Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : UNIFY (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Materials Engineering
Entité participante : Université d'Oulu — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1496023.0 €

The piezoelectric (PE) effect is the core electromechanical coupling function widely used in sensors, actuators and transducers for various industrial sectors. The photovoltaic (PV) effect produces green electricity from the solar energy. To date, materials showing strong PE and efficient PV properties are separate families of oxide perovskites and narrow band gap semiconductors, respectively. This project aims to unify these PE and PV performances by making new photoferroelectric materials. Photoferroelectrics can be both ferroelectric and photovoltaic. However, several challenges hinder them from being practically used as single, integrated PE-PV materials: (i) Not all good ferroelectrics show strong PE responses; (ii) The strong piezoelectrics have wide band gaps, unable to absorb visible lights; (iii) The photovoltaic energy conversion efficiencies (PCE) of photoferroelectrics are far below those of semiconductor solar cells. To address the challenges, this project will (1) start with the oxide perovskite compositions showing the record PE properties. These compositions will be engineered by doping to reduce the band gaps and thus to absorb the entire visible lights whilst maintaining the original PE properties. (2) The engineered compositions will be grown to single crystals to further boost the PE properties and to form stacked domain walls. (3) The stacked domain walls will generate photovoltages that can add up domain by domain, producing an ultra high net photovoltage in the material. (4) The efficient photocurrent generation in the domain walls will be boosted by the complete light absorption resulted from the single crystal thickness equal to the light penetration depth, pushing the PCE to the level of semiconductor solar cells. The results are expected to trigger revolutions in mechano-solar-electric multi-energy converters for emerging applications such as Internet of Things that require long lifespan and miniaturization.

Mots-clés : ferroelectric energy harvesting
Projet ERC : Time4Nano (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Materials Engineering
Entité participante : Université complutense de Madrid — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1562741.0 €

Colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) represent an exciting material class where surface and finite-size effects result in prominent physicochemical phenomena. Bottom-up colloidal methods have demonstrated unmatched control over NC properties by enabling their synthesis with defined sizes, shapes, compositions, elemental distributions, crystal habits, and surface chemistry. However, the field is moving toward sophisticated nanomaterials where complex compositions, unconventional elemental mixing patterns, and precisely engineered lattice defects offer advanced optical and catalytic functionalities, among others. Unfortunately, these NC features and their technological impact remain largely unexplored due to the high energy barriers and out-of-equilibrium conditions often associated with the required synthesis process. With Time4Nano, I envision establishing a novel bottom-up colloidal methodology, timescale-controlled NC transformations (TNT), where the combination of pulsed laser irradiation and wet-chemical strategies are exploited to create highly out-of-equilibrium conditions required for multielemental nanomaterial creation. To achieve this, I will interrogate the interplay between laser conditions, chemical, and colloidal environment, and NC characteristics in the controlled transformation of colloidal NC chemical composition (Objective 1), elemental distribution (Objective 2), and lattice defects (Objective 3). If Time4Nano succeeds, it will bridge current knowledge gaps in TNT methodology, paving the way for nanoscale matter manipulation by merging laser technology and wet chemistry in an unprecedented manner. This will lay a foundation for producing nanomaterials with tailored physicochemical functionalities, promising transformative advancements in areas like catalysis, energy storage, sensors, and optoelectronics.

Mots-clés : colloidal nanocrystals,bottom up synthesis,multielemental,alloy,metal,metal oxides,nanoparticles
Projet ERC : UNSEEN (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : Université d'Oxford — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499826.0 €

From the late sixteenth century, enslaved Muslims were found across Mediterranean Europe, hosted in all major port towns in France, Spain and Italy. Mainly North Africans, Turks and Moriscos seized in the Mediterranean during the skirmishes between Christian and Ottoman forces, their movements and activities left traces across many European and Middle Eastern archives. Some were sold to become domestic slaves, some were traded in exchange for Christian prisoners in Islamic land, while the majority were employed to row on board the galleys. Their hybrid position, spanning geographical and cultural boundaries, allowed them to move across two worlds, in some cases literally importing goods and medical remedies from Islamic lands to Europe. During periods of non-navigation, they were allowed on land to set up shops and sell to the local population, in a virtually unexplored phenomenon of cross-cultural exchange.  This transnational and interdisciplinary project will investigate an array of sources in five countries, three continents and seven languages, spanning from archival documents, printed sources, literary evidence and material survivals across Europe and the Middle East. Its goal is to recover the role of Muslim slaves in the transmission of Islamic material culture, techniques, and medical practices to Europe in the early modern period. UNSEEN will bring for the first time under a unifying macro-narrative of Mediterranean global history the myriad of single local micro-histories fragmented along regional, linguistic and disciplinary divides. An ERC Starting Grant will allow a team of researchers to analyse the bountiful traces left by those enslaved individuals in Spanish, French, Italian, English, Latin, Ottoman, and Arabic sources and reassign to them the role of triggers of the first European engagement with the artistic, technical, and medical production of the Islamic world, placing them at the centre of a Mediterranean-wide knowledge network.

