Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : CHARM (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Molecules of Life: B iological  Mechanisms , Structures  and Functions
Entité participante : Institut Weizmann — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : WIS
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999318.0 €

MolecuMolecular chaperones are vital for maintaining proteostasis by protecting our cells from the deleterious effects of protein misfolding and aggregation. The diverse ~50-chaperone J-domain protein (JDP, Hsp40) family acts as cells’ first line of defense, binding and remodeling non-natively folded proteins and facilitating their transfer to downstream chaperones. Recent discoveries from our lab have shown that JDP function is far more complex than previously described - identifying both a novel mode of regulation by which DNAJB1 coordinates amyloid disaggregation, and a new mechanism by which class A JDPs recognize destabilized proteins. Based on these findings and the sheer diversity of human JDPs, we propose that these chaperones employ many additional, yet-to-be-discovered mechanisms to carry out their vital cellular roles. Obtaining a structural and functional understanding of these chaperones is further crucial, as mutations in JDPs have been linked to many pathologies, including myopathies, neurodegenerative diseases, and metabolic disorders. Here we aim to uncover these novel JDP functional mechanisms, determine their role in addressing diverse proteomic challenges, and characterize how their malfunction leads to disease. Study of JDPs has proven challenging due to the dynamic nature of these chaperones, their transient interactions with clients, and the instability of misfolded proteins. The advanced methyl-TROSY NMR techniques used in my lab are, however, ideally suited for such large and dynamic systems. Furthermore, we have developed new NMR and biophysical assays allowing the monitoring of chaperone interactions with misfolded and aggregation-prone substrates in real time. Using these approaches, this project will unveil the structures and functional mechanisms of the diverse human JDPs, introducing fundamental new concepts into the chaperone field and paving the way for therapeutic strategies targeting protein misfolding and aggregation diseases.

Mots-clés : molecular chaperones,nmr,protein misfolding,protein aggregation,methyl trosy,hsp70,j domain proteins jdps
Projet ERC : OPTIMAL (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
Entité participante : Université technique de Vienne — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Wien
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1988674.0 €

The ultimate goal of any numerical method is to achieve maximal accuracy with minimal computational cost. This is also the driving motivation behind adaptive mesh refinement algorithms to approximate partial differential equations (PDEs). PDEs are the foundation of almost every simulation in computational physics (from classical mechanics to geophysics, astrophysics, hydrodynamics, and micromagnetism) and even in computational finance and machine learning. Without adaptive mesh refinement such simulations fail to reach significant accuracy even on the strongest computers before running out of memory or time. The goal of adaptivity is to achieve a mathematically guaranteed optimal accuracy vs. work ratio for such problems.  However, adaptive mesh refinement for time-dependent PDEs is mathematically not understood and no optimal adaptive algorithms for such problems are known. The reason is that several key ideas from elliptic PDEs do not work in the non-stationary setting and the established theory breaks down.   This ERC project aims to overcome these longstanding open problems by developing and analyzing provably optimal adaptive mesh refinement algorithms for time-dependent problems with relevant applications in computational physics. This will be achieved by exploiting a new mathematical insight that, for the first time in the history of mesh refinement, opens a viable path to understand adaptive algorithms for time-dependent problems. The approaches bridge several mathematical disciplines such as finite element analysis, matrix theory, non-linear PDEs, and error estimation, thus breaking new ground in the mathematics and application of computational PDEs.

Mots-clés : adaptivity,mesh refinement,optimal convergence,a posteriori error estimator
Projet ERC : BIGR (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed Matter Physics
Entité participante : Institut Weizmann — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : WIS
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1708613.0 €

