Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : SUPERGRAPH (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2044178.0 €

In recent years, a considerable stream of work from the condensed matter community has been focusing on hybrid systems coupling superconductors to various topological states of matter. Such a heterogeneous coupling is pivotal in enabling the emergence of new excitations –the Majorana or parafermion— that could be used as quantum bits (qubits) with unique properties of non-locality and immunity to external perturbations, essential to encode and manipulate quantum information in a robust and stable fashion. Nevertheless, topological insulators that can be efficiently hybridized with superconductors and enable reliable coherent manipulation are still missing. This project aims at demonstrating a new topological insulator, the quantum Hall topological insulator that emerges in graphene as an unusual quantum spin Hall phase, as the ideal platform for topological superconductivity. Its novelty hinges on an unprecedented substrate engineering that profoundly modifies the quantum Hall ground state of neutral graphene. The ensuing robust quantum Hall phase harbors spin-filtered, helical edge states that can be easily coupled to superconducting electrodes for investigating novel hybrid superconducting quantum circuits. The versatility of graphene enables designing locally gated quantum devices, tunnelling experiments, and coupling to a photon cavity for time-resolved spectroscopy to unveil Majoranas or parafermions in unprecedented fashion. Ultimately, quantum coherent manipulation of Majorana qubits in hybrid devices will be performed, providing a major breakthrough in the way of fault-tolerant quantum computers. Moreover, the identification of parafermions will constitute a considerable conceptual advance that will open a totally new horizon for topological superconductivity and quantum computing technologies.

Mots-clés : graphene quantum hall effect,topological superconductivity
Projet ERC : GLO (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Cultures and cultural production
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 : 349129.44 €

In recent years, conservationists have engaged in heated debates about whether and how conservation should respond to the challenges posed by ‘the Anthropocene’—a term increasingly used to encapsulate the overwhelming, transformative impact of human activity on the Earth system. How are these debates—and the wider ‘Anthropocenic’ awareness they embody—reshaping conservation philosophy, strategy and practice? How are they manifested in and across diverse contexts? How, conversely, are global conservation developments and ‘Anthropocenic’ phenomena apprehended and reshaped on the ground? This project explores such urgent questions through an unprecedented study of the global nexus of orangutan conservation at a unique historical juncture marked by flux and uncertainty. Combining in-depth ethnography and multiply-scaled cross-cultural comparison, it approaches orangutan conservation as a sprawling, uneven terrain across which the rapidly-evolving relationship between conservation and ‘the Anthropocene’ is being played out. Its objectives are 1) to examine if and how contemporary conservation is being ‘scaled up’ and re(con)figured in and for ‘the Anthropocene’; and 2) to cut ‘the Anthropocene’ down to size by exploring how it is experienced, conceptualized, contested or indeed refused across multiple conservation settings. Comprising four interlinked studies to be carried out simultaneously at the main nodes of orangutan conservation, this project seeks to pioneer a new synchronic, multi-sited approach to the analysis of global conservation and lay the groundwork for an empirically-driven, theoretically ambitious new field of scholarship on conservation in/for ‘the Anthropocene’—one that will revitalize social scientific understandings of conservation while adding much-needed empirical depth and nuance to emerging cross-disciplinary discussions about ‘the Anthropocene’.

Mots-clés : anthropocene,conservation,orangutans,human animal relations
Projet ERC : EnDeCAD (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : University of Eastern Finland — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UEF
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1498647.0 €