Mots-clés : mediterranean slavery,networks,islamic material culture,islamic art,history of collecting,history of science,religious minorities,muslim slaves,galley slaves,ottoman european encounters,ottoman european exchanges,muslim merchants
Projet ERC : MIETEN (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences
Entité participante : Université d'Oxford — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2295360.0 €

Almost all biological processes, involving molecular trafficking, signal-transduction, cell-to-cell interactions, hinge on precisely orchestrated electrostatic interactions, arising from electrical charges on biomolecules and membranes. Yet, our understanding of the role of electrostatics in these fundamental processes remains elusive due to the absence of quantitative methods to measure the electrical charges of biomolecules and to map the surface charge distribution of membranes. This challenge is further compounded by the requirement of capturing molecular and membrane dynamics that take place at the nanometre length scales and nano- to sub-millisecond time scales. The overall objective of this project is to bridge this technological gap by introducing Metal-Induced Energy Transfer based Electrometry and Nanometry (MIETEN), a groundbreaking technology that will quantify the electrical charge of biomolecules or membranes while capturing their dynamics with nanometre spatial and microsecond temporal resolutions. We will demonstrate MIETEN for measuring: (i) the charges and sizes of individual membrane proteins, (ii) membrane protein structural changes, conformational dynamics, and spatial organization in response to changes in membrane potential, (iii) reaction-diffusion kinetics at a charged membrane, (iv) mechanical properties and dynamics of membranes containing charged inclusions and (v) interactions between two charged membranes. The ability to measure biomolecular and membrane electrical charges and to elucidate the role of electrostatics in structure, organization, and interactions of proteins, as well as in membrane dynamics and intermembrane interactions, will be crucial for our understanding of fundamental biology and for advancing biomedical research. MIETEN will open new frontiers in studying protein and membrane dynamics and impact drug development, early diagnostics, and therapeutic interventions.

Mots-clés : super resolution microscopy,fluorescence spectroscopy,biophysics,electrostatics
Projet ERC : PRINTBOT (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and Communication Engineering
Entité participante : Université technique de Graz — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Graz
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1723730.0 €

Microbots have the potential to revolutionize modern medicine by performing precise operations at microscopic scales, enabling safer and more efficient diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. However, breakthrough innovations required to significantly enhance patient care are currently hindered by challenges in manufacturing at the lowest microscale, particularly limitations in material versatility, nanoscale resolution, and design flexibility. These constraints result in inefficient propulsion and restricted functional capabilities in current microbots. The PRINTBOT project aims to overcome these challenges by developing sub-10 µm microbots with highly efficient propulsion systems and advanced functionalities. Two propulsion concepts will be explored for operation in liquid environments: (1) artificial ciliary microbots – 20 times smaller than current models, and (2) magnetic helical swimmers with novel designs for efficient locomotion. Beyond propulsion, PRINTBOT will introduce innovative functionalities, such as controlled cargo mechanisms and heating antennas that can be modularly attached to microbots. These features will allow the microbots to selectively capture / transport / release particles, and carry out localized hyperthermia treatments, such as targeted tumor cell inhibition. The project will also create the ImmunoBot, an artificial immune cell designed to capture and neutralize pathogens through targeted heating, mimicking the body´s natural defense mechanisms. These innovations will be enabled by PRINTBOT´s pioneering work in multi-material 3D-nanoprinting, allowing a seamless, modular integration of materials with various functionalities within a single 3D-structure, establishing new benchmarks in nanoscale additive manufacturing. PRINTBOT´s outcomes are expected to drive progress not only in microrobotics but also to advance applications in Lab-on-a-Chip systems, sensors, and biomedical engineering, opening new horizons for healthcare innovations.

