Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Improving tropical forest conservation in Africa (AFRIFOR)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Human Mobility, Environment, and Space
Panel description: Human geography, demography, health, susta inability science, territorial planning, spatial analysis
Countries involved: Norway
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2022-COG, 2022)
Start date: 2024-07-01
End date: 2029-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1984243.0
EU funding (EUR): 1984243.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for better balancing tropical forest conservation and poverty alleviation goals is increasingly recognised. Yet, in Africa, poor understanding of the impact of harvesting on species’ populations and forest carbon stocks, together with little information on the traditional institutions which have informally regulated NTFPs extraction in the past -and could continue to do so in the future-, hamper the use of NTFPs in both forest conservation and development initiatives. AFRI-FOR will gather the knowledge needed to determine (1) the key enablers of sustainable harvesting for groups of plant or wild meat species, (2) which types of NTFP harvesting can have synergies with carbon storage, and (3) how traditional institutions can be integrated into formal conservation. To achieve these objectives, AFRI-FOR provide new methods, including (i) a new interdisciplinary approach for investigating NTFPs harvesting impacts, combining traditional ecological knowledge (TEK, from local communities), surveys of plants and wildlife, market surveys and modelling techniques; and (ii) a novel standardised protocol for gathering information about traditional institutions and compliance towards them. AFRI-FOR will gather data and knowledge from 20 socio-ecological forest contexts in five countries (Sierra Leone, Cameroon, DR Congo, Uganda and Kenya), which will allow insights to transcend single sites and provide a much-needed general understanding. This high-risk and high-gain project will provide a step-change in our ability to inform forest conservation in Africa, by identifying synergies between biodiversity conservation, carbon storage and poverty alleviation goals.

Keywords: tropical forests,conservation,biodiversity,carbon storage,cultural values,poverty alleviation
Decisive early crosstalk in bone repair: vessel, nerve and stem cell interactions in healthy and Neurofibromatosis type 1 conditions (CROSSBONE)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: France
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-06-01
End date: 2027-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 226420.56
EU funding (EUR): 226420.56
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Bone fractures are common traumatic injuries and a significant global health challenge. Successful healing depends on skeletal stem progenitor cells (SSPCs) producing cartilage and bone via a complex process. New vessel and nerve formations in the bone microenvironment are also crucial to determine the healing outcome. When disrupted, bone healing is impaired and fibrosis emerges, impacting patients’ life. In current research on bone repair disorders, there is a lack of understanding of initial triggers influencing cell differentiation and healing outcomes. In Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), the host laboratory identified an early SSPC shift from a chondrogenic fate to a fibrotic fate promoting fibrosis instead of bone formation. Analysing the factors causing this cell fate shift is essential to understand altered mechanisms in pathological conditions. CROSSBONE will address these needs by unveiling the SSPC niche initial regulatory mechanisms influencing bone healing and fibrosis. It will analyse healthy fracture healing, detailing angiogenesis, reinnervation and SSPC interactions. Then I will investigate NF1 pathological mechanisms, focusing on this crosstalk and how it can disrupt healing. The project will use complementary in vitro and in vivo experiments, single-cell transcriptomics, and advanced tools to dissect spatial-temporal crosstalk after fractures. These interdisciplinary methodologies will provide a comprehensive understanding of bone healing in healthy and pathological conditions. CROSSBONE will enhance my professional development, boosting independence and competitiveness for my future career. The findings will potentially impact the management of diseases where fibrosis influences bone healing, benefiting scientists, clinicians and patients in related fields. Integrating various disciplines and techniques, CROSSBONE aims to contribute pioneering insights into bone healing and fibrosis, supporting new therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: fibrosis,skeletal stem progenitor cells,fracture repair,nf1,single cell transcriptomics,genetic mouse models,periosteum,cartilage,schwann cells
MOdeling and Reduction of Aeroacoustics Sources of Interaction Noise in Aviation (MORASINA)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Products and Processes Engineering
Panel description: Product and process design, chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical, vehicle engineering, energy processes and relevant computational methods
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2023-COG, 2023)
Start date: 2024-10-01
End date: 2029-09-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1988158.0
EU funding (EUR): 1988158.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The target of climate-neutral aviation has led to a strong increase in the size of new propulsion systems, resulting in their lowered distance to the airframe components. This causes new aerodynamic interactions with heavy distortion of the turbulent flow, determining unpredictable sources of noise. Mitigating this interaction noise would allow to deploy radically new aircraft configurations capable of reducing up to 20% of the current aviation emissions. While studies from literature have tried to correct discrepancies larger than 10 dB from acoustic predictions by a-posteriori tuning the models to very specific flow patterns, recent results from my team have shed light on the physics behind the unpredictability of these noise sources. Results hinted that the geometrical deformation of the turbulent flow from its original pattern might explain the origin of interaction noise. To solve this puzzle, with MORASINA I aim at first understanding how the flow and the turbulence are distorted in archetypal interactions between rotating and stationary aerodynamic objects. My objective is to discover the unknown mathematical formulation to model this distortion mechanism and to use it to create the first holistic acoustic model for predictions of interaction noise. By innovatively describing the interaction mechanisms with mathematical functions related to the geometrical distortion of the flow, I will find an answer to whether different flow fields can be assimilated in a unique fundamental flow pattern. With this knowledge, I will create the first acoustic model based on a mathematical “flow twin” to accurately predict interaction noise. For maximum impact on the society, I will extend the model to equipollent interaction mechanisms with a neural network approach trained on the results, allowing the use of the prediction framework for reducing interaction noise in the design of the next generation of zero-emission and silent aircraft.

