Project acronym BOTMED
Project Microrobotics and Nanomedicine
Researcher (PI) Bradley James Nelson
Host Institution (HI) EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE7, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary The introduction of minimally invasive surgery in the 1980’s created a paradigm shift in surgical procedures. Health care is now in a position to make a more dramatic leap by integrating newly developed wireless microrobotic technologies with nanomedicine to perform precisely targeted, localized endoluminal techniques. Devices capable of entering the human body through natural orifices or small incisions to deliver drugs, perform diagnostic procedures, and excise and repair tissue will be used. These new procedures will result in less trauma to the patient and faster recovery times, and will enable new therapies that have not yet been conceived. In order to realize this, many new technologies must be developed and synergistically integrated, and medical therapies for which the technology will prove successful must be aggressively pursued.
This proposed project will result in the realization of animal trials in which wireless microrobotic devices will be used to investigate a variety of extremely delicate ophthalmic therapies. The therapies to be pursued include the delivery of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) to blocked retinal veins, the peeling of epiretinal membranes from the retina, and the development of diagnostic procedures based on mapping oxygen concentration at the vitreous-retina interface. With successful animal trials, a path to human trials and commercialization will follow. Clearly, many systems in the body have the potential to benefit from the endoluminal technologies that this project considers, including the digestive system, the circulatory system, the urinary system, the central nervous system, the respiratory system, the female reproductive system and even the fetus. Microrobotic retinal therapies will greatly illuminate the potential that the integration of microrobotics and nanomedicine holds for society, and greatly accelerate this trend in Europe.
Summary
The introduction of minimally invasive surgery in the 1980’s created a paradigm shift in surgical procedures. Health care is now in a position to make a more dramatic leap by integrating newly developed wireless microrobotic technologies with nanomedicine to perform precisely targeted, localized endoluminal techniques. Devices capable of entering the human body through natural orifices or small incisions to deliver drugs, perform diagnostic procedures, and excise and repair tissue will be used. These new procedures will result in less trauma to the patient and faster recovery times, and will enable new therapies that have not yet been conceived. In order to realize this, many new technologies must be developed and synergistically integrated, and medical therapies for which the technology will prove successful must be aggressively pursued.
This proposed project will result in the realization of animal trials in which wireless microrobotic devices will be used to investigate a variety of extremely delicate ophthalmic therapies. The therapies to be pursued include the delivery of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) to blocked retinal veins, the peeling of epiretinal membranes from the retina, and the development of diagnostic procedures based on mapping oxygen concentration at the vitreous-retina interface. With successful animal trials, a path to human trials and commercialization will follow. Clearly, many systems in the body have the potential to benefit from the endoluminal technologies that this project considers, including the digestive system, the circulatory system, the urinary system, the central nervous system, the respiratory system, the female reproductive system and even the fetus. Microrobotic retinal therapies will greatly illuminate the potential that the integration of microrobotics and nanomedicine holds for society, and greatly accelerate this trend in Europe.
Max ERC Funding
2 498 044 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2016-03-31
Project acronym COBHAM
Project The role of consumer behavior and heterogeneity in the integrated assessment of energy and climate policies
Researcher (PI) Massimo Tavoni
Host Institution (HI) POLITECNICO DI MILANO
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH3, ERC-2013-StG
Summary The objective of this project is to quantify the role of consumers’ behaviour on the design and assessment of policies aimed at enhancing energy efficiency and conservation and at promoting climate change mitigation. The project brings together different disciplines –namely energy policy, environmental and ecological economics, behavioral public finance, experimental economics, and technology policy- in an integrated fashion. COBHAM is designed to go beyond the standard analysis of energy and climate policies in the presence of environmental externalities, by accounting for the heterogeneity in consumers’ preferences, the role of social interactions, and the presence of behavioral tendencies and biases. The project seeks to: i) carry out innovative research in the theoretical understanding of the interplay between behavioral tendencies and environmental externalities; ii) generate new empirical data and research on individual preferences by means of original surveys and controlled experiments; iii) enhance integrated assessment models (IAMs) of economy, energy and climate with an advanced representation of consumers’ behavior. In doing so, the project will be able to provide a richer characterization of energy demand and of greenhouse gas emission scenarios, to better estimate consumers’ responsiveness to energy and climate policies, and to provide input to the design of new policy instruments aimed at influencing energy and environmental sustainable behavior. COBHAM is of high public policy relevance given Europe’s legislation on energy efficiency and CO2 emissions, and can provide important insights also outside the sphere of energy and climate policymaking.
