Seven Portuguese scientists awarded ERC Starting Grants

In September, the European Research Council (ERC) announced the award of Studentships Starting Grants. The results reveal the recognition of the work of seven more Portuguese researchers who have been awarded these European Studentships funding top research. Five are carrying out research projects in Portugal, two are conducting research in other European countries and all were FCT grant holders or researchers.

The Portuguese winners of the Starting Grants were Ana Patrícia Gonçalves, from the University of Minho, Miguel Cardina, from the Center for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra, Francisco Freire, from the Anthropology Research Network Center (CRIA), Pedro Barquinha, from the Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodeling and Nanofabrication (CENIMAT/I3N, FCT NOVA), Joaquim Alves Gaspar, from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (FCUL), Beatriz Viçoso, from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, and Bruno Correia, from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland).

Ana Patrícia Gonçalves is conducting research in mathematical sciences and her project is entitled "Hydrodynamic Limits and Equilibrium Fluctuations: universality from stochastic systems". It aims to analyse and characterize the universality of the macroscopic behaviour of certain physical systems, using underlying microscopic stochastic processes, the so-called particle systems. The aim of the project is to obtain macroscopic laws, namely (stochastic) partial differential equations, which govern the space-time evolution of the thermodynamic quantities of these systems.

Miguel Cardina is interested in colonialism, anti-colonialism and the colonial war. His study "Crossed Memories, Politics of Silence: The Colonial-Liberation Wars in Postcolonial Times" has as its main challenge the production of innovative knowledge on the memories of the colonial and liberation wars. It will seek to deepen this theme, which it has already addressed in a study carried out only in Portugal. This Studentship will enable the study to be extended to Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe. The project will help to confront a still traumatic past, a consequence of the heavy legacy left by European colonialism.

Francisco Freire, an anthropologist with a particular interest in the study of Islam and Mauritania, proposes an analysis of the reconfigurations established in the political-social vocabulary of the Western Saharan region - southern Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania - from the "post-empire" to contemporary times. The project approved by the ERC is entitled "Critical Approaches to Politics, Social Activism, and Islamic Militancy in the Western Saharan Region (Mauritania, Western Sahara, Southern Morocco)".

Pedro Barquinha, a graduate in Materials Engineering from FCT NOVA, where he is currently an Assistant Professor in the Materials Science Department, submitted the project "TREND - Transparent and flexible electronics with embedded energy harvesting based on oxide nanowire devices" to the ERC Call This project aims to create flexible and transparent surfaces that are truly intelligent, capable of processing information and are self-powered. It will use nanocircuits based on multicomposite oxide nanowires, using sustainable and recyclable materials, with low-temperature processing and compatible with large-scale production. Its development will lead to innovative products in areas such as consumer electronics or even wearables for medical applications.

Joaquim Alves Gaspar's research project, entitled "The Medieval and Early Modern Nautical Chart: Birth, Evolution and Use", proposes to solve a series of fundamental and open questions in the History of Cartography, using innovative techniques - cartometric analysis, numerical modeling and multispectral analysis of charts - to complement traditional methods of historical research. The researcher also hopes to highlight the enormous contribution made by the Portuguese to scientific knowledge of the world at the time of the Discoveries and maritime expansion.

In Vienna, Beatriz Viçoso is interested in understanding various aspects of the biology of sex chromosomes and the evolutionary processes that shape their peculiar characteristics, with her research theme being "Prevalence and influence of sexual antagonism in genome evolution". Her project will be carried out at the Austrian Institute of Science and Technology.

Bruno Correia leads research in a protein design and immunoengineering laboratory in Switzerland. His research project, entitled "Computational Design of Novel Functional Proteins for Immunoengineering", is a multidisciplinary proposal, where computing is interlinked with experimentation (biochemistry, structural biology and immunology), in which computational design is used in the search for new functional proteins for immunoengineering. The results of this study could have innovative effects in terms of discovering new therapies: vaccines and cancer immunotherapy.

These Studentships Starting Grants, aimed at researchers with 2 to 7 years of post-doctoral experience, were awarded under the "Science of Excellence" pillar of Horizon 2020, the European Union's (EU) Research and Innovation Program under the responsibility of Commissioner Carlos Moedas. Portuguese researchers will receive individual Studentships of between 1.1 and 1.6 million euros, totaling almost 10 million euros. In this Call 325 top scientists from all over Europe were distinguished, with a total investment of 485 million euros in research Studentships .