Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Terrestrial vertebrates and the evolutionary origins of morphological diversity (TEMPO)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Panel description: Ecology, biodiversity, environmental change, evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, microbial ecology, marine biology, ecophysiology, theoretical developments and modelling
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2015-STG, 2015)
Start date: 2016-05-01
End date: 2021-10-31
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499496.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499496.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Explaining the great disparity of organismal form is a central goal of biological research. However, despite many decades of inquiry, there is little understanding of how evolution gave rise to this disparity. Key hypotheses predict changes in macroevolutionary modes through geological time: rates of evolution may either have decreased as global niche space became crowded, or increased due to accumulation of key innovations that improve body plan versatility. The absence of data to test these hypotheses a major knowledge gap that severely limits our understanding of evolution on Earth. TEMPO is an ambitious project to quantify patterns of phenotypic evolution on an unprecedented scale (>300 million years), by generating a large, detailed morphological dataset. Using the evolutionary radiation of land vertebrates as a model system, TEMPO will address these fundamental, unresolved questions: (1) How have rates and constraints of phenotypic evolution varied through geological time? (2) Are these patterns consistent with the occurrence of global niche-filling? (3) Can evolutionary versatility enabled by key innovations explain these patterns? (4) What modes of lineage evolution generated observed trends of morphological disparity? Previous large-scale studies lacked the temporal and phenotypic scope to address these questions, analysing only body size in only extant taxa. TEMPO will overcome these limitations to provide a step-change in understanding, by: (1) Using 21st century 3D data-capture methods on specimens from the mammalian and bird/crocodile evolutionary lineages. (2) Combining living with fossil taxa to extend our knowledge far into deep time; and (3) Analysing multiple aspects of form in a multivariate framework, using cutting-edge phylogenetic model-fitting approaches. By doing this, TEMPO will unify palaeontology and evolutionary biology, transforming knowledge of how phenotype evolves and the processes generating animal disparity on geological timescales.

Keywords: palaeontology,macroevolution
The radiative interstellar medium (RadFeedback)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Universe sciences
Panel description: Astro-physics/-chemistry/-biology; solar system; planetary systems; stellar, galactic and extragalactic astronomy; cosmology; space sciences; astronomical instrumentation and data
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2015-STG, 2015)
Start date: 2016-09-01
End date: 2021-08-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1488048.0
EU funding (EUR): 1488048.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The pressure, radiation, and ionization from the warm (UV emitting) and hot (X-ray emitting) gas has a significant impact on the cold, star-forming interstellar medium. We propose to carry out a comprehensive 3D study of the turbulent, multi-phase ISM in different environments that includes, for the first time, a proper treatment of UV and X-ray emission from stellar (primary) sources and extended (secondary) sources like cooling shock fronts and evaporating clouds. We do this by means of massively parallel, high-resolution 3D simulations that capture the complex interplay of gravity, magnetic fields, feedback from massive stars (ionizing radiation, radiation pressure, stellar winds, supernovae), heating and cooling including X-rays and cosmic rays, and chemistry. We are developing a novel, original and highly efficient method to accurately treat the transfer of radiation from multiple point and extended sources in the 3D simulations. Radiation and chemistry will be coupled to achieve self-consistent heating, cooling, and ionization rates. Moreover, accurate synthetic observations covering the large dynamic range from X-rays down to radio emission will be generated to set the results in the proper observational context. This will enable us to address the key science questions: How efficient is stellar feedback in different environments and which feedback process is dominant? What is the precise role of UV radiation and X-rays, also from secondary sources? Are the observations following the key dynamical players? How do we best interpret ISM observations from ALMA, SKA, or ATHENA? How do we assist in designing future observations? With the resources requested here we will perform the most self-consistent theoretical study of the multi-phase ISM so far, thus building up a leading group for ISM research in Europe. To stimulate worldwide scientific activities and interactions we will make all data available to the community through an open-access web interface.

