Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
GEM-TRAIT: The Global Ecosystems Monitoring and Trait Study: a novel approach to quantifying the role of biodiversity in the functioning and future of tropical forests. (GEM-TRAIT)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Earth system science
Countries involved: United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2012-ADG_20120216, 2012)
Start date: 2013-05-01
End date: 2018-04-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2500000.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

This proposal directly addresses one of the great challenges in Earth system science: how will the terrestrial biosphere respond to global atmospheric change and, more specifically, how does the biodiversity of the biosphere moderate or affect that response? This proposal focuses on tropical forests. We are currently unable to understand how tropical forests will respond to climate change because there is (i) a data-deficit: we simply do not have the data to understand the relationship between tropical forest diversity and ecosystem science; and (ii) a theory-deficit: we have not developed an adequate and quantitative theoretical framework to relate functional biodiversity to ecosystem function. This proposal will directly address both these deficits. Firstly, I will build a unique global tropical ecosystems monitoring network (GEM), that will measure in comprehensive detail the structure, productivity and metabolism of 47 tropical forest sites over a globally synchronous 2.5 year period. In addition, I will develop a large dataset of functional diversity by collecting functional traits of leaves and wood. Secondly, the theory deficit will be addressed by drawing on the recent development of a novel mathematical formalism that links biodiversity to ecosystem function. This formalism focuses on the distribution of traits within an ecosystem, links this distribution to ecosystem function, and develops predictions of how the shape of the distribution is controlled by environment, biological interactions and previous states of the ecosystem. I will further develop this theory, test its predictions against my unique field data, and ultimately use it to develop a new biodiversity-focussed way of representing tropical forests in ecosystem and Earth system models. This new approach used to answer questions such as: how does the functional diversity of tropical forests affect their resilience to climate change, and how will this diversity respond to atmospheric change?

Keywords: biodiversity,carbon cycle,climate change,tropical forests
Search and study of the Higgs bosons at the LHC (HIGGS@LHC)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Fundamental constituents of matter
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2012-ADG_20120216, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2018-02-28
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1160005.18
EU funding (EUR): 1160005.18
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The major issue and the forefront research activity in particle physics today is the exploration of the mechanism that generates the elementary particle masses. In the Standard Model that describes three of the four basic forces in nature - the electromagnetic, weak and strong interactions - this fundamental mechanism leads to the existence of a new type of particle, the Higgs boson, which has escaped detection so far. The discovery of this particle, which will have a paramount importance and far-reaching implications, is the major goal of the CERN Large Hadron Collider which recently started operation after 20 years of preparation. The observation of the Higgs boson at the LHC and the determination of its fundamental properties will be the essential issue addressed by the present research project. A comprehensive investigation of the various Higgs boson detection channels at the LHC, production mechanisms and decay modes, as well as the major sources of backgrounds will be performed in a way that is as close as possible to the experimental conditions. Precise theoretical predictions, including higher order quantum effects, will be provided and the associated uncertainties will be assessed. The implications of observing the Higgs particle for the Standard Model and for new physics beyond it, such as supersymmetric theories and models with extra space-time dimensions, will be investigated in detail. Besides the Principal Investigator who will devote 80% of his time on the project, the research team will be formed by theoretical physicists from three laboratories in the Paris area, LPT Orsay, LPTHE Jussieu and IPhT Saclay, as well as a staff member of the CERN Theory Unit. This group will be completed by the six postdoctoral fellows and two PhD students that will be appointed. The duration of the project, five years, will crucially coincide with the period in which the LHC is expected to make major breakthroughs in the field under investigation.

Keywords: higgs boson,large hadron collider,production and decay processes,detection signals and background,higgs fundamental properties,standard model,supersymmetry,extra dimensions,new physics.
Isotopic records of solar nebula evolution and controls on planetary compositions (ISONEB)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Earth system science
Countries involved: United Kingdom,United Kingdom,Germany
Call:  (ERC-2012-ADG_20120216, 2012)
Start date: 2013-07-01
End date: 2019-06-30
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 3425271.0
EU funding (EUR): 3425271.0
Participants: 4
Project status: CLOSED