Mots-clés : 3d nanoprinting micro robotics
Projet ERC : NeuroVitalizer (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and Communication Engineering
Entité participante : Université technique de Graz — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Graz
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1278346.0 €

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when mechanical forces shake the brain and disrupt normal brain function, affecting biological processes like cellular, molecular, and electrical functions. These processes are highly interconnected, making it difficult to fully understand TBI recovery with traditional single-discipline methods. Current approaches often fail to address the complexity of TBI even in mild to moderate cases, creating an urgent need for new methods to overcome existing limits in data collection, integration, and interpretation across multiple subdisciplines. In this project, I will set up a new framework for a comprehensive and systematic analysis of recovery processes post-trauma and the effect of electrical stimulation (ES) in in vitro models for mild to moderate TBI, which allows for a detailed examination in a controlled environment. Our experimental workflow will integrate insights on cellular morphology and structure from microscopy images, electrical activity, and network synchronization from multi-electrode array recordings, protein expression changes from immunostaining, and cell viability and stress markers found in the cell medium. Calcium imaging will provide insights into ionic homeostasis maintenance. An AI-driven data fusion approach will facilitate the analysis of these multimodal datasets revealing hidden patterns and relationships that traditional approaches cannot uncover. Specifically, we want to address questions such as • How do astrocyte protein expression and neuronal electrical activity relate to repair after TBI? • To what extent can ES prevent neuronal death, and what are the best stimulation protocols? When should we start the treatment? • Are there early biomarkers that can predict recovery success or delays? This project introduces a cutting-edge method by integrating a multimodal data fusion setup and AI-based synthesis to tackle TBI recovery from multiple angles, capturing the complexity that standard approaches miss.
Projet ERC : TRANGINEER (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental Constituents of Matter
Entité participante : Université d'Oxford — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1923544.0 €

Understanding quantum phase transitions is one of the biggest challenges in modern physics, stimulating numerous exciting developments in theoretical, experimental, and numerical physics. Perhaps, the most remarkable, was the invention of conformal field theory, responsible for many exact predictions. This paved the way for numerical and experimental observations of many of these transitions forming, however, a misleading impression that almost all quantum transitions in nature are conformal. But is this imbalance real, or are many exciting non-conformal transitions currently overlooked due to the limitations of our theoretical toolbox?  In this proposal, I aim to develop a methodology for the unbiased construction of quantum phase transitions. Recent years have been marked by tremendous progress in non-perturbative computational methods. The invention of constrained tensor networks fully profiting from Rydberg blockade for the first time provides sufficient accuracy to predict novel types of quantum phase transitions. With such a powerful tool at hand, I aim to develop a numerical approach to engineer novel quantum criticalities in experimentally realizable models of Rydberg atoms. Implemented directly on a lattice, my method will not rely on the available field-theoretic description of the transitions and, by construction, will have no bias towards conformal ones, opening a way for systematic study of non-conformal transitions and breaking a new ground in fundamental physics. By focusing directly on the effective models of Rydberg atoms I open a path for immediate experimental validation of my future predictions. This proposal benefits from the latest technological advances and will provide a timely theory guidance for future experiments. My study will be an important step towards synthesising novel quantum critical phenomena directly in quantum simulators.

Mots-clés : tensor networks,density matrix renormalization group dmrg,ipeps algorithms quantum phase transitions,chiral transitions quantum chains and ladders quantum simulators,rydberg atoms,synthetic phases spontaneous symmetry breaking quantum chains with disorder,infinite randomness
Projet ERC : NON-ABELIAN (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental Constituents of Matter
Entité participante : Institute of Science and Technology Austria — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ISTA
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1093084.0 €