Keywords: stellar feedback,magneto hydrodynamics,simulation and modeling,radiative transfer
Combinatorial Aspects of Computational Geometry (CombiCompGeom)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Computer science and informatics
Panel description: Informatics and information systems, computer science, scientific computing, intelligent systems
Countries involved: Israel
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2015-STG, 2015)
Start date: 2016-09-01
End date: 2022-08-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1303750.0
EU funding (EUR): 1303750.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The project focuses on the interface between computational and combinatorial geometry. Geometric problems emerge in a variety of computational fields that interact with the physical world. The performance of geometric algorithms is determined by the description complexity of their underlying combinatorial structures. Hence, most theoretical challenges faced by computational geometry are of a distinctly combinatorial nature. In the past two decades, computational geometry has been revolutionized by the powerful combination of random sampling techniques with the abstract machinery of geometric arrangements. These insights were used, in turn, to establish state-of-the-art results in combinatorial geometry. Nevertheless, a number of fundamental problems remained open and resisted numerous attempts to solve them. Motivated by the recent breakthrough results, in which the PI played a central role, we propose two exciting lines of study with the potential to change the landscape of this field. The first research direction concerns the complexity of Voronoi diagrams -- arguably the most common structures in computational geometry. The second direction concerns combinatorial and algorithmic aspects of geometric intersection structures, including some fundamental open problems in geometric transversal theory. Many of these questions are motivated by geometric variants of general covering and packing problems, and all efficient approximation schemes for them must rely on the intrinsic properties of geometric graphs and hypergraphs. Any progress in responding to these challenges will constitute a major breakthrough in both computational and combinatorial geometry.

Keywords: computational geometry,combinatorial geometry,combinatorial complexity,voronoi diagram,delaunay triangulation,geometric arrangements,geometric transversals,approximation algorithms
EUROPEAN ESRs NETWORK ON SHORT PULSED LASER MICRO/NANOSTRUCTURING OF SURFACES (LASER4FUN)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Innovative Training Networks (ITN)-European Training Networks
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Spain,Spain,Germany,Germany,Germany,Germany,Italy,Spain,France,Netherlands,United Kingdom
Call: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN-ETN) (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2015-09-01
End date: 2019-08-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3567962.52
EU funding (EUR): 3567962.52
Participants: 11
Project status: CLOSED

Today, industrial markets demand highly added value products offering new features at a low-cost. To this extent, technologies to modify surfaces instead of creating composites or applying coatings on surfaces can offer new industrial opportunities. Current state of the art identifies short pulsed(SP)/ultra-short pulsed(USP) laser-material processing as a promising technology for structuring surfaces and thus for embedding new functionalities for industrial applications. The LASER4FUN research programme pursues to go far beyond the current state through the development of new surface micro/nano-structuring/patterning methods by using emerging SP/USP laser technologies (LIPSS, DLIP, DLW & hybrid tech). The research will focus on the interaction of laser energy with several materials (metals, semiconductors, polymers, glasses & advanced materials) and on new surface functionalities like tribology, aesthetics and wettability. Moreover, LASER4FUN establishes an innovative training programme that aims at coaching a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early stage researchers (ESRs) focused on laser surface engineering. This novel programme will contain both scientific and general skills training activities and it will benefit from training at a network (e.g. secondments). In total, 14ESRs will be enrolled, developing individual research projects within LASER4FUN programme. After 36 months of research and training, the ESRs will be PH Doctors prepared to face EU laser-engineering new challenges. LASER4FUN consortium involves 8 Academic partners (4 Universities –one of them as associated partner- and 4 RTD institutions) ensuring the progress beyond the state of the art, and 3 industrial partners guaranteeing that final solutions will be close to the market. They are from 6 different EU countries. The close cooperation among multidisciplinary partners will ensure knowledge transfer to cross the death valley between science and the market.