Summary
The objective of this project is to quantify the role of consumers’ behaviour on the design and assessment of policies aimed at enhancing energy efficiency and conservation and at promoting climate change mitigation. The project brings together different disciplines –namely energy policy, environmental and ecological economics, behavioral public finance, experimental economics, and technology policy- in an integrated fashion. COBHAM is designed to go beyond the standard analysis of energy and climate policies in the presence of environmental externalities, by accounting for the heterogeneity in consumers’ preferences, the role of social interactions, and the presence of behavioral tendencies and biases. The project seeks to: i) carry out innovative research in the theoretical understanding of the interplay between behavioral tendencies and environmental externalities; ii) generate new empirical data and research on individual preferences by means of original surveys and controlled experiments; iii) enhance integrated assessment models (IAMs) of economy, energy and climate with an advanced representation of consumers’ behavior. In doing so, the project will be able to provide a richer characterization of energy demand and of greenhouse gas emission scenarios, to better estimate consumers’ responsiveness to energy and climate policies, and to provide input to the design of new policy instruments aimed at influencing energy and environmental sustainable behavior. COBHAM is of high public policy relevance given Europe’s legislation on energy efficiency and CO2 emissions, and can provide important insights also outside the sphere of energy and climate policymaking.
Max ERC Funding
1 451 840 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-08-01, End date: 2019-07-31
Project acronym COMCOM
Project Communication and Computation - Two Sides of One Tapestry
Researcher (PI) Michael Christoph Gastpar
Host Institution (HI) ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE7, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary Networks have been studied in depth for several decades, but one aspect has received little attention: Interference. Most networks use clever algorithms to avoid interference, and this strategy has proved effective for traditional supply-chain or wired communication networks. However, the emergence of wireless networks revealed that simply avoiding interference leads to significant performance loss. A wealth of cooperative communication strategies have recently been developed to address this issue. Two fundamental roadblocks are emerging: First, it is ultimately unclear how to integrate cooperative techniques into the larger fabric of networks (short of case-by-case redesigns); and second, the lack of source/channel separation in networks (i.e., more bits do not imply better end-to-end signal quality) calls for ever more specialized cooperative techniques.
This proposal advocates a new understanding of interference as computation: Interference garbles together inputs to produce an output. This can be thought of as a certain computation, perhaps subject to noise or other stochastic effects. The proposed work will develop strategies that permit to exploit this computational potential. Building on these ``computation codes,'' an enhanced physical layer is proposed: Rather than only forwarding bits, the revised physical layer can also forward functions from several transmitting nodes to a receiver, much more efficiently than the full information. Near-seamless integration into the fabric of existing network architectures is thus possible, providing a solution for the first roadblock. In response to the second roadblock, computation codes suggest new computational primitives as fundamental currencies of information.
Summary
Networks have been studied in depth for several decades, but one aspect has received little attention: Interference. Most networks use clever algorithms to avoid interference, and this strategy has proved effective for traditional supply-chain or wired communication networks. However, the emergence of wireless networks revealed that simply avoiding interference leads to significant performance loss. A wealth of cooperative communication strategies have recently been developed to address this issue. Two fundamental roadblocks are emerging: First, it is ultimately unclear how to integrate cooperative techniques into the larger fabric of networks (short of case-by-case redesigns); and second, the lack of source/channel separation in networks (i.e., more bits do not imply better end-to-end signal quality) calls for ever more specialized cooperative techniques.
This proposal advocates a new understanding of interference as computation: Interference garbles together inputs to produce an output. This can be thought of as a certain computation, perhaps subject to noise or other stochastic effects. The proposed work will develop strategies that permit to exploit this computational potential. Building on these ``computation codes,'' an enhanced physical layer is proposed: Rather than only forwarding bits, the revised physical layer can also forward functions from several transmitting nodes to a receiver, much more efficiently than the full information. Near-seamless integration into the fabric of existing network architectures is thus possible, providing a solution for the first roadblock. In response to the second roadblock, computation codes suggest new computational primitives as fundamental currencies of information.
Max ERC Funding
1 776 473 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2016-04-30
Project acronym COMPASP
Project Complex analysis and statistical physics
Researcher (PI) Stanislav Smirnov
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITE DE GENEVE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE1, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary "The goal of this project is to achieve breakthroughs in a few fundamental questions in 2D statistical physics, using techniques from complex analysis, probability, dynamical systems, geometric measure theory and theoretical physics.
Over the last decade, we significantly expanded our understanding of 2D lattice models of statistical physics, their conformally invariant scaling limits and related random geometries. However, there seem to be serious obstacles, preventing further development and requiring novel ideas. We plan to attack those, in particular we intend to:
(A) Describe new scaling limits by Schramm’s SLE curves and their generalizations,
(B) Study discrete complex structures and use them to describe more 2D models,
(C) Describe the scaling limits of random planar graphs by the Liouville Quantum Gravity,
(D) Understand universality and lay framework for the Renormalization Group Formalism,
(E) Go beyond the current setup of spin models and SLEs.