Keywords: aeroacoustics,modeling,interaction,noise,flow structures,instabilities
Design and Catalytic Applications of Photoactivated Frustrated Lewis Pairs (PhotoFLPs)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Chemistry
Countries involved: Spain
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2025-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 181152.96
EU funding (EUR): 181152.96
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

In 2006 Douglas Stephan described the first reversible metal-free hydrogen activation via frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs). In these pairs, the presence of bulky substituents in both the Lewis acid and base precludes the formation of the Lewis pair, creating a highly polarised pocket that can activate small and organic molecules. Although mostly of the FLPs seem to react via two electron processes, a few FLPs have shown radical reactivity, namely frustrated radical pair (FRP). This radical reactivity has been already used in synthetic applications of interest like C-C bond formation. However, there are very limited of examples of main group FRPs, which formation depend entirely of the nature of the substituents of the Lewis acid and Base. Another interesting type of FLPs are those in which either the LA or the LB is constituted by a transition metal (TM), which eases the possibility of catalytic applications, due to the high versatility and reactivity of TMs. Regarding transition metal only FLP (TMOFLPs), the first example was described recently by the group of Jesus Campos. Constituted by Au/Pt as LB and LA and LB respectively, this pairs have shown activity in the activation of small molecules like hydrogen or acetylene. In this project, the family of known MG FRPs will be extended with the rational design of a family of photoactivated FRPs. This novel FRPs will be then tested in the activation of small molecules and C-O bond activation reactions. Following this approach, a family of hybrid transition metal/main group photoactivated FRPs will be prepared, and their reactivity will be tested both in small molecules activation and potential catalytic applications of interest such as ethereal C-O bond activation. Finally, a family of photoactivated TMOFLPs will be prepared. The family of known TMOFLPs will be extended to 1st row TMs, and the photoexcitation of these pairs will be explored for unprecedented catalytic applications.

Keywords: main group chemistry,frustrated lewis pairs
Chasing plasma storms on exoplanets (STORM-CHASER)