In recent years, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have discovered hundreds of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which are significantly associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the SNPs identified by GWAS explain typically only small portion of the trait heritability and vast majority of variants do not have known biological roles. This is explained by variants lying within noncoding regions such as in cell type specific enhancers and additionally ‘the lead SNP’ identified in GWAS may not be the ‘the causal SNP’ but only linked with a trait associated SNP. Therefore, a major priority for understanding disease mechanisms is to understand at the molecular level the function of each CAD loci. In this study we aim to bring the functional characterization of SNPs associated with CAD risk to date by focusing our search for causal SNPs to enhancers of disease relevant cell types, namely endothelial cells, macrophages and smooth muscle cells of the vessel wall, hepatocytes and adipocytes. By combination of massively parallel enhancer activity measurements, collection of novel eQTL data throughout cell types under disease relevant stimuli, identification of the target genes in physical interaction with the candidate enhancers and establishment of correlative relationships between enhancer activity and gene expression we hope to identify causal enhancer variants and link them with target genes to obtain a more complete picture of the gene regulatory events driving disease progression and the genetic basis of CAD. Linking these findings with our deep phenotypic data for cardiovascular risk factors, gene expression and metabolomics has the potential to improve risk prediction, biomarker identification and treatment selection in clinical practice. Ultimately, this research strives for fundamental discoveries and breakthrough that advance our knowledge of CAD and provides pioneering steps towards taking the growing array of GWAS for translatable results.

Mots-clés : enhancer,coronary artery disease,regulatory variants
Projet ERC : MAGNETO (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Products and processes engineering
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499206.25 €

In recent years, there has been an increased effort by scientists to obtain new composite materials with extreme properties. Inspired by natural and biological processes, scientists have proposed the use of hierarchical architectures (i.e., assembly of structural components) spanning several length scales from nanometer to centimeter sizes. Depending each time on the desired properties of the composite material, optimization with respect to its stiffness, weight, density, toughness and other properties is carried out. In the present subject, the interest is in magneto-mechanical coupling and tailored instabilities. Hierarchical materials, such as magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) which combine magnetic particles (at the scale of nanometers and micrometers) embedded in a soft polymeric non-magnetic matrix, give rise to a coupled magneto-mechanical response at the macroscopic (order of millimeters and centimeters) scale when they are subjected to combined magneto-mechanical external stimuli. These composite materials can deform at very large strains due to the presence of the soft polymeric matrix without fracturing. From an unconventional point of view, a remarkable property of these materials is that while they can become unstable by combined magneto-mechanical loading, their response is well controlled in the post-instability regime. This, in turn, allows us to try to operate these materials in this critically stable region, similar to most biological systems. These instabilities can lead to extreme responses such as wrinkles (for haptic applications), actively controlled stiffness (for cell-growth) and acoustic properties with only marginal changes in the externally applied magnetic fields. Unlike the current modeling of hierarchical composites, MREs require the development of novel experimental techniques and advanced coupled nonlinear magneto-mechanical models in order to tailor the desired macroscopic instability response at finite strains.

Mots-clés : multi physics modeling,magneto mechanical coupling
Projet ERC : Group-Dynamics-TCB (Horizon 2020, appel 2016, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Entité participante : Kalahari research trust — Pays : Afrique du Sud — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : Kalahari research trust
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 833800.0 €

In social animals, the characteristics and dynamics of groups affect the development of individuals, the selection pressures operating on them and the demography of populations. Using existing study populations of two social mammals (Kalahari meerkats and Damaraland mole-rats) that offer unique and complementary opportunities for research, we shall (1) explore the effects of variation in group size on growth, behaviour, hormonal status and gene regulation in both species and test suggestions that (i) increasing group size generates divergence in development among group members and the formation of incipient castes and (ii) that breeding extends female longevity rather than reducing it; (2) assess the extent and causes of variation in group longevity and in the frequency with which groups generate new breeding units, model the relative impact of selection operating at different levels on the evolution of cooperation, and investigate whether there is any indication that the behaviour of individuals is adapted to increasing group persistence or proliferation; (3) examine the effects of group size and group dynamics on the dynamics of populations and their responses to variation in rainfall, temperature and epidemic disease (TB), generalise these models to explore the population dynamics of cooperative breeders and explore their consequences for the evolution of cooperative breeding. Our work involves novel approaches to the measurement and analysis of development, communication and gene regulation in wild animals, and to modelling multi-level selection and the dynamics of hierarchically structured populations. It will provide insight into the social mechanisms affecting individual development, multi-level selection and the population dynamics and management of group-living animals.
Projet ERC : FORCe (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The study of the human past
Entité participante : Utrecht University — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2000000.0 €

