These appointments are for an initial term of four years. The new members will take office on 1 January 2025, replacing current members whose second term has ended or is about to expire. 

The two new ERC Scientific Council members are:

• Prof. Tomaž Prosen, University of Ljubljana, whose research focuses on fundamental questions of non-equilibrium statistical and quantum physics, and
• Prof. Maarit Karppinen, Aalto University, whose research is in the area of inorganic materials chemistry. 

In addition, the Commission renewed the term of office of three current members for an extended period of two years. They are:

• Prof. Liselotte Højgaard, 
• Prof. Dirk Inzé,
• Prof. Nicola Spaldin.

Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: 

‘The European Research Council is a symbol of scientific excellence, and the expertise and vision of these distinguished scholars will further enhance its mission. By appointing world-class researchers like Professors Prosen and Karppinen, we are reinforcing our commitment to supporting groundbreaking research that drives innovation across Europe. I would also like to thank the outgoing members for their important contribution to the ERC Scientific Council’s work.’

President of the European Research Council, Prof. Maria Leptin, said: 

‘We are very happy to be welcoming two new members in the new year and look forward to continuing to work with the members whose mandates have been renewed. The governing body of the ERC is independent and represents the entire scientific community in Europe in all its breadth. The identification committee, tasked with its renewal, has again ensured both quality and continuity. I also warmly thank the outgoing members for their great dedication to an organisation that has raised the level of science in Europe over the past seventeen years.’

Biographies

Maarit Karppinen received her doctoral degree in inorganic chemistry from the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland, in 1993. After a few teaching and research fellow positions in Finland, she accepted firstly a visiting professorship (1995) and later a regular professor chair (2001) in Japan at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, where she built a multidisciplinary research group focusing on new material research. In 2006 she returned to her alma mater (named Aalto University since 2010) to head the inorganic chemistry laboratory with long traditions in atomic layer deposition thin-film research. She acted as the Head of the Chemistry Department for 2008-2014, and between 2009 and 2013 she also held the prestigious Academy Professor position. Currently, she is renowned for her pioneering research on atomic/molecular layer deposition fabricated inorganic-organic thin films for various applications in (opto)electronics and energy conversion and storage.  It is in this research field that she has received two ERC Advanced Grants. She has had several visiting professorships in Asia, USA and Europe, including Visiting International Professorship at Ruhr-University Bochum since 2016. Since 2017, she has been Aalto Distinguished Professor.

Tomaž Prosen has been full professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Ljubljana since 2008. He is leading the research group on nonequilibrium quantum and statistical physics. After finishing a PhD at University of Ljubljana in 1995 and a postdoctoral stay at Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris, he has been employed at the University of Ljubljana since 1996. His field of research is theoretical and mathematical physics. More specifically, he focuses on analytical and computational studies of dynamics, time-dependent and non-equilibrium phenomena in strongly coupled (correlated) many-body systems. He is an elected member of Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts and has been decorated with several national and international awards, including the Zois Prize, the highest national Slovenian prize for outstanding achievements in research, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, and Physikpreis Dresden. Prosen has been a recipient of two ERC Advanced Grants and is a member of ERC Consolidator Grant evaluation panel PE2 since 2020.

About the ERC 

The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four core grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants. With its additional Proof of Concept Grant scheme, the ERC helps grantees to bridge the gap between their pioneering research and early phases of its commercialisation. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council. Maria Leptin has been the President of the ERC since November 2021. The overall ERC budget from 2021 to 2027 is more than €16 billion, as part of the Horizon Europe programme, under the responsibility of European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova.