Seven Portuguese scientists awarded ERC Starting Grants

The European Research Council (ERC) announced in September the attribution of Studentships Starting Grants. The results show the recognition of the work of seven more Portuguese researchers, who were awarded these Studentships European funding for top research. Five are developing research projects in Portugal, two are conducting research in other European countries and all were FCT grantees or researchers.

The Portuguese Starting Grants winners were Ana Patrícia Gonçalves, from the University of Minho, Miguel Cardina, from the Centre for Social Studies (CES), University of Coimbra, Francisco Freire, from the Research Network Centre in Anthropology (CRIA), Pedro Barquinha, from the Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling 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 develops research in mathematical sciences and her project is entitled "Hydrodynamic Limits and Equilibrium Fluctuations: universality from stochastic systems". It aims to analyze and characterize the universality of macroscopic behavior of certain physical systems using underlying microscopic stochastic processes, the so-called particle systems. The goal of the project is to obtain macroscopic laws, namely, (stochastic) partial differential equations, that govern the space-time evolution of the thermodynamic quantities of these systems.

Miguel Cardina is interested in colonialism, anti-colonialism and 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 about the memories of colonial and liberation wars. It will seek to deepen this theme, which it has previously addressed in a study carried out only on national territory. This Studentship will enable the study to be extended to Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe. The project will contribute to confronting a still traumatic past, a consequence of the heavy legacy left by European colonialisms.

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

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

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

In Vienna, Beatriz Viçoso is interested in understanding several aspects of the biology of sex chromosomes and the evolutionary processes that shape their peculiar characteristics, with her research as the theme "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 computation is intertwined 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 may have innovative effects in the discovery of 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 (EU) Research and Innovation Program of the responsibility of Commissioner Carlos Moedas. Portuguese researchers will receive individual Studentships between 1.1 and 1.6 million euros, totaling almost 10 million euros. In this Call were distinguished 325 top scientists across Europe, a total investment of 485 million euros in Studentships research.