Biology operates in a dynamic, changing environment, with fluctuations occurring over many time and length scales. Microorganisms are capable of duplicating themselves accurately over a short time in this noisy environment. This self-replication, known as the “cell cycle”, must be tightly regulated in order for replication to be efficient. Key processes such as growth (both of volume and biomass), division and DNA replication must be coordinated. What biophysical cues are measured by the cell and what feedback is utilized to achieve this tight control is a fundamental, open and inherently interdisciplinary question. The goal of this proposal is to build integrated models which can account for the simultaneous regulation of multiple cellular traits, and account, quantitatively, for the coupling between the various cellular processes. We will consider coarse-grained models that operate both on long timescales – the coupling of DNA replication, gene expression and cell division – and short timescales, associated with water flow and ion transport across the membrane. Building on our expertise in the physics of stochastic processes, we will develop biophysical models that explain how microbes deal with fluctuations. We will develop new analysis tools that will enable us to learn from fluctuations, in particular through the powerful methodology of causal inference, which has not been previously applied in this context. The models will allow us to study the implications of variability on the population growth and fitness, and elucidate the design principles involved. Taken together, these models will take us toward comprehensive and predictive biophysical models of bacterial growth.
Projet ERC : DynaMIT (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Earth System Science
Entité participante : Université de Bergen — Pays : Norvège — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.0 €

DynaMIT addresses a fundamental misunderstanding of how Earth is coupled to space in the polar ionosphere. Here, the neutral atmosphere collides with charged particles influenced by electromagnetic fields, profoundly impacting the dynamics of the atmosphere and its surroundings. Despite being the best instrumented region of space, our understanding of Earth’s ionosphere is severely limited. The current paradigm contains two crippling assumptions: that the ionosphere is 1) only 2D, and 2) in a steady state. This conceptualisation obscures the complex interplay of forces that change the fluids and electromagnetic fields in both regions. This prevents us from accurately understanding phenomena, such as the aurora polaris, that have been observed and studied from ground for centuries. To advance beyond the state of the art we must transition to a dynamic view of space-atmosphere coupling. This project will apply first principles to model how the neutral atmosphere, plasma, and electromagnetic fields interact. To do this, we will build and combine the DynaMIT model with novel measurements using an innovative data assimilation technique developed in-house. This ground-breaking combination of multi-instrument data with full 3D numerical simulations will create a radical new platform from which we will interrogate fundamental outstanding issues in space physics: 1) how ionospheric dynamics disturbs Earth’s magnetic field; 2) how energy flows between regions, and how it dissipates in the atmosphere; and 3) how space-atmosphere coupling shapes near-Earth space. These questions are critical for understanding how Earth interacts with space, and the influence on technology, climate, and circulation in the lower atmosphere. If successful, DynaMIT will be a paradigm change that transforms our conceptual understanding of how the atmosphere is coupled with space, provides language to explain ionospheric observations, and paves the way for improvements in space weather predictions.

Mots-clés : space atmosphere coupling,ionosphere,magnetosphere,thermosphere
Projet ERC : MAMBA (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : Institute of Archaeology Brno — Pays : Rép. Tchèque — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : ARÚB AV ČR
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 179850.0 €

The discovery of large accumulations of woolly mammoth remains together with Upper Palaeolithic artefacts has fascinated both researchers and the general public since the 19th century. Despite many years of scientific research and dispute our knowledge about these sites and the relationship between mammoths and contemporaneous Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers remains incomplete. This project focuses on the mammoth bone accumulations found in the West Carpathian forelands and seeks to establish why they formed and their function for hunter-gatherer groups 35,000-25,000 years ago – a period of major techno-cultural and environmental change in approaching the Last Glacial Maximum. For the first time we will study materials covering the full chronological range of this archaeological phenomenon, considering both existing collections alongside new fieldwork at the key sites of Dolní Věstonice I, Kraków Spadzista and Langmannersdorf. Site-specific signals of human-mammoth interaction within their local palaeoenvironmental context will be used to investigate chrono-spatial changes in both mammoth populations and hunter-gatherer societies. We will employ standardised field and laboratory protocols that utilise recent methodological and technological advances in ancient DNA research, stable isotope studies, radiometric dating, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and palaeodemographic modelling. The resulting dataset will allow an integrated investigation of the formation of mammoth bone accumulations and produce a statistically analysable dataset expected to reveal the interactions between human and mammoth populations in Central Europe in the context of palaeoenvironmental changes. This will have great impact not only for Upper Palaeolithic research in Central Europe, but will on a general scale also contribute to an improved understanding of human behaviour, cultural developments, and human adaptation to dynamically changing climatic and environmental conditions.