Framework: Horizon Europe — 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: Netherlands
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2021-STG, 2021)
Start date: 2022-06-01
End date: 2027-05-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1487199.0
EU funding (EUR): 1487199.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Are there other worlds out there that can sustain life? A key factor in the ability of a planet to host life is its atmosphere. Stars can erode planetary atmospheres by bombarding the planet with plasma. How well planets can protect their atmospheres depends on the strength of their magnetic fields. We do not know the ultimate fate of exoplanet atmospheres because we have neither detected massive plasma ejections on stars nor measured the magnetic fields of exoplanets. Both of these shortcomings can be solved with sensitive radio observations at low frequencies (< 300 MHz). Previous radio observations did not simultaneously have the sensitivity and on-sky exposure to detect the faint, transient radio signals from stars and exoplanets. In this project, I will deploy a novel strategy to mine over 20,000 hours of existing data from the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), the most sensitive telescope at low frequencies. I will achieve two orders of magnitude better sensitivity and/or time-on-sky than previous efforts to accomplish two goals: (1) the first detection of massive plasma ejection events on stars and (2) the first measurement of exoplanetary magnetic fields. My novel data-mining strategy, aided by my theoretical expertise in the generation and propagation of radio waves in astrophysical plasma, has already led to pioneering discoveries. These include the first evidence for radio emission from the magnetic interaction between a star and its exoplanet and the first discovery of a brown dwarf using radio data. An ERC grant will allow me to scale up my efforts to tackle petabytes of data and search for radio signals over trillions of image pixels to achieve the goals of this project. It will lead to a leap in our understanding of the plasma environment of exoplanets around stars of different types and ages and the underlying laws that determine the magnetic field strength of exoplanets.

Keywords: space plasma,magnetospheres
Farming as Equals: A Philosophical Investigation of Land Grabbing through the lens of Distributive Justice (PHILGRAB)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: Netherlands,Switzerland
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-09-01
End date: 2027-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 232916.16
EU funding (EUR): 232916.16
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

This research project aims to address the question whether land grabbing engenders a distinct moral concern—one that has not been sufficiently explored. Recent studies in political philosophy that directly address land grabbing take its moral distinctiveness to involve in the way land grabbing undermines territorial rights. A territorial-rights-approach may partially account for paradigmatic instances of land grabbing involving massive dispossession of land from small-scale farmers and of indigenous populations from their ancestral commons. It, however, overlooks increasingly intricate, ‘pin-prick’, forms of land grabbing present in the EU that involve transfer of ownership and control rights over relatively small individual plots of land in such a way that that the aggregate area of land can be quite extensive. In addition, theories about why territories matter for a state do not tell us anything about why land matters for a farmer. I hypothesise that, my preferred conception of distributive justice in farmland—'farming as equals’— offers a more promising moral diagnosis: (1) it maps out an analytical framework within which justice in the distribution of farmland is underwritten by concerns about the equality of farmers; (2) clarifies what is morally distinctive about land grabbing in all its multiple permutations; (3) applies theoretical insights to agricultural and land policies (such as CAP), legal protection of the rights of farmers, and to policy instruments related to environmental justice; and (4) deploys valid normative principles for scrutinising the neoliberal economic model where the concept of ownership (in farmland) is depersonalised and land is transformed from a vital resource for food security to a tradable commodity and an object of speculation. Finally, I believe that the innovative approach this project employs is suitable for addressing concerns of justice between generations as it pertains to inequalities in the distribution of farmland.

Keywords: land grabbing,distributive justice,eu common agricultural policy cap,land access
Observing Binaries in Transition Discs (ORBIT-D)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Physics
Countries involved: Italy,Germany
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 (HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01, 2022)
Start date: 2023-09-01
End date: 2025-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 172750.08
EU funding (EUR): 172750.08
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Star formation begins when the densest regions in molecular clouds collapse under their own weight forming so called “young stellar objects” (YSOs), i.e. protostars surrounded by a gas+dust disc (known as “protostellar” or “protoplanetary” disc), expected to be the birth place of planets in this newly formed proto-exo-solar systems. The advancements during the past decade in our observational capabilities revealed that 10% of the observed protostellar discs in YSOs present large (~10 –100 au) dust and gas depleted cavities surrounding their protostars, as well as a number of spectacular features such as spirals, shadows and other non-axisymmetric over-densities. Discs with cavities have been historically referred to as “transition discs” and are among the brightest and most studied YSOs in close star forming regions. The presence of a massive planet (several Jupiter masses) interacting with the disc has been shown to be an effective mechanism for forming dust/gas cavities and the observed structures. The possibility that binary stars, i.e. much more massive and luminous than giant planets, could lie unresolved in the centre of transition disc cavities has been little explored, mainly because of the argument: “if they were present they should be visible”. However, both theory and observations hint that such binaries could be much harder to be detected than previously thought, supporting the idea that some transition discs could be in fact “circumbinary”. Shedding light on this issue represents the heart of the “Observing Binaries in Transition-Discs” (ORBIT-D) project. ORBIT-D has the ambitious goal of providing an ultimate answer to the question “Which transition discs are circumbinary discs surrounding undetected binaries?”. Identifying circumbinary discs in the transition disc population is key for answering a number of open questions about the process of star and planet formation — widely acknowledged as major research priority by the scientific community.

