• Posted 07-Sep-2020

ERC STARTING GRANTS 2020: €677 MILLION AWARDED TO UNRAVEL SCIENTIFIC MYSTERIES

What can be done to improve the efficacy of vaccines? How can we predict our future climate? What is the environmental impact of nanoplastics? Are there alternative economic models to endless economic growth? What is the nature of dark matter in the Universe? Four hundred thirty-six laureates of the 2020 European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants competition will now be able to tackle these and other big scientific questions at universities and research centres across Europe.

The funding, worth in total €677 million, will help these early-career scientists and scholars to build their own teams and conduct pioneering research across all disciplines. The grants are part of the EU’s Research and Innovation programme, Horizon 2020.

The grantees are a diverse group with 40 different nationalities. Amongst the winners, 20 researchers are moving to Europe from further afield thanks to the funding. The new grantees will be based in 25 countries across Europe, with Germany (88 grants), the UK (62), the Netherlands (42) and France (38) as top locations. Some 13% of applications were selected for funding in this round.

These Starting Grants will create an estimated 2,500 jobs for postdoctoral fellows, PhD students and other staff at the host institutions.

• Examples of the research selected for funding
• Starting Grants 2020 - fact and figures

List of researchers selected for funding:

• All grants
• Grants in physical sciences and engineering
• Grants in life sciences
• Grants in social sciences and humanities

Source: European Research Council News (https://bit.ly/3jSZIbt)