In television series like CSI and Criminal Minds forensic scientists can solve even the trickiest cases within a few hours. Technologies such as blood-spatter analysis, DNA and autopsies aid in reconstructing the crime and psychiatric classifications like ‘psychopath’ help to identify the perpetrator. Science and technology’s impartial and unambiguous results seem to ensure that justice is done equally for everyone. In reality, however, the role and impact of forensic science depend on where the court is located. Scholars have attributed this regional variance to either the availability of technology or the different legal systems. These explanations have not been backed up by empirical or comparative research and do not sufficiently explain why scientific experts are powerful in some national courtrooms, but dismissed in others. Moreover, they neglect a third, vital factor: culture. This project will demonstrate the cultural influences that determine how forensic science was accepted in Europe (1930-2000) by focusing on historically and nationally variable political ideology, media representations and norms on gender and sexuality. The project’s hypothesis is that cultural ideas and practices have been major determinants in the position of science in the courtroom. To test this, I will use criminal cases in which gender plays an important role: rape, murder and infanticide. Because these often play out in the media as well as the courtroom, they can best unveil the power of culture. The forensic practices of four countries with differing legal systems and ideologies will be compared (the Netherlands, England, Spain and Russia). FORCe will analyse the entangled relationships between forensic science, medicine and psychiatry, using an innovative comparative cultural-historical approach. The results will explain how scientific expertise works in practice and impacts the administration of justice.
Projet ERC : DA QC (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Computer science and informatics
Entité participante : Johannes Kepler University of Linz — Pays : Autriche — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : JKU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 0.0 €

In the 1970s, researchers started to utilize quantum mechanics to address questions in computer science and information theory— establishing new research directions such as quantum computing. Now, more than four decades later, we are at the dawn of a new "computing age" in which quantum computers indeed will find its way into practical application. However, while impressive accomplishments can be observed in the physical realization of quantum computers, the development of automated tools and methods that provide assistance in the design and realization of applications for those devices is at risk of not being able to keep up with this development anymore—leaving a situation where we might have powerful quantum computers but hardly any proper means to actually use them. This project aims to provide a solution for this upcoming design gap by developing efficient and practical relevant methods for corresponding simulation, synthesis, and verification tasks. While the current state of the art severely suffers from the interdisciplinarity of quantum computing (leading to the consideration of inappropriate models, inconsistent interpretations, or "wrong" problem formulations), this project will build a bridge between the design automation community and the quantum computing community. This will allow to fully exploit the potential of design automation which is hardly utilized in quantum computing yet. Since quantum computers are reaching feasibility, the methods developed within this project will be highly demanded. Preliminary investigations conducted in preparation of this proposal already showed the potential of such an endeavor and raised significant attention in the quantum computing community and its "big players". The project plans to continue these developments on a larger scale—eventually providing the foundation for design automation methods that accomplish for quantum computing what the design automation community realized for classical electronic circuits.

Mots-clés : design automation,quantum computing,quantum circuit simulation,compilation,synthesis,verification,equivalence checking,decision diagrams,data structures,reasoning engines,search algorithms
Projet ERC : GreatMoves (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : GSI
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499485.0 €