This project has three linked strands that will combine to constrain the birth environment of the solar system and the nebular processes that shape bulk planetary compositions. Firstly, I will use ultra-high precision isotope ratio measurements in bulk meteorites to determine the stellar origin of the pre-solar of material that controls the gross compositional differences between planetary bodies. Secondly I will identify the mineralogical hosts of this isotopic variability, using in situ laser ablation analyses with a unique collision-cell multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometer, developed in close collaboration with an industrial partner (Thermo Fisher) as part of the project. Thirdly, I will establish a chronology for the mixing of the pre-solar material within the nebula, by dating individual meteorite components (chondrules) using ‘absolute’ Pb and relative 26Al-26Mg approaches and analysing the same aliquots for their mass-independent isotopic compositions. These observations will be quantitatively interpreted using novel numerical models of particle dynamics in the protoplanetary disk, in collaboration with Fred Cieala. This is an ambitious project that builds on the analytical prowess of the laboratory I have developed at Bristol and couples this with challenging technical developments and inter-disciplinary, modelling calculations. This work will radically improve our understanding of the history of the early solar system and the fundamental processes that shape its evolution.

Keywords: isotope cosmochemistry chemical evolution of the solar system mass independent isotopic variations
An integrated multidisciplinary tissue engineering approach combining novel high-throughput screening and advanced methodologies to create complex biomaterials-stem cells constructs (COMPLEXITE)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Products and process engineering
Countries involved: Portugal
Call:  (ERC-2012-ADG_20120216, 2012)
Start date: 2013-05-01
End date: 2018-04-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2320000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2320000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

New developments on tissue engineering strategies should realize the complexity of tissue remodelling and the inter-dependency of many variables associated to stem cells and biomaterials interactions. ComplexiTE proposes an integrated approach to address such multiple factors in which different innovative methodologies are implemented, aiming at developing tissue-like substitutes with enhanced in vivo functionality. Several ground-breaking advances are expected to be achieved, including: i) improved methodologies for isolation and expansion of sub-populations of stem cells derived from not so explored sources such as adipose tissue and amniotic fluid; ii) radically new methods to monitor human stem cells behaviour in vivo; iii) new macromolecules isolated from renewable resources, especially from marine origin; iv) combinations of liquid volumes mingling biomaterials and distinct stem cells, generating hydrogel beads upon adequate cross-linking reactions; v) optimised culture of the produced beads in adequate 3D bioreactors and a novel selection method to sort the beads that show a (pre-defined) positive biological reading; vi) random 3D arrays validated by identifying the natural polymers and cells composing the positive beads; v) 2D arrays of selected hydrogel spots for brand new in vivo tests, in which each spot of the implanted chip may be evaluated within the living animal using adequate imaging methods; vi) new porous scaffolds of the best combinations formed by particles agglomeration or fiber-based rapid-prototyping. The ultimate goal of this proposal is to develop breakthrough research specifically focused on the above mentioned key issues and radically innovative approaches to produce and scale-up new tissue engineering strategies that are both industrially and clinically relevant, by mastering the inherent complexity associated to the correct selection among a great number of combinations of possible biomaterials, stem cells and culturing conditions.

Keywords: tissue engineering,natural origin polymers,surface engineering,in vitro/in vivo assessment,scaffolds,biomaterials,biomimetics,stem cells isolation and culture,high-throughput,smart systems
Personal Cryptography (PERCY)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Computer science and informatics
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call:  (ERC-2012-ADG_20120216, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2018-02-28
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2467700.0
EU funding (EUR): 2467700.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The amount of personal data stored in digital form has grown tremendously. All aspects of our lives are concerned. Our data include family pictures, insurance documents, bills and receipts, health records, cryptographic keys, electronic identities, certificates, and passwords. We store and process them on several personal devices as well as in the cloud via services such as Flickr or Facebook. Managing these data is challenging: they have to be updated, backed up, synchronised across devices, and shared. In case of emergency, health records must be accessible to doctors or designated family members. Many of these data are sensitive, but adequately protecting them is virtually impossible for private users with current tools. Encrypting data makes managing them only harder. It destroys much of the functionality that users have come to expect such as synchronising and sharing; mismanagement of encryption keys might even render data illegible to the owner himself. Our goal is to develop fundamentally new cryptographic primitives, protocols, and policy languages that let human users deal with cryptographic keys and encrypted personal data. We will invent mechanisms that 1) enable humans to securely store and retrieve cryptographic keys based on a single human-memorisable password, on biometrics, on hardware tokens; 2) enable end users to manage their various cryptographic keys and encrypted data via these keys; and 3) enable users and cloud hosts to perform useful operations on encrypted data without needing to decrypt. Our mechanisms will run on resource-constrained devices, i.e., they will be efficient and yet secure in the sense that they provide security guarantees, especially in the presence of untrusted cloud hosts. Our basic cryptographic research aims at infusing growth of a research community around protection mechanisms for end-user keys and data and to initiate follow-up collaborative projects to deploy our theoretical results in the real world