Mots-clés : upper palaeolithic,pleistocene
Projet ERC : HighEntropy2D (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
Entité participante : Université technique de Vienne — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Wien
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1995465.0 €

“Entropy engineering” recently had exceptional impact on bulk materials science by invention of bul“Entropy engineering” recently had exceptional impact on bulk materials science by invention of bulk high entropy alloys and ceramics. The underlying idea is that by equiatomically adding ≥5 principal elements to alloys/compounds, the much increased configurational entropy stabilizes otherwise non-accessible single “high entropy” phases with an unique random elemental occupancy on a crystalline lattice and hence novel functional properties. Likewise, reducing dimensionality in “two-dimensional” (2D) materials recently had exceptional impact on materials science due to the 2D materials’ unique functional properties. Despite these exciting individual prospects of “entropy engineering” and “2D materials”, combination of these two concepts to synergetically create novel 2D high entropy materials (2D HEMs) as a novel materials class with novel functional properties with possible applications in electronics and catalysis remains lacking. In “HighEntropy2d” we will fabricate unprecedented 2D HEMs (2D high entropy alloys, oxides and sulfides) using for the first time scalable vapour deposition and a 2D template/2D confinement approach for both 2D film and 2D nanoflake form, asses their novel properties and perform first tests of their applicability for electronic devices and catalysis. Reducing HEM dimensionality to 2D will also create a unique opportunity to for the first time study in situ and at the atomic scale currently unknown fundamental diffusion, crystallisation, phase transition and separation mechanisms in HEMs (using a globally unique (scanning) transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM) setup), to obtain fundamental insights relevant to HEMs even beyond the here newly introduced 2D HEMs. The proven track record of principal applicant Bernhard C. Bayer in 2D materials synthesis and atomic scale in situ (S)TEM is an ideal basis for this ambitious research programme.

Mots-clés : entropy engineering,2d materials,high entropy alloys,graphene,aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy
Projet ERC : SMARTI3 (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer Science and Informatics
Entité participante : Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HGF
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2445808.0 €

SMARTI3 addresses three pivotal visions in robotics: enabling robots to handle diverse objects in complex scenes, manipulate objects with varying geometries and physical properties, and interpret and follow intricate instruction manuals. While AI is predestined to realize these visions, its promises to fulfill these visions have not been fully realized yet. Despite significant breakthroughs of AI in many domains, robotics has not seen a parallel surge, primarily due to challenges in task-specific data collection, the high demand for training data, and the extensive expertise required for applying AI in robotics.  Our innovative approach integrates intuitive data generation, fine-tuning of foundational knowledge, leveraging human feedback for continual self-improvement, and incorporating offline instructions with semantic and geometric information into skill, perception, and prediction models. Our objectives are to streamline the generation of human and synthetic data for robot learning, develop few-shot adaptable foundational representations, scale-up robot skill-learning capabilities, and enhance learning from interactive human feedback and offline instructions.  The project showcases its advancements through three use cases that mirror future industrial applications: sorting and disassembling a variety of Lego pieces, origami folding from visual instructions, and assembling complex Lego structures from unsorted pieces using instruction manuals. These cases highlight our approach's adaptability and potential for industrial application.  SMARTI3 aims to revolutionize robotic skill, perception, and prediction models, significantly broadening the scope of robotic technology in various industries. This groundbreaking project lays the foundation for a new era of intelligent, adaptable, and user-friendly robotic solutions, set to rival human manipulation capabilities.
Projet ERC : PECUNIA (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : Sorbonne Université — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Sorbonne U
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999350.0 €

