The power of the exact factorization lies in its versatility. Here we apply the technique to five different scenarios: The first two deal with non-adiabatic effects in (i) molecules and (ii) solids. Here the natural subsystems are electrons and nuclei. The third scenario deals with nuclear motion in (iii) molecules attached to semi-infinite metallic leads, requiring three subsystems: the electrons, the nuclei in the leads which ultimately reduce to a phonon bath, and the molecular nuclei which may perform large-amplitude movements, such as current-induced isomerization, (iv) purely electronic correlations, and (v) the interaction of matter with the quantized electromagnetic field, i.e., electrons, nuclei and photons.

Mots-clés : computational condensed matter physics
Projet ERC : 3D Cer-Met (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : University of Manchester — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 149500.0 €

This proposal relates to the Proof of Concept stage investigation of exciting new findings in the ERC Advanced Grant ‘IMPUNEP’ project relating to the study and use of plasma-based processes. These findings offer significant advantages for the creation of complex 3D ceramic and ceramic-metal products at relatively low cost in an environmentally friendly manner. The potential applications of this new technology are very wide-ranging, and include the creation of new products as diverse as healthcare devices, MEMS and aero/automotive parts. Before we properly and fully identify the most promising applications, we need to investigate key aspects of the performance of materials created by this new method. This aspect wasn’t envisaged in the original proposal and involves research into the mechanical properties (especially the strength and elastic modulus) of these 3D parts and their response to deformation and dynamic displacements, as well as their physical (including electrical) properties. These components will be highly resistant to attack by aggressive (e.g. acidic) media as well as highly tolerant to both low (cryogenic) and high (combustion) temperatures. The expected applications opened up by this new method to produce ceramic and ceramic-metal components of complex shape are extensive. Hence the need for this Proof of Concept study, which will focus on validating the process for 3D ceramic-metal and ceramic parts and evaluating the mechanical, chemical, electrical and physical attributes of the 3D shapes, and will explore their potential applications in this pre-demonstration phase.

Mots-clés : ceramic metal composite,electrolytic plasma,thin walled nanocrystalline ceramic
Projet ERC : InfoTrans (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Individuals, Markets and Organisations
Entité participante : University of Bonn — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 719596.0 €

This proposal studies price negotiations in dynamic markets. The focus is on one of the most primitive economic problems: a seller and a buyer bargain over the price of a good. Their cost and values are private information and, if they do not reach an agreement today, they may continue bargaining tomorrow. Somewhat surprisingly, our knowledge about bargaining with two-sided asymmetric information is still quite limited. Intuitively, on the one hand, signaling forces induce the seller and the buyer to delay trade to obtain a higher share of the trade surplus. One the other hand, Coasian forces push prices down and make trade efficient. The balance between these two forces determines the efficiency of the market and how the trade surplus is shared between the seller and the buyer. I will provide a new systematic analysis of markets with asymmetric information. Using recent developments in the characterization of robust behavior and strategic stability, I will first analyze dynamic pricing by privately informed sellers in markets with independent values. Building on the understanding of the basic bilateral bargaining problem, I will then consider related problems. In particular, in the second subproject, I will consider interdependent values and, in the third subproject, I will consider a multilateral setting with multiple sellers. Markets studied in this project will include real estate markets, markets for durable goods, markets for intermediate goods, and financial markets. The results will provide guidance to assess the effect that currently debated policies regarding privacy or confidentiality have on social welfare or market efficiency.

Mots-clés : dynamic pricing,asymmetric information,robust predictions
Projet ERC : EQEC (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : RWTH Aachen University — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : RWTH
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 346250.0 €

This proposal will advance the theory of quantum error correction towards its application in real physical devices, in particular superconducting transmon qubit systems. The research will result in proposals for experiments: how to use physical qubits to redundantly represent logical quantum information and how error information can be obtained and classically processed. The research will consider novel ways of using transmon qubits to achieve a universal fault-tolerant surface code architecture. The research will produce a design of a universal fault-tolerant architecture in which qubits are encoded in the electromagnetic field of a (microwave) cavity. Research will also focus on mathematical and numerical studies in quantum error correction which are technology-independent, but shed light on coding overhead, decoding efficiency and logical universality.

Mots-clés : quantum error correction
Projet ERC : p-TYPE (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Entité participante : Newcastle University — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499840.0 €

This proposal will develop new transparent p-type semiconductors that will make dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) a vastly more efficient and a realistic prospect for carbon-free energy generation worldwide. Two key challenges will be addressed: (1) a means of converting NIR radiation to increase the amount of sunlight utilised from 35% to over 70%; (2) a means of storing the energy. Almost all the research in the field is based on dye or “perovskite” sensitized TiO2 (n-type) solar cells, which are limited by their poor spectral response in the red-NIR. pTYPE approaches the problem differently: tandem DSCs will be developed which combine a n-type and a p-type DSC in a single p/n device. This increases the theoretical efficiency from 33% to 43% by extending the spectral response without sacrificing the voltage. The device will be modified with catalysts to convert H2O or CO2 and sunlight into fuel without using sacrificial reagents that limit the efficiency of current systems. An efficient tandem DSC has not yet been developed because p-type DSCs are much less efficient than n-type cells. As an independent Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin fellow I increased the photocurrent by developing new dyes. This project will exploit this breakthrough by increasing the voltage, which is currently limited by the NiO semiconductor conventionally used. I will rapidly synthesise libraries of alternative p-type semiconductors; select promising candidates based on key criteria which can be measured on a single sample within minutes: transparency and dye adsorption (for high light harvesting efficiency by the dye), conductivity (for high charge collection efficiency) and valence band potential (for high voltage); assemble the new materials in tandem DSCs. As one of the few researchers experienced in preparing, characterising and optimising each aspect of this photoelectrochemical system, I aim to match the efficiency from TiO2 with p-type DSCs to obtain tandem efficiencies above 20%.