Keywords: short ultrashort pulsed laser,structuring,functionalization,lipss,dlip,hybrid,technoogies,tribology,wettablitity,aesthetic,training,network
Evolutionary history of the sickle cell trait among Central African hunter-gatherers and farmers (PreNeolithicMalaria)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Career Restart panel
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2019-05-01
End date: 2021-10-17
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 224933.76
EU funding (EUR): 224933.76
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Tertian malignant malaria (or malaria for short) currently kills more than 400k people per year in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria probably became endemic in that region during the Neolithic transition, due to the spread of agriculture, thus imposing a strong selective pressure on the human genome. As a consequence, sickle cell anemia, a genetic disease that protects against malaria, is thought to have been selected and maintained at high frequencies among sub-Saharan farmers (Bantus) by balancing selection since the Neolithic. However, recent observations provide grounds for challenging this predominant view. Indeed, the high incidence of the sickle cell trait in sub-Saharan hunter-gatherers (Pygmies) and a pre-Neolithic origin of the human malaria parasite suggest that malaria infections affected humans much earlier than the Neolithic. Using genetic data from a cohort of Bantu and Pygmy populations, I will here test the alternative hypothesis that the sickle cell trait was selected and spread among African hunter-gatherers before the Neolithic. If proved correct, this hypothesis would indicate that human genomic resistance to parasitemias exacerbated by the spread of agriculture could have facilitated the Neolithic transition, rather than being its consequence. This new knowledge would allow us to re-evaluate the long-term role played by genetic adaptation to malaria in human evolution and to put into a new perspective a classical case study of gene-culture co-evolution.

Keywords: neolithic transition,malaria genetic resistance,evolution and demography,balancing selection
Quantum Plasmomechanics with THz Phonons and Molecular Nano-junctions (QTONE)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Condensed matter physics
Panel description: Structure, electronic properties, fluids, nanosciences, biological physics
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2018-COG, 2018)
Start date: 2019-08-01
End date: 2024-07-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2437500.0
EU funding (EUR): 2437500.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

QTONE aims at discovering new quantum phenomena involving THz vibrational modes, and at gaining control over them using novel concepts inspired from cavity quantum optomechanics and new techniques developed for nano-plasmonics and molecular break-junctions. The three main goals of the project are: (i) Perform optomechanical quantum information processing with THz phonons in low-dimensional systems, using a combination of ultrafast spectroscopy and time-correlated photon counting to measure quantum correlations mediated by non-classical vibrational states. (ii) Demonstrate the feasibility of dynamical backaction amplification of THz phonons by coupling molecules and nanomaterials to plasmonic cavities and by leveraging exciton-phonon coupling to realize exciton-assisted optomechanics. (iii) Interrogate and drive a single-molecule inside a plasmonic nanocavity using simultaneous inelastic electron tunneling and Raman spectroscopies in a molecular break-junction with engineered plasmonic resonance. I anticipate that this project will have widespread impacts on our understanding of quantum phenomena in molecular-scale oscillators, and will foster the excellence of Europe in fields ranging from fundamental science to quantum technologies and molecular electronics.
Filterlex is a unique, full-body, embolic protection device for Trans-catheter Aortic Valve Implantation procedures. (Filterlex)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Israel
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2018)
Start date: 2018-11-01
End date: 2019-02-28
Duration (months): 4.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Aortic stenosis is the most common and most serious heart valve problem. It leads to shortness of breath, angina, blackouts and in severe cases: sudden death. This condition presents 2-9% of general population over 65 years old. Trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a standard therapeutic option for patients with severe aortic stenosis condition. However, during maneuvering, positioning and deployment of the new valve using catheter, embolic particles are released from the natural aortic valve to the vascular system, making TAVI procedure unsafe. Filterlex is a novel intra-aortic protection device for deflecting, capturing and removing embolic particles during catheter-based left-heart procedures. Easily positioned, deployed and retrieved, the device provides complete celebral protection during valve implantation. The device provides full body protection from embolic showers, and thus, makes TAVI procedure safe.

