Portuguese science continues to grow: ERC Advanced Grants secure an additional €4.35 million

Scientists Rui Reis and Adélio Mendes were awarded prestigiousAdvanced Grants by the European Research Council (ERC), securing total funding of €4.35 million for their projects.

President of Associate Laboratory at the University of Minho, Rui Reis, 45, will use the €2.35 million he has been awarded to create methods that evaluate the complex interaction between stem cells and materials. This is a project in the field of tissue engineering (regenerative medicine).

Adélio Mendes, 48, from the Laboratory of Process, Environment, and Energy Engineering (LEPAE) at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, is studying ways to make dye-sensitized solar cells, an alternative form of photovoltaic cells, more competitive. The €2 million in funding now obtained could lead to the widespread use, within 10 years, of affordable and aesthetic photovoltaic technology that transforms sunlight into electricity, halving energy bills.

The two researchers now awarded Studentships bring to 11 the number of Portuguese scientists who, throughout 2012, have had their projects awarded this important funding (four Advanced Grants, seven Starting Grants). This figure makes the current year the most significant ever in terms of funding from that European entity secured by Portuguese science.