Examining the hundreds of cities which formed the basis of the Roman Empire (70 BC-AD 284), PECUNIA interrogates the material and pecuniary interests made available to local elites by their political activity. It investigates how positions in local institutions were structurally associated with private opportunities and how this phenomenon was conceived and regulated at both levels of the imperial system, i.e. the Roman centre and the cities. In the civic milieu, the flow of gifts and mandatory contributions of the well-off to their communities has been extensively explored by scholarship, while the fields of re-sources made available to them by the government of the cities have remained unaddressed. This mainly results from the focus on contributions of members of the political elites which is found in the inscriptions, engraved under the direction of the governing bodies of the cities, in praise of their actions. Based on the observation that sources also account for legal and illegal gains, PECUNIA instead aims at producing a comprehensive analysis of private interest in public affairs, by (1) using an empire-wide inquiry, whereas in institutional and social studies the civic world has so far only been approached regionally, (2) harnessing heterogeneous data from classical sources and also from less sought corpora, (3) using investigative concepts and data modelling stemming from political science and sociological studies of the elites, to elaborate new interpretative paths about the production of stability in local governance in the Roman Empire. By gaining substantial and systematic evidence and devising new questions capable of navigating it, PECUNIA thus illuminates the expectations regarding participation in public life by the various sub-groups in the elites and it frames a new paradigm of local power, considering all stakeholders and their attitudes to the realities of private interests in local functions, from the local people to the Roman administration.

Mots-clés : roman empire,high empire,municipal government,local elites,italy,provinces,epigraphy,documentary evidence
Projet ERC : Ixtreme (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed Matter Physics
Entité participante : Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HGF
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2631875.0 €

Strong correlations between electrons in solids lead to a variety of exotic quantum states like Mott insulator, unconventional high-Tc or odd-parity superconductivity. The groundbreaking discoveries of these states have not only generated huge advances in our understanding of condensed matter but also uncover a great potential for applications such as room-temperature superconductivity or quantum computing.  Symmetry is an important concept in classifying quantum states. So far, the majority of research has focused on global symmetry. I have recently discovered striking experimental evidence that local inversion symmetry breaking opens up a new route for the appearance of novel quantum states of matter. Namely, it can induce novel types of odd-parity superconductivity with possibly topological character, a much-needed state for topological quantum computing. However, the effect of local inversion symmetry breaking on quantum states still lacks our control and understanding. In the Ixtreme project, I propose to generalise and exploit this concept by investigating materials with locally broken inversion symmetry as a platform of exotic quantum states. By measuring electric and thermal transport as well as magnetic properties in extreme conditions of very low temperature, high magnetic field and high hydrostatic and uniaxial pressure, the Ixtreme team will study and control the delicate interplay of local inversion-symmetry breaking with correlated electrons, magnetic and orbital degrees of freedom, topology, and superconductivity. Thereby, this project will establish new understanding of the physical properties of this promising novel class of unconventional metals and lead to new design methodologies for emergent states such as odd-parity superconductivity in locally non-centrosymmetric correlated electron systems.

Mots-clés : unconventional superconductivity,strongly correlated systems,extreme conditions,pressure
Projet ERC : AutoInc (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer Science and Informatics
Entité participante : Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : HGF
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1733563.75 €

The energy consumption of data centers and ICT devices grows at an alarming rate and will be responsible for up to 20% of the global energy consumption by 2030. To sustain the ongoing digital transformation, we must find ways to run software dramatically more efficiently. A promising direction is incremental computing. Incremental computations react to input changes rather than recomputing their result from scratch, which is known to deliver asymptotic speedups in theory and order-of-magnitude speedups in practice. However, current approaches to incrementality have limited applicability: They either require expert knowledge, or only support specialized domains (e.g., database queries), or only yield modest speedups. The goal of this project is to develop a methodology for automatically incrementalizing computations and significantly improving their time and energy efficiency.  The AutoInc project achieves this ambitious goal by establishing a novel foundation for incremental computing in three complementary parts. First, the project develops a library of incremental operators for atomic and other essential data types as part of a novel framework of differential theories, which ensure the correctness and composability of the operators. Second, the project designs a low-level intermediate representation (IR) for describing compositional incremental computations as computation networks and provides a novel differential recomputing semantics for the IR. Third, the project develops an optimizing compiler that translates existing code to the low-level incremental IR and uses operators from differential theories where possible. Each part is useful in its own right, but together AutoInc enables developers to automatically incrementalize the reactive parts of existing programs. Besides improving the efficiency of programs, this project will produce fundamental insights about the nature and limits of automatic incremental computing.

Mots-clés : incremetal computing,green computing,energy efficiency