Keywords: embolic protection device,tavi,aortic stenosis,heart,heart valve,stroke,elderly
Strain-stiffening polymer structures for orthotics (STRAINSTIFF)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Condensed matter physics
Panel description: Structure, electronic properties, fluids, nanosciences, biological physics
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC Proof of Concept Grant (ERC-2018-PoC, 2018)
Start date: 2019-04-01
End date: 2020-09-30
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 150000.0
EU funding (EUR): 150000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A strain-stiffening material is a material that increases its stiffness in response to deformation. This behaviour is frequently found in nature to protect systems from destruction. For example, in cells strain-stiffening occurs by the cross-linking of cytoskeletal fibers upon external forces. Within the ERC project CELLINSPIRED we have developed a material where we mimic this biological behavior in a novel type of artificial strain-stiffening material, where comb-like structures touch each other, adhere, and thus increase the stiffness of the total material as a reaction to external shear force. It is very flexible in the choice of stiffness range and in the direction of strain-stiffening, and is easy to produce in a large variety of length scales (µm to cm) as well as in large quantities (patent application DE 10 2016 107 480.2, WO 2017/182024 A1, statuts “Notice of Intention to Grant”). This is of high interest in the field of orthotics, as the strain-stiffening protection mechanism is in our approach intrinsically located in the material and therefore does not require further chemical reagents. The work proposed here has the goal to validate our novel strain-stiffening material for the field of orthotics. The expected outcome of our project is to receive a prototype that (1) has well-defined strain-stiffening properties , (2) can be fabricated in different levels of complexity, (3) can easily be integrated into orthotic systems, and (4) can be fabricated using high-throughput processes. Our final goal is to license the patent to a company.

Keywords: bioinspired materials,biophysics,strain stiffening,structured materials,orthotics
Whispering Gallery Modes (WGM) for label free bioanalytics (WhisperSense)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Germany
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2018)
Start date: 2019-01-01
End date: 2019-06-30
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The latest industry research shows that about 90 percent of drugs that reach clinical stage fail due to incorrect selection methods. The same applies to diagnostic markers. A crucial failure source is the imperfect identification and characterisation of biological interaction analytics in the early stages of drug discovery and biomarker identification. Surflay's innovation addresses this challenge. The company developed the unique WhisperSense technology based on the physical effect of whispering gallery modes (WGM). WhisperSense makes a full kinetic analysis of biological interations possible, uniquely applying a spatial resolution of up to 6 µm in complex biological matrixes (e.g. cell culture suspensions), also in a multiplex format. Furthermore and uniquely, it is possible to perform measurements in a wide variety of reaction vessels. For the first time, WhisperSense will allow full kinetic analyses within cell cultures and organoids. All these advances eliminate certain time consuming sample preparation steps at the customer's site and enable monitoring of running processes in real-time, leading to a more precise drug and biomarker selection. The development is protected by 3 patents and many years of expert knowledge in the production of the special spherical microparticles. Initially, Surflay will address the public sector with its WhisperSense technology, followed by the diagnostic and pharmaceutical industry.
Restoring Odorant detection and recognition in Smell dEficits (Rose)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)
Theme: EIC Pathfinder
Destination: Novel ideas for radically new technologies
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,Italy,Switzerland,Greece,France,France
Call: FET-Open Challenging Current Thinking (H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01, 2020)
Start date: 2021-09-01
End date: 2025-08-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2999947.5
EU funding (EUR): 2999947.5
Participants: 7
Project status: SIGNED

Sensory deficits are a major source of handicap in people's lives. Scientists have already developed prostheses and implants for hearing impairments and are developing those for vision. Partial and total loss of smell (hyposmia / anosmia) impacts 20% of the world-wide population with deleterious effects on quality of life. However, we have yet to develop such devices to restore the sense of smell, primarily because scientific knowledge linking artificial systems to human biological olfaction is still lacking. Within Rose we envision such a long-term idea. Rose will generate new pieces of scientific knowledge that will be merged to construct a final proof of concept: the Digital Olfaction Module (DOM), a science-to-technology breakthrough enabling people with olfactory loss to perceive their olfactory environment. To this end, Rose will conduct ambitious interdisciplinary research: each partner will be assigned a specific role aligned with their domain of expertise and asked to push conventional boundaries. The Grenoble team (nanotechnology) will develop a new generation of miniaturized odor sensors. The Lausanne team (microtechnology) will develop a stimulation array. The Aryballe team (SME, biotechnology) and the Milano team (design and mechanics) will combine the sensors and the stimulators to design the DOM. The Dresden (neurosurgery), Thessaloniki (clinical olfaction) and Lyon (cognitive neuroscience) teams will test the DOM in humans with smell disorders. To the millions that suffer from hyposmia and anosmia, Rose will provide stepwise innovation previously unfathomed to overcome scientific and societal challenges and industrial competitiveness in the domain of sensory protheses.

Keywords: sensory deficits,human olfaction,digital olfaction,cmut sensors,stimulation array