Keywords: privacy protection,cryptographic protocols,password based authentication,encrypting personal data,security for end-users,practical protocols
Building Integrated Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (BI-DSC)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Products and process engineering
Countries involved: Portugal
Call:  (ERC-2012-ADG_20120216, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2018-08-31
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1989300.0
EU funding (EUR): 1989300.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In the last decade, solar and photovoltaic (PV) technologies have emerged as a potentially major technology for power generation in the world. So far the PV field has been dominated by silicon devices, even though this technology is still expensive.Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) are an important type of thin-film photovoltaics due to their potential for low-cost fabrication and versatile applications, and because their aesthetic appearance, semi-transparency and different color possibilities.This advantageous characteristic makes DSC the first choice for building integrated photovoltaics.Despite their great potential, DSCs for building applications are still not available at commercial level. However, to bring DSCs to a marketable product several developments are still needed and the present project targets to give relevant answers to three key limitations: encapsulation, glass substrate enhanced electrical conductivity and more efficient and low-cost raw-materials. Recently, the proponent successfully addressed the hermetic devices sealing by developing a laser-assisted glass sealing procedure.Thus, BI-DSC proposal envisages the development of DSC modules 30x30cm2, containing four individual cells, and their incorporation in a 1m2 double glass sheet arrangement for BIPV with an energy efficiency of at least 9% and a lifetime of 20 years. Additionally, aiming at enhanced efficiency of the final device and decreased total costs of DSCs manufacturing, new materials will be also pursued. The following inner-components were identified as critical: carbon-based counter-electrode; carbon quantum-dots and hierarchically TiO2 photoelectrode. It is then clear that this project is divided into two research though parallel directions: a fundamental research line, contributing to the development of the new generation DSC technology; while a more applied research line targets the development of a DSC functional module that can be used to pave the way for its industrialization.

Keywords: dye-sensitized solar cells
New frOntiers in Galaxy spectrAl modeLing (NEOGAL)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Universe sciences
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2012-ADG_20120216, 2012)
Start date: 2013-05-01
End date: 2018-04-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2400555.6
EU funding (EUR): 2400555.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

NEOGAL is an intensive, coordinated effort to explore uncharted territory in the early chemical evolution of galaxies through the development of an innovative set of spectral analysis tools. This will be achieved through the accomplishment of four interdisciplinary projects using state-of-the-art techniques: 1. The development of a new approach overcoming the limitations of existing methods, to measure the chemical composition of ionized gas with unknown heavy element abundance ratios in high-redshift galaxies; 2. The combination of this approach with sophisticated models of the ultraviolet emission from young stellar populations, to allow differentiated constraints on the chemical composition of stars and gas; 3. The combination of these models with cosmological simulations of galaxy formation, to identify the spectral signatures of competing scenarios of early chemical evolution in observations of statistical samples of high-redshift galaxies; 4. The development of an integrated web service to allow the astronomical community at large to exploit these models to interpret observations of distant galaxies. The spectral analysis tools developed in the framework of this project will open powerful new opportunities to probe the early star formation and chemical enrichment histories of galaxies. Moreover, by allowing the consistent interpretation of stellar and nebular emission, these tools will provide valuable constraints on parameters such as the escape fraction of ionizing photons and hence the contribution by galaxies to the ionizing background. These models therefore should have a profound impact on the optimal design of future surveys of primeval galaxies that will be carried out with the next generation of large facilities, such as the James Webb Space Telescope and the European Extremely Large Telescope.

