fbpx ERC Starting Grants, italian researchers don't shine | Science in the net

ERC Starting Grants, italian researchers don't shine

Primary tabs

Pubblicato il 25/07/2013Read time: 2 mins

The European Research Council (ERC) revealed the projects that have won the 2013 edition – the sixth and last one for the FP7 – of the Starting Grants for young researchers. The 287 winners, with a post-doc experience ranging from 2 to 7 years, will be awarded with a total amount of 44 millions of euro (maximum 2 millions for a single researcher) for 5 years of activity. The selected projects covered a wide range of topics that can be viewed here.

“The European Research Council has shaken up the research framework for young talents and improved the role of research in Europe”, said Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science. “We are funding a kind of research that will contribute to the progress of human knowledge and the development of new products that one day could become part of our daily life. ERC is an established mark of eccellence and Horizon 2020 will allow it to grow even more.”

However, there was a downward trend for Italian researchers: our country was at the bottom of the rank, with only 8 funded projects in the fields of physics, engineering, social sciences and life sciences. Better than us did Spain (14 winners), France (30 winners), Israel (32 winners) and Germany (46).

Here are the names of the Italian winners:

  • Paola Cappellaro, European Laboratory for non Linear Spectroscopy (LENS), with the project Q-SenS2 “Quantum-Enhanced Sensors with Single Spins” (Panel PE2)
  • Marco Vignati, University La Sapienza, with the project CALDER “Cryogenic wide-Area Light Detectors with Excellent Resolution” (Panel PE1)
  • Valentina Bosetti, Bocconi University, with the project RISICO “RISk and uncertainty in developing and Implementing Climate change pOlicies” (Panel SH3)
  • Olivier Collignon, University of Trento, with the project MADVIS “Mapping the Deprived Visual System: Cracking function for prediction” (Panel SH4)
  • Marco Sgarbi, University of Verona, with the project ARISTOTLE “Aristotle in the Italian Vernacular: Rethinking Renaissance and Early-Modern Intellectual History (c. 1400–c. 1650)” (Panel SH5)
  • Massimo Tavoni, Eni Foundation Enrico Mattei, with the project COBHAM “The role of consumer behavior and heterogeneity in the integrated assessment of energy and climate policies” (Panel SH3)
  • Dario Bonanomi, San Raffaele Hospital, with the project NEVAI “Neurovascular Interactions and Pathfinding in the Spinal Motor System” (Panel LS5)
  • Francesco Ricci, University Tor Vergata, with the project NATURE NANODEVICES “Nature-inspired theranostic nanodevices for tumor imaging, early diagnosis and targeted drug-release” (Panel LS7)

The next calls for Starting Grants will be announced under Horizon 2020.

Autori: 
di redazione
Sezioni: 
News
Indice: 
Scientific research policy
Horizon 2020
Titolo: 
ERC ranking: young researchers on the run

prossimo articolo

Discovered a New Carbon-Carbon Chemical Bond

di Chiara D'Errico
Pubblicato il 16/10/2024

A group of researchers from Hokkaido University has provided the first experimental evidence of the existence of a new type of chemical bond: the single-electron covalent bond, theorized by Linus Pauling in 1931 but never verified until now. Using derivatives of hexaarylethane (HPE), the scientists were able to stabilize this unusual bond between two carbon atoms and study it with spectroscopic techniques and X-ray diffraction. This discovery opens new perspectives in understanding bond chemistry and could lead to the development of new materials with innovative applications.

In the cover image: study of the sigma bond with X-ray diffraction. Credits: Yusuke Ishigaki

Chemistry

After nearly a year of review, on September 25, a study was published in Nature that has sparked a lot of discussion, especially among chemists. A group of researchers from Hokkaido University synthesized a molecule that experimentally demonstrated the existence of a new type of chemical bond, something that does not happen very often.