These problems are known to be very difficult, but fundamental questions, which have the potential to lead to significant breakthroughs in our understanding of phase transitions, allowing for further progresses. In resolving them, we plan to exploit interactions of different subjects, and recent advances are encouraging."
Summary
"The goal of this project is to achieve breakthroughs in a few fundamental questions in 2D statistical physics, using techniques from complex analysis, probability, dynamical systems, geometric measure theory and theoretical physics.
Over the last decade, we significantly expanded our understanding of 2D lattice models of statistical physics, their conformally invariant scaling limits and related random geometries. However, there seem to be serious obstacles, preventing further development and requiring novel ideas. We plan to attack those, in particular we intend to:
(A) Describe new scaling limits by Schramm’s SLE curves and their generalizations,
(B) Study discrete complex structures and use them to describe more 2D models,
(C) Describe the scaling limits of random planar graphs by the Liouville Quantum Gravity,
(D) Understand universality and lay framework for the Renormalization Group Formalism,
(E) Go beyond the current setup of spin models and SLEs.
These problems are known to be very difficult, but fundamental questions, which have the potential to lead to significant breakthroughs in our understanding of phase transitions, allowing for further progresses. In resolving them, we plan to exploit interactions of different subjects, and recent advances are encouraging."
Max ERC Funding
1 995 900 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-01-01, End date: 2018-12-31
Project acronym COMPAT
Project Complex Patterns for Strongly Interacting Dynamical Systems
Researcher (PI) Susanna Terracini
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI TORINO
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE1, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary This project focuses on nontrivial solutions of systems of differential equations characterized by strongly nonlinear interactions. We are interested in the effect of the nonlinearities on the emergence of non trivial self-organized structures. Such patterns correspond to selected solutions of the differential system possessing special symmetries or shadowing particular shapes. We want to understand, from the
mathematical point of view, what are the main mechanisms involved in the aggregation process in terms of the global variational structure of the problem. Following this common thread, we deal with both with the classical N-body problem of Celestial Mechanics, where interactions feature attractive singularities, and competition-diffusion systems, where pattern formation is driven by strongly repulsive forces. More
precisely, we are interested in periodic and bounded solutions, parabolic trajectories with the final intent to build complex motions and possibly obtain the symbolic dynamics for the general N–body problem. On the other hand, we deal with elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic systems of differential equations with strongly competing interaction terms, modeling both the dynamics of competing populations (Lotka-
Volterra systems) and other interesting physical phenomena, among which the phase segregation of solitary waves of Gross-Pitaevskii systems arising in the study of multicomponent Bose-Einstein condensates. In particular, we will study existence, multiplicity and asymptotic expansions of solutions when the competition parameter tends to infinity. We shall be concerned with optimal partition problems
related to linear and nonlinear eigenvalues
Summary
This project focuses on nontrivial solutions of systems of differential equations characterized by strongly nonlinear interactions. We are interested in the effect of the nonlinearities on the emergence of non trivial self-organized structures. Such patterns correspond to selected solutions of the differential system possessing special symmetries or shadowing particular shapes. We want to understand, from the
mathematical point of view, what are the main mechanisms involved in the aggregation process in terms of the global variational structure of the problem. Following this common thread, we deal with both with the classical N-body problem of Celestial Mechanics, where interactions feature attractive singularities, and competition-diffusion systems, where pattern formation is driven by strongly repulsive forces. More
precisely, we are interested in periodic and bounded solutions, parabolic trajectories with the final intent to build complex motions and possibly obtain the symbolic dynamics for the general N–body problem. On the other hand, we deal with elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic systems of differential equations with strongly competing interaction terms, modeling both the dynamics of competing populations (Lotka-
Volterra systems) and other interesting physical phenomena, among which the phase segregation of solitary waves of Gross-Pitaevskii systems arising in the study of multicomponent Bose-Einstein condensates. In particular, we will study existence, multiplicity and asymptotic expansions of solutions when the competition parameter tends to infinity. We shall be concerned with optimal partition problems
related to linear and nonlinear eigenvalues
Max ERC Funding
1 346 145 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31
Project acronym COMPLEXDATA
Project Statistics for Complex Data: Understanding Randomness, Geometry and Complexity with a view Towards Biophysics
Researcher (PI) Victor Michael Panaretos
Host Institution (HI) ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE1, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary The ComplexData project aims at advancing our understanding of the statistical treatment of varied types of complex data by generating new theory and methods, and to obtain progress in concrete current biophysical problems through the implementation of the new tools developed. Complex Data constitute data where the basic object of observation cannot be described in the standard Euclidean context of statistics, but rather needs to be thought of as an element of an abstract mathematical space with special properties. Scientific progress has, in recent years, begun to generate an increasing number of new and complex types of data that require statistical understanding and analysis. Four such types of data that are arising in the context of current scientific research and that the project will be focusing on are: random integral transforms, random unlabelled shapes, random flows of functions, and random tensor fields. In these unconventional contexts for statistics, the strategy of the project will be to carefully exploit the special aspects involved due to geometry, dimension and randomness in order to be able to either adapt and synthesize existing statistical methods, or to generate new statistical ideas altogether. However, the project will not restrict itself to merely studying the theoretical aspects of complex data, but will be truly interdisciplinary. The connecting thread among all the above data types is that their study is motivated by, and will be applied to concrete practical problems arising in the study of biological structure, dynamics, and function: biophysics. For this reason, the programme will be in interaction with local and international contacts from this field. In particular, the theoretical/methodological output of the four programme research foci will be applied to gain insights in the following corresponding four application areas: electron microscopy, protein homology, DNA molecular dynamics, brain imaging.