Non-abelian anyons are conjectured topological quasi-particles which shatter our understanding of quantum statistics. Exchanging two such quasi-particles can transform the quantum state in a way that cannot be undone without unwinding the exchange. The exotic properties of non-abelian anyons have puzzled researchers for decades, and the robustness associated with their statistics makes them an appealing platform for topological quantum computing. Despite broad research over the past decades, non-abelian anyons defy a conclusive experimental observation.  The goal of NON-ABELIAN is the realization and exploration of non-abelian anyonic quasi-particles. We will focus on two paradigmatic systems: quasi-hole excitations in Pfaffian-type fractional quantum Hall states, and Majorana edge states in the Kitaev chain. In each system, we will use control on the microscopic level to prepare the many-body ground state, as well as to isolate, braid, and fuse its quasi-particles. Using local correlations and interferometric observables, we will reveal the properties, including their fractional charge and their non-abelian statistics. The experiments are carried out on a novel type of neutral-atom platform. It makes use of ultraprecise holographic beam shaping, programmable optical tweezer arrays, and rapid ground state cooling techniques.  By studying the emergence of non-abelian quasi-particles in two complementary systems, this project will shed light on an elusive type of quasi-particle from new angles. This will lead to fundamental consequences on our understanding of quantum statistics and provide microscopic insights into strongly correlated topological systems. In addition, our experiments open avenues for topological quantum computing with cold atoms.

Mots-clés : ultracold fermions,lithium,symmetry protected topology,optical tweezers,bosonic pfaffian,floquet engineering
Projet ERC : HypoAdapt (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Institute of Science and Technology Austria — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ISTA
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1498418.0 €

When faced with threats to their survival, animals execute flexible behavioral adaptations specific to each threat, such as escaping a predator. These behaviors are accompanied by brain-driven physiological changes, including elevated heart rate, blood pressure and respiration, which are critical for meeting the increased energy demands during stress. While behavioral responses to threats have been extensively studied, the neural mechanisms that coordinate the accompanying physiological changes remain poorly understood. Additionally, it remains unclear how the brain orchestrates behavioral and physiological adaptations in tandem. HypoAdapt aims to bridge this knowledge gap by investigating the organization and function of the hypothalamus — a critical brain region responsible for both behavioral and physiological responses to homeostatic challenges. Specifically, we will focus on the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) through the following aims. Aim 1: Decipher the anatomical and functional organization of the DMH circuitry that controls responses to distinct stressors. Aim 2: Define how inhibitory inputs to the DMH control the dynamic execution of behavioral and physiological responses with precise timing and vigor. Aim 3: Discover the role of neuropeptide inputs to the DMH in regulating stress state by modulating the underlying neural circuits. By employing cellular resolution neural imaging, machine-learning-based behavioral tracking, monitoring of physiology and neural circuit mapping and manipulations, HypoAdapt will be the first study to offer a holistic view of the neural circuit mechanisms underlying survival adaptations to threats. These findings will illuminate general principles underlying brain-controlled processes that require both rapid and long lasting regulation. Additionally, this research has the potential to inform about mechanisms underlying dysregulation of these behavioral and physiological adaptions in stress and anxiety disorders.

Mots-clés : physiology,behavior,calcium imaging,neuroanatomy,neuromodulation,crispr cas9,optogenetics,fiber photometry
Projet ERC : CHARMAELEON (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and Processes Engineering
Entité participante : Université de Linz — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : JKU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499921.0 €

Half of the total electric energy consumed within the European Union is used for operating electric machines. Those might feature high efficiency for rated load, but partial load and overload performance often is very poor. Additionally, given some voltage and current limits for driving machines, designers need to trade good performance at high torque versus high-speed capabilities. Machines with speed-dependent characteristics would facilitate overcoming the current limitations and thus are the subject of this ERC project. The main approach for realizing operation dependent machine characteristics is to acquit oneself of thinking that the electric machine structure must be static. Allowing solid parts of the rotor to change in position or powder-based compounds to vary in local density while rotating enables a new class of designs. The realization requires all-new methods for designing the speed-dependent properties. This embraces techniques for co-simulating mechanical and electromagnetic aspects including components’ or particles’ movement, the experiment-driven characterization of powder-based soft magnetic materials with variable local density, micro- versus macroscopic modelling of magnetic properties, and the development of promising concepts for future electric machine design and their experimental proof of concept. The basic idea is simple, but its effective implementation is challenging and requires pioneering cross-disciplinary research. The PI has successfully demonstrated the ability to advance the state-of-the-art in electric machine design. The gained results will allow for simultaneously achieving higher net efficiency levels and reducing the consumption of resources due to an improved utilization of the applied components. The project will thus help to reduce the overall energy consumption and to minimize the need for critical raw materials. The reward of this project is tremendous and the expected outcome will beneficially affect our future lives.

Mots-clés : new electric machine topologies,more efficient and sustainable energy conversion,soft magnetic material characterization