Keywords: galaxy spectral modeling
Complex Plasmonics at the Ultimate Limit: Single Particle and Single Molecule Level (COMPLEXPLAS)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Condensed matter physics
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (ERC-2012-ADG_20120216, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2018-02-28
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2000000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2000000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Nano-optical investigations using plasmonic resonances have revolutionized optics in the last few years. The ability to concentrate light in subwavelength dimensions and to locally enhance the strength of the electromagnetic field in a tailored fashion opened several new fields in materials research, such as tailoring the linear and nonlinear properties of optical materials at will. So-called metamaterials allow now to design and realize unprecedented optical properties on the submicrometer level and hence tailor dispersion as well as real and imaginary parts of the linear and nonlinear refractive indices as a function of wavelength and wavevector. Our ability to create two- and three-dimensional nanostructures with advanced fabrication technologies have led to the new era of complex plasmonics. We are able to tailor the spectral response of complex metallic nanostructures, including the creation of very sharp and narrow resonances. In combination with strong field localization and hence large dependence on the material properties of the nanostructure geometry and its surrounding, unique sensors with sensitivities close to fundamental limits should be within reach. In my proposal, I would like to explore the ultimate limits of light-matter interaction using complex plasmonic nanostructures. I would like to apply them to different physical, chemical, and biological situations and undertake the first steps from fundamental insight into first applications. Namely, I would like to investigate complex plasmonics in four different contexts: single molecule reactions on complex surfaces, antenna-enhanced structural analysis of large single molecules, such as proteins, motion sensing of conformational changes of single molecules, as well as chiral sensing down to the single molecule level, hence ultimately being able to distinguish a single D-glucose molecule from its L-glucose enantiomer. This would bridge the gap between nanophysics, chemistry, and biology.

Keywords: plasmonics,nanooptics,sensing,chirality,single particle spectroscopy,molecular sensitivity
The formation of massive galaxies: the roles of dust-obscured starbursts and AGN activity (DUSTYGAL)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Universe sciences
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2012-ADG_20120216, 2012)
Start date: 2013-01-01
End date: 2018-12-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2050123.0
EU funding (EUR): 2050123.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

I propose an integrated programme to determine the role of dust-obscured starburst activity and AGN growth in the formation and evolution of galaxies. This programme will exploit three, new cutting-edge observational facilities: the SCUBA-2 submillimetre camera, which will provide the first panoramic surveys of luminous, but highly obscured, sources out to the highest redshifts; the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), which will provide sub-kpc imaging of the distribution of dust and gas within these sources to understand the physics of their activity; the e-MERLIN radio telescope, which will map the distribution of star formation and AGN activity at sub-kpc scales in these systems. I lead major international surveys on all three facilities and I propose to develop and combine these projects to provide a single focused programme to understand the processes which trigger obscured activity at high redshifts and their role in determining the properties of galaxies at the present day.
Electroactive Donor-Acceptor Covalent Organic Frameworks (ECOF)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Materials and Synthesis
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (ERC-2012-ADG_20120216, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2019-02-28
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2431728.0
EU funding (EUR): 2431728.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The effective conversion of light into chemical or electrical energy is one of the major challenges of humanity during the 21st century. Organic bulk heterojunctions of polymers or aggregates of small molecules combining donor- and acceptor-functionality offer promising prospects for effective light-induced energy conversion. In order to efficiently utilize the solar energy, interpenetrating networks of donor- and acceptor components are often required. While impressive advances have been achieved in organic photovoltaics systems, so far a deterministic control of their nanoscale morphology has been elusive. It would be a major breakthrough to develop model systems with well-defined periodic, interpenetrating networks of electron donor- and acceptor-phases. It is the goal of this project to create such highly defined model systems, to enhance our understanding of the relationship between the electronic and structural parameters and the resulting light-induced charge carrier dynamics. To pursue this challenge, we base our strategy on the recently discovered conceptual paradigm of Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs). COFs are a class of highly porous, organic crystalline materials that are held together by covalent bonds between molecular building blocks. In a concerted team effort with organic chemists, we will create COFs with different π-stacked heteroaromatic electron donor- and acceptor moieties, thus forming highly ordered interpenetrating networks for light-induced charge separation. This interdisciplinary program is unique as we join the forces of top-level organic synthesis with advanced nanoscience and in-depth physical characterization in one team.

Keywords: covalent organic frameworks,organic photovoltaics