Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Unique Method for a Neutron Electric Dipole Moment Search using a Pulsed Beam (BEAM-EDM)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Fundamental constituents of matter
Panel description: Particle, nuclear, plasma, atomic, molecular, gas, and optical physics
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2016-STG, 2016)
Start date: 2017-04-01
End date: 2022-09-30
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1404062.0
EU funding (EUR): 1404062.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

My research encompasses the application of novel methods and strategies in the field of low energy particle physics. The goal of the presented program is to lead an independent and highly competitive experiment to search for a CP violating neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM), as well as for new exotic interactions using highly sensitive neutron and proton spin resonance techniques. The measurement of the nEDM is considered to be one of the most important fundamental physics experiments at low energy. It represents a promising route for finding new physics beyond the standard model (SM) and describes an important search for new sources of CP violation in order to understand the observed large baryon asymmetry in our universe. The main project will follow a novel concept based on my original idea, which plans to employ a pulsed neutron beam at high intensity instead of the established use of storable ultracold neutrons. This complementary and potentially ground-breaking method provides the possibility to distinguish between the signal due to a nEDM and previously limiting systematic effects, and should lead to an improved result compared to the present best nEDM beam experiment. The findings of these investigations will be of paramount importance and will form the cornerstone for the success of the full-scale experiment intended for the European Spallation Source. A second scientific question will be addressed by performing spin precession experiments searching for exotic short-range interactions and associated light bosons. This is a vivid field of research motivated by various extensions to the SM. The goal of these measurements, using neutrons and protons, is to search for additional interactions such new bosons mediate between ordinary particles. Both topics describe ambitious and unique efforts. They use related techniques, address important questions in fundamental physics, and have the potential of substantial scientific implications and high-impact results.

Keywords: fundamental neutron physics,electric dipole moment,exotic interactions,spin precession,ramsey method,proton nuclear magn resonance,cp violation,axion like particles,baryon asymmetry
ERA-NET Smart Cities and Communities (ENSCC)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Secure, clean and efficient energy
Theme: Low-cost, low-carbon energy supply
Action type: ERA-NET Cofund
Partnership: ENSCC (ERA-NET)
Countries involved: Austria,Spain,Cyprus,Switzerland,Norway,Belgium,Belgium,Finland,Romania,Sweden,Sweden,Türkiye,Netherlands,Portugal
Call: Supporting Joint Actions on demonstration and validation of innovative energy solutions (H2020-LCE-2014-3, 2014)
Start date: 2014-12-01
End date: 2020-05-31
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 21925020.07
EU funding (EUR): 6428753.43
Participants: 19
Project status: CLOSED

Smart Cities and Communities have been identified as key to achieving the energy efficiency targets for 2020 and 2050. The main objective of this ERA-NET is to stimulate successful practice and facilitate replicability within Smart Cities and Communities projects and also across projects in order to achieve a technological shift in the current energy system and provide smart and integrated solutions for technology, government and society. ERA-NET Smart Cities and Communities aims to create solutions in the form of projects, which demonstrate or at least constitute a decisive step towards implementations that (1) help cities deal with a long uncertain time horizon, (2) monitor ongoing experiences and implement change in the project when necessary, and (3) avoid pitfalls already encountered by others and facilitate collective learning of stakeholders embedded within a physical and social context. Additional activities within the planned ERA-NET are: (A) to work towards a joint call with China and (B) to align national R&D funding with Structural Funds. (A): A structured and systematic approach towards a joint call with China on smart city research will be developed making highest use of existing relations, activities and experience of European Funding Agencies with Chinese partners in order to develop a joint call with China. Beneficiaries of this call (mainly research organisations and companies) would be given a good starting position for further research and development projects. (B) The realisation of smart cities measures requires large investment volumes. Thus, the combination and clustering of different financing instruments is necessary. In line with the new "smart specialization" strategy of the EC, the proposed additional activities should encourage and enable Member States, regions and their Managing Authorities to align their national R&D funding schemes with available Structural Funds (in particular ERDF, but also ESF resources).