Keywords: protoplanetary discs transition discs circumbinary discs binary disc interaction theory hydrodynamics
Perovskite triple and quadruple junction solar cells (PERSTACK)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Synthetic Chemistry and Materials
Panel description: New materials and new synthetic approaches, structure -properties relations, solid state chemistry, molecular architecture, organic chemistry
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: ERC ADVANCED GRANTS (ERC-2022-ADG, 2022)
Start date: 2024-01-01
End date: 2028-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2999926.0
EU funding (EUR): 2999926.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Metal halide perovskite solar cells have advanced from an intriguing scientific discovery into a viable option for future renewable energy. Record single and tandem junction perovskite solar cells already provide power efficiencies close to 26% and 30%, respectively. The aim of this project is to achieve the next target in photovoltaic energy conversion by developing perovskite triple and quadruple junction solar cells towards efficiencies of 35% to 40% using cheap solution-processable materials and affordable technologies. This is a tremendous challenge that has not been attempted. It involves designing and making new materials and device architectures that push every single step in the conversion process close to its intrinsic limits, and eliminate any electrical and optical losses close to perfection. The project will focus on solving important hurdles to reach this ambitious goal. New perovskites will be designed by compositional engineering to create thin-film materials with optical bandgaps in the range of 1.2 to 2.3 eV. Unique spectroscopic techniques will identify the nature and location of the defects, either in the bulk or at interfaces with the charge-selective contacts, that give rise to nonradiative recombination of electrons and holes and that thereby contribute a loss of open-circuit voltage, limiting the performance. By adapting deposition conditions, using passivation strategies, and synthesizing new materials for the selective collection of electrons and holes these losses are minimized to provide optimized sub-cells in the required bandgap regions. Guided by optical modeling, monolithic triple and quadruple junction solar cells will be fabricated by stacking three or four different bandgap perovskite sub-cells in series using recombination junctions designed to provide near-zero electrical and optical losses. This challenging but promising effort can result in solar cells that provide power conversion efficiencies between 35% and 40%.

Keywords: metal halide perovskites,multijunction solar cells,charge transport layers,photovoltaics
Non-invasive monitoring of oil paintings’ degradation via volatile emissions (PaintWatch)

Framework: Horizon Europe — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Postdoctoral Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Chemistry
Countries involved: Netherlands,Luxembourg
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 (HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01, 2024)
Start date: 2025-09-01
End date: 2027-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 217076.16
EU funding (EUR): 217076.16
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Oil paints are characterised by complex chemical curing, ageing and degradation processes. These can lead to challenging conservation issues such as delamination of the paint or formation of disfiguring new components. The chemistry behind these phenomena is an ongoing research topic. Nevertheless, effectively addressing the conservation issues requires a quick and confident method to assess the degradation status of the painting. For this purpose, innovative emission collection methods are very promising to non-invasively investigate the composition and thereby the conservation state of artworks. Emission analysis can detect the volatile compounds emitted by the painting. The goal of the PaintWatch action will be to correlate volatile emissions from oil paintings with their health state. This will be done by developing a protocol for the study of volatile emissions, based on a fully non-invasive sampling strategy coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. This method will have no impact on the integrity of the artwork, thus allowing frequent analysis and monitoring of ongoing damage processes. This goal will be achieved by the systematic study of emissions from oil paint mock-ups, naturally and artificially aged, and validation with the results from historical oil paintings. Statistical and multivariate data analysis methods will be used to identify significant trends, and all the results will be published in an online open-access database. PaintWatch will be the first step in the use of headspace analysis for the conservation of oil paintings. In the future, the developed protocol will have the potential to be further adapted to study the condition of other complex and multi-layered materials, in the cultural heritage field and beyond.

Keywords: volatile organic compounds emissions oil paints conservation paintings cultural heritage heritage science headspace analysis degradation