Mots-clés : dye sensitized solar cells,renewable energy,artificial photosynthesis,solar fuel,electrochemistry
Projet ERC : FunLearn (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Advanced 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 : 2665115.0 €

This research program is motivated by the remarkable ability of deep neural networks to improve the quality of biomedical image reconstruction. While the results reported so far are extremely encouraging, serious reservations have been voiced pertaining to the stability of these tools and the extent to which we can trust their output. The main concern is that it is very difficult to control the Lipschitz constant of the current neural architectures. This means that a small perturbation of the input can result in a huge deviation of the output, which can have devastating effects in the context of image reconstruction. We believe that the remedy lies in the use of much shallower networks, which are easier to control. However, a reduction in the number of layers will degrade the performance, unless we augment the sophistication of the primary modules; in particular, the nonlinear ones. By drawing on our career-long experience with splines, we therefore propose to rely on the powerful tools of functional optimization to improve learning architectures. This will allow us to develop two novel approaches to learning: sparse simplicial splines, and hierarchical spline networks—an extension of the popular deep ReLU neural networks In parallel, we shall develop specific neural networks to solve two outstanding problems in biomedical imaging: - A “best-of-both-worlds” approach to biomedical image reconstruction, involving the stable integration of state-of-the-art physics-based solvers with the new tools of machine learning; - The 3D reconstruction of the entire manifold of configurations of a biomolecule from a large collection of very low-dose cryo-electron tomograms. This goal, which may be viewed as the Graal of structural biology, has remained elusive so far and calls for an entirely new paradigm for single-particle analysis.

Mots-clés : biomedical imaging,image reconstruction,machine learning,inverse problems,functional optimization,splines,medical imaging,cryo electron microscopy
Projet ERC : NETS (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
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 : 838735.0 €

This research programme aims to develop a new theoretical framework for modelling and analysing spatio-temporal networks. The theory developed in this programme will underpin our ability to exactly specify the structured form of network behaviour in time and space. This will advance statistical methodology and theory, unifying results from stochastic processes with network theory to do so. New technical approaches to modelling will be proposed, as well as new asymptotic large sample scenarios. As a consequence of the methodological development, new analysis techniques for applications in real-world problems will be proposed that will improve our ability to make defensible conclusions from real data sets. Modelling network data and estimating such models is challenging, especially in a modern setting, because most observed networks are very large. This leads to computational and inferential challenges. However, handling sparse and large networks is not enough to be able to describe highly structured network data. Most networks are coupled with secondary structure, and possess patterned behaviour in time and space. Linkages between nodes are frequently added and removed over time, and implicit structure is generated from latent spatial patterns. The understanding of networks must be extended to encompass spatio-temporal patterns, to quantify such structural aspects of network data. This will require combining theory and methods from different parts of mathematics, and developing new statistical theory. This project therefore aims to a) model temporally evolving networks, b) understand the characteristics of growing and decaying networks, c) model and estimate spatial and temporal characteristics in networks and d) propose new models of spatial structure. These developments will combine to form a new theoretical framework for families of networks with a rich and complex structure.

Mots-clés : time series,random fields,stochastic processes,exchangeable networks,random graphs
Projet ERC : DTHPS (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Cultures and cultural production
Entité participante : University of Bristol — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 0.0 €

This research project aims to enlarge substantially our understanding of the dialogue between 19th-century music and natural science. It examines in particular how a scientific-materialist conception of sound was formed alongside a dominant culture of romantic idealism. Placing itself at the intersection of historical musicology and the history and philosophy of science, the project will investigate the view that musical sound, ostensibly the property of metaphysics, was also regarded by writers, composers, scientists and engineers as tangible, material and subject to physical laws; that scientific thinking was not anathema but—at key moments—intrinsic to music aesthetics and criticism; that philosophies of mind and theories of the creative process also drew on mechanical rules of causality and associative ‘laws’; and that the technological innovations brought about by scientific research—from steam trains to stethoscopes—were accompanied by new concepts and new ways of listening that radically impacted the sound world of composers, critics, and performers. It seeks, in short, to uncover for the first time a fully integrated view of the musical and scientific culture of the 19th century. The research will be broken down into four areas, each of which circumscribes a particular set of discourses: machines and mechanism; forms of nature; technologies for sound; and music medicalised. Drawing on a range of archival and printed sources in Great Britain, France and Germany, the project offers an innovative approach by examining historical soundscapes and new listening practices, by adopting a media perspective on scientific and musical instruments, and by investigating the interrelations between artistic sounds and non-artistic, industrial technologies. The cross-disciplinary research, divided between the PI and four postdoctoral scholars, will open up new interactions between music and materialism as a concealed site of knowledge and historically significant nexus.

Mots-clés : history and philosophy of science,materialism,acoustics,sound studies,soundscape,modes of listening,technology,modernism