Keywords: energy technologies,mobility technologies,energy efficiency,technology integration,new governance,living labs
Automated detection of damage to buildings (ADDABU)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: ERC-Proof of Concept (ERC-2017-PoC, 2017)
Start date: 2017-09-01
End date: 2018-08-31
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 143750.0
EU funding (EUR): 143750.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Hail and storm damages represent the most often occurring cases for building insurance companies. Currently, the damage is estimated by an insurance expert, visiting the damaged building and drafting a report. Researchers at the Computer Vision Lab at ETH Zurich joined forces with business and sales people, spinning out the company Casalva, to strongly reduce such costs via automated image analysis. The idea is that the insurers’ clients upload photos of the damages, which will then be analyzed automatically by a computer. This involves computer vision technologies – grounded in the ERC project VarCity – to recognize the damaged building structures and to analyze the corresponding textures as to assess the extent of the damage and the estimated costs for its repair. Cutting costs is not the only consideration, as the fast assessment of damages improves customer satisfaction and prevents the occurrence of additional damages because of a delayed repair (like water leaking before repair). Such follow-on damages are estimated to be 20% of overall costs on average and are therefore far from negligible. Guaranteeing a short term response currently is a major issue, as a single storm may affect thousands of buildings. Processing times tend to stretch out due to the peak in cases following such extreme weather events. Over half of hail storm damage cases concern facade structures. The VarCity project produced methods to automatically parse facades into such structures, and to select the best way to describe their textures. These will be refined to optimally deal with the application area. The remaining technical developments and risk mitigations will be funded through other means (a Swiss project that has already been submitted), while this Proof-of-Concept project will focus on equally important aspects like market analysis, development of a corporate identity and graphical house style for the Casalva spin-off, that has been created but should now get market introduction.

Keywords: image analysis,damage,building,insurance
Solar up-draft tower to enable atmospheric photocatalysis for non-CO2 greenhouse gases removal: an emerging negative emission technology (STEPforGGR)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Research and innovation staff exchange
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Germany,China,United Kingdom,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2020-12-01
End date: 2025-11-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 455400.0
EU funding (EUR): 276000.0
Participants: 7
Project status: SIGNED

STEPforGGR is a research and training focused initiative consisting of world-leading institutions in the multidisciplinary and intersectoral subject areas of physics, chemistry, engineering and manufacturing. The overarching purpose is to promote a novel greenhouse gas removal technology: removal of non-CO2 greenhouse gases utilising large-scale atmospheric photocatalysis enabled by solar up-draft towers. The objective is to collaboratively evaluate the feasibility of this new but entirely untested negative emission technology and build up a foundation for climate policy debate and practical application tackling climate change at the global scale. Through comprehensive and complementary expertise and the robust network among theoreticians, experimentalists and manufacturers, STEPforGGR will identify bottle necks (rate limiting steps, work package 1 (WP1)) and provide solutions for optimization of the complex process through modelling and experiments (WPs2&3), as well as estimate the scalability (WP4) and sustainability (WP5) of the truly pioneering greenhouse gas removal technology at the climatically relevant scale. STEPforGGR will produce multiple avenues for career development, cross-sectorial experience, and academic training in a multi-cultural, interdisciplinary and intersectoral environment formed by a consortium of six world-leading research organizations and one industrial partner.

Keywords: greenhouse gases removal,non co2 greenhouse gases,solar up draft tower,negative emission technology
Reprogramming plant development with microbial organic volatile compounds for sustainable food production (ReproDev)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2020-01-01
End date: 2021-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 187572.48
EU funding (EUR): 187572.48
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

There is an urgent need for intensive plant growth methods minimizing the input of nutrients, energy and chemicals while ensuring a high productivity. This project will discover novel bacterial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to improve plant growth and protection against biotic (pathogen) stress under natural (greenhouse) conditions. In addition, the underlying mechanisms of action of VOCs will be explored, especially related to nutrient assimilation and hormone cascade pathways using advanced high throughput molecular techniques. Hence, the main objective of the project is to explore the potential of microbial-derived VOCs as a biotechnology tool to improve plant development under greenhouse conditions. The multidisciplinary nature of the project is strong, involving a combination of well-developed microbiology, biochemistry, and plant pathology and physiology. This proposal includes both the transfer of knowledge to the host institution and the training of the candidate in new advanced techniques. The innovative results of this study will attain not only high impact on the scientific community, farmers and general public, but will also be a step forward towards the commercialization of the cost effective and eco-friendly biomolecules to improve plant health.

