Four Delfts researchers receive ERC grant

The ERC laureates for 2024 are: Prof. Oded Cats (Professor of Transport in the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences), Prof. Tatiana Filatova, Professor of Computational Economics (Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management), Dr Liedewij Laan, researcher in bionanoscience (Faculty of Applied Sciences, TNW), and Dr Toeno van der Sar, researcher in magnetic microscopy techniques in the Department of Quantum Nanoscience (TNW).

Research

Plane or train? For climate goals, the train is the preferred option, but in terms of cost and convenience, planes often win. With his project 3MARS, Oded Cats aims to design effective alternative network developments and policy measures to encourage more sustainable choices for long-distance travel.

Tatiana Filatova and her team will develop socioeconomic simulation models for climate disasters such as floods and wildfires in the Sphinx project (Systemic Physical Climate Risk in Complex Adaptive Economies). They aim to understand how these disasters could threaten the economy and society. “We still lack a complete understanding of the key processes that amplify these risks, and there are very few detailed studies on this topic,” says Filatova.

Liedewij Laan is exploring the intriguing question in her PolarRobustness project: why is the loss of a group of proteins, considered essential for cell polarisation, not fatal? She explains: “To understand this remarkable resilience, we will build a digital twin of these cells to investigate how the proteins achieve this collectively. Ultimately, we hope this research will improve predictions for slowing down resistance during cancer treatments.”

Toeno van der Sar studies magnetic waves (known as spin waves) as signal carriers for new microtechnology, particularly in the gigahertz range for wireless communication in computers. One challenge is their weak coupling with control signals. In his Magicwave project, he will use superconductors to develop spin-wave-optical components capable of generating, directing, amplifying, and detecting spin waves.

In this round, the ERC is distributing a total of €678 million in grants to experienced researchers.

Consolidator Grants allow recipients to set up their own research teams. The ERC estimates that this round will fund some 2,750 postdocs, PhDs and other staff.

This funding round, the ERC is distributing a total of 678 million euros in grant money to experienced researchers in 25 EU countries and 20 other countries that contribute to the Horizon Europe research programme.

There were 2,313 grant applications this year, of which 328 (14.2 percent) were successful. With 67 Consolidator Grants, Germany is head and shoulders above the rest. The 37 grants secured by the Netherlands puts it almost on par with France and the UK, which each received 38 grants.

Waste of talent

This year, the Council had 51 million euros more to distribute compared to 2023. ERC president Maria Leptin regrets that despite this increase, many researchers will miss out this year. “This waste of talent can only be avoided if Europe invests more in fundamental research.”

The Horizon programme will likely have to cut 2.1 billion euros from its budget over the next three years, although the final word on this has not yet been spoken.

HOP, Hein Cuppen / Delta, Jos Wassink
Translation: Taalcentrum-VU