In the arising era of gravitational-wave (GW) astronomy the demand for the next-generation of neutron-star (NS) merger models has never been so great. By developing the first relativistic moving-mesh simulations of NS mergers, we will be able to reliably link observables of these spectacular events to fundamental questions of physics. Our approach will allow us to maximize the information that can be obtained from different GW oscillations of the postmerger remnant. In this way we will demonstrate the scientific potential of future postmerger GW detections to unravel unknown properties of NSs and high-density matter. Based on our models we will work out the optimal GW data analysis strategy towards this goal. Employing a revolutionary numerical technique we will be able to achieve an unprecedented resolution of the merger outflow. High-resolution simulations of these ejecta are critical to uncover the detailed conditions for nucleosynthesis, specifically, for the rapid-neutron capture process (r-process). The r-process forges the heaviest elements such as gold and uranium, but its astrophysical production site still has to be clarified. Moreover, the nuclear decays in the expanding outflow power electromagnetic counterparts, which are targets of optical survey telescopes (iPTF, ZTF, BlackGEM, LSST). Our multi-disciplinary approach combines hydrodynamical models, nuclear network calculations and light-curve computations to facilitate the interpretation of future electromagnetic observations within a multi-messenger picture. Linking these observables to the underlying outflow properties is pivotal to unravel the still mysterious origin of heavy elements created by the r-process.
Projet ERC : SQUALAC (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 5000.0 €

In the course of the ERC Advanced Grant TERNANOMED, we have discovered that the linkage of squalene (a natural lipid) to many drugs, confers to the resulting bioconjugates the remarkable property to self-assemble as nanoparticles, due to the folded molecular conformation of squalene. This approach is unique and has never been used before. The so called "squalenoylation" technology may be considered as a generic platform to construct nanomedicines with high drug loading and targeted drug release triggered by the spacer between the drug and the squalene moiety. Remarkably, it was shown that these nanomedicines were more efficient and less toxic than the parent drugs. The gemcitabine-squalene (Gem-SQ) nanomedicine, our first candidate for further pharmaceutical developments, was shown not only to display an impressive anticancer activity in experimental tumors but also to overcome drug resistance, thus addressing a major challenge in tumor therapy. These pre-clinical data deserve further development towards translation into the clinic for the treatment of the pancreatic cancer, a devastating disease. However, the squalenic acid (SQCO2H), the chemical template essential for the synthesis of the Gem-SQ bioconjugate, is currently obtained through the Van Tamelen reaction which cannot be employed for the preparation of a clinical sample of Gem-SQ, because of the use of CrO3 (a toxic compound) and the poor yield of the reaction. Therefore, the synthesis of SQCO2H represents a lock for further clinical development of our Gem-SQ nanomedicine. The goals of the present proposal are : (i) to perform the total synthesis of SQCO2H through a new « green » chemistry way (which represents in itself a real innovation) allowing (ii) further regulatory acceptable preparation of Gem-SQ nanoparticles. Incidentally, the total synthesis of SQCO2H will avoid environmental concern due to excessive shark hunting and represents by itself some economical value as excipient for the cosmetics.

Mots-clés : squalenic acid,gemcitabine squalene,nanoparticles,anticancer nanomedicine
Projet ERC : WORKINMINING (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : University of Liège — Pays : Belgique — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1650165.0 €

In the course of the last decade, African countries rich in mineral resources have experienced an unprecedented boom in mining investment. The copperbelt that crosses the border between Zambia and Congo, where our research will be carried out, represents one of the most striking cases of this “new scramble for Africa”: mining companies of various sizes and origins have flocked to these countries of central Africa to take over the assets of public enterprises and to develop new mining projects. The WORKINMINING research project is a collective ethnographic investigation into the changes that new investors have brought to the organization of labour in these areas marked by a century of corporate paternalism. It explores the micropolitics of work at play in companies of different sizes and origins in Zambia and Congo through three complementary subprojects on 1) the practices and discourses of workers in mining companies; 2) the everyday operation of trade unions in the mining sector; and 3) the actions of state representatives in the domain of labour. The three subprojects will provide the basis for a systematic comparison between the Zambian and Congolese copperbelts. To date, these two areas have been studied separately, despite the fact that their economic and social history shows striking parallels and interconnections. From a theoretical point of view, the overall research project will contribute to an original reflection on the transformations of paternalism as practice and discourse within the context of the mining boom. Its aim is to open up new avenues for an in-depth understanding of the new forms of economic, political, and social dependence (and possibilities) generated by mining capitalism in Africa.

Mots-clés : paternalism,mining,workers,trade unions,labour,central africa