Keywords: plant microbe interactions,volatile organic compounds,biological control of plant diseases,microbial,ecology,plant growth promotion
Structured, not stirred: experimental evolution in programmable antibiotic landscapes (EvoSpa)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Germany
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2021-07-01
End date: 2023-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 174806.4
EU funding (EUR): 174806.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Given the looming antibiotic resistance crisis, it is imperative to understand the fundamental determinants of resistance evolution dynamics. When antibiotics are administered to a patient, imperfect drug penetration leads to a highly inhomogeneous concentration profile. In contrast, evolution experiments to study resistance are commonly performed in homogeneous liquid environments. Recently, there has been a surge of theoretical studies suggesting that spatial drug concentration gradients drastically accelerate resistance evolution as resistant mutants evade resource competition by invading drug-enriched territory. However, the effect of spatial structure on evolutionary dynamics remains unclear due to a lack of experimental assays with well-defined, inhomogeneous landscapes. Here, I propose to develop a novel experimental assay where bacteria migrate and evolve on a landscape consisting of hundreds of independently definable environments. This assay will be implemented using custom liquid handling and imaging robots to systematically program antibiotic landscapes and measure evolution on a wide range of drug environments. By combining this novel assay with theoretical modeling, I will investigate evolution in monotonous and rugged drug landscapes. Motivated by theoretical predictions that multi-drug strategies aimed at preventing resistance evolution become compromised in inhomogeneous environments, I will further investigate the effect of spatial inhomogeneity using defined multi-drug landscapes. This project will provide a unique, quantitative and systematic experimental investigation on how spatial structure affects evolutionary dynamics. Beyond bacteria evolving antibiotic resistance, the same concepts apply for tumor resistance evolution. Overall, this project will greatly advance our understanding of resistance evolution with broad biomedical implications.

Keywords: experimental evolution,antibiotic resistance,theoretical modeling,robotic high throughput techniques
Ultra Compact and Highly Eco-efficient Heating System (KB plus)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Smart, green and integrated transport
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: Small business innovation research for Transport and Smart Cities Mobility (H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2017-12-01
End date: 2018-03-31
Duration (months): 4.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Since 1947 Kabola develops, manufactures and sells heating systems for vehicles (boats and wheeled vehicles – truck, vans, etc.) and other applications. Kabola has a broad portfolio of diesel, heating oil and biodiesel boilers adapted to the requirements of its customers. Kabola is well known for its classic red cube heaters HR, Compact 7 and B series. In the last years, the increasing pressure for more efficient and greener heating systems encouraged Kabola to develop the new Kabola Blue Ecoline (KB Eco) series. The KB Eco is the outcome of the implementation of the innovative Kabola Blue technology (The Kabola Blue technology allows diesel to burn a blue flame at around 1.500 ºC compared to the 800 ºC of the yellow flame in conventional systems) into the successful HR series. In comparison with its competitors, KB Eco is much more efficient (94% constant over time vs. a degradable 70-90%) and it does not produce soot (both certified by TÜV), it has the best low emission values (NOx, CO, etc) granted with the eco-label “Blauer Engel” (Blue Angel) and require very low maintenance since there is no soot production. KB Eco is sold now with power outputs from 7 kW to 38 kW. The current KB Eco series is highly efficient and clean, however there are still needs not covered in the market that guarantee the profitability of an improved KB Ecoline version (KB Plus) that will include: a new ultra compact model for vehicles with high restrictions in terms of space such as trucks or vans, higher efficiency in all models reaching an outstanding 106% efficiency thanks to a new design and technology, a new range of higher output power models for large boats, availability of clean water a valuable resource in ships, electrical heating and other improvements. Highly efficient and non pollutant heating systems for vehicles represent a huge business opportunity. Proof of that is the 700 units of the KB Eco sold in the last 2 years. KB Plus will boost the current sales of the KB Eco.

Keywords: vehicles,boats,heating systems trucks,vans,ultra compact,eco efficiency,low emissions
Development of a ncRNA DNA Methylation Kit for the Diagnosis of Cancer of Unknown Primary (EPICUP)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Proof of concept grants
Action type: ERC actions
Countries involved: Spain
Call: ERC Proof of Concept Grant (ERC-2014-PoC, 2014)
Start date: 2015-02-01
End date: 2016-01-31
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 149278.0
EU funding (EUR): 149278.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The innovative idea behind the EPICUP (EPIgenetics of Cancer of Unknown Primary) project is to develop a package demonstrating the feasibility of a high-throughput tool for epigenotyping Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP) to identify tumor type based in the DNA methylation profile of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) loci. CUPs are a heterogeneous group of cancers defined by the presence of metastatic disease with no identified primary tumor at presentation. In those CUPs where the primary tumor type is not identified, the outcome is extremely poor with an expected death within the first six months of the diagnosis. CUP has been reported to comprise approximately 5% of all cancer cases in the world. Despite the introduction of new image technologies and immunohistochemistry methods, more than 50% of CUPs remain anonymous regarding their primary tumor site of origin and, as mentioned, their prognoses are dismal. As part of the ERC Advanced Grant “Epigenetic Disruption on Non-Coding RNAs in Human Cancer” (EPINORC), aimed at determining the contribution of DNA methylation alterations to the aberrant activity of ncRNA loci in human cancer, we have used the most advanced DNA methylation microarray technology to detect CpG methylation changes in a wide variety of ncRNAs (microRNAs, lincRNAs, T-UCRs, snoRNAs, piRNAs...) that show a tumor-type specific pattern. In the current EPICUP Proof of Concept (PoC) proposal, we plan to optimize a ncRNA DNA methylation assay that includes a user-friendly and cost effective approach to improve the clinical diagnosis of CUP cases to an extent that will make it interesting commercially for the health providers and their associated company partners.

Keywords: dna methylation,non coding rnas,cancer of unknown primary,microarray
REACT - Reintegration from Armed Conflict: A Comparative Study of Youth Reintegration from Armed Conflict in Iraq and Gaza (REACT)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2022-09-01
End date: 2024-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 191149.44
EU funding (EUR): 191149.44
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

To what extent can female and male youth engaged in armed conflict be reintegrated into their communities? My project REACT (Reintegration from Armed Conflict) seeks to answer this question through a cross-regional analysis of two contexts: Iraq and the Gaza Strip. Having almost completed my research in the Gaza Strip, REACT will concentrate almost exclusively on Iraq to understand similarities and differences in how youth perceive the possibility of reintegration; and how this interacts with the expectations of their communities, the national government, and the humanitarian and development sector. REACT seeks to contribute to studies on youth in armed conflict, using approaches drawn from social anthropology, critical security studies and social network theory, and based on field research in Gaza and Iraq. REACT departs from the idea that criminalization or (conversely) the treatment of youth as passive victims of adult coercion are effective ways of responding to young people who have been affiliated with armed groups. Instead, this project invites a more complex understanding of the meaning and feasibility of reintegration by directly engaging with youth and their communities, arguing that approaches to engaging with youth formerly affiliated to armed groups should be grounded in their perspectives, as well as those of local ethnic networks and economies. By expanding current knowledge around reintegration and its related policies, the project also aims to provide an empirical platform for policy engagement. Based at the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP) within IHEID, I will train in critical security studies and social network analysis under the supervision of Prof. Riccardo Bocco. Located in the global hub of the humanitarian and development sector in Geneva, CCDP will be an ideal place to further improve my skills in evidence based policy and research dissemination.

Keywords: reintegration,armed conflict,youth,ethnography,iraq,gaza