Summary
The ComplexData project aims at advancing our understanding of the statistical treatment of varied types of complex data by generating new theory and methods, and to obtain progress in concrete current biophysical problems through the implementation of the new tools developed. Complex Data constitute data where the basic object of observation cannot be described in the standard Euclidean context of statistics, but rather needs to be thought of as an element of an abstract mathematical space with special properties. Scientific progress has, in recent years, begun to generate an increasing number of new and complex types of data that require statistical understanding and analysis. Four such types of data that are arising in the context of current scientific research and that the project will be focusing on are: random integral transforms, random unlabelled shapes, random flows of functions, and random tensor fields. In these unconventional contexts for statistics, the strategy of the project will be to carefully exploit the special aspects involved due to geometry, dimension and randomness in order to be able to either adapt and synthesize existing statistical methods, or to generate new statistical ideas altogether. However, the project will not restrict itself to merely studying the theoretical aspects of complex data, but will be truly interdisciplinary. The connecting thread among all the above data types is that their study is motivated by, and will be applied to concrete practical problems arising in the study of biological structure, dynamics, and function: biophysics. For this reason, the programme will be in interaction with local and international contacts from this field. In particular, the theoretical/methodological output of the four programme research foci will be applied to gain insights in the following corresponding four application areas: electron microscopy, protein homology, DNA molecular dynamics, brain imaging.
Max ERC Funding
681 146 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-06-01, End date: 2016-05-31
Project acronym DIOPHANTINE PROBLEMS
Project Integral and Algebraic Points on Varieties, Diophantine Problems on Number Fields and Function Fields
Researcher (PI) Umberto Zannier
Host Institution (HI) SCUOLA NORMALE SUPERIORE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE1, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary Diophantine problems have always been a central topic in Number Theory, and have shown deep links with other basic mathematical topics, like Algebraic and Complex Geometry. Our research plan focuses on some issues in this realm, which are strictly interrelated. In the last years the PI and collaborators obtained several results on integral and algebraic points on varieties, which have inspired much subsequent research by others, and which we plan to develop further. In particular:
We plan a further study of integral points on varieties, and applications to Algebraic Dynamics, a possibility which has emerged recently.
We plan to study further the so-called `Unlikely intersections'. This theme contains celebrated issues like the Manin-Mumford conjecture. After work of the PI with Bombieri and Masser in the last 10 years, it has been the object of much recent work and also of new conjectures by R. Pink and B. Zilber. Here a new method has recently emerged in work of the PI with Masser and Pila, which also leads (as shown by Pila) to signi_cant new cases of the Andr_e-Oort conjecture. We intend to pursue in this kind of investigation, exploring further the range of the methods.
Finally, we plan further study of topics of Diophantine Approximation and Hilbert Irreducibility, connected with the above ones in the contents and in the methodology.
Summary
Diophantine problems have always been a central topic in Number Theory, and have shown deep links with other basic mathematical topics, like Algebraic and Complex Geometry. Our research plan focuses on some issues in this realm, which are strictly interrelated. In the last years the PI and collaborators obtained several results on integral and algebraic points on varieties, which have inspired much subsequent research by others, and which we plan to develop further. In particular:
We plan a further study of integral points on varieties, and applications to Algebraic Dynamics, a possibility which has emerged recently.
We plan to study further the so-called `Unlikely intersections'. This theme contains celebrated issues like the Manin-Mumford conjecture. After work of the PI with Bombieri and Masser in the last 10 years, it has been the object of much recent work and also of new conjectures by R. Pink and B. Zilber. Here a new method has recently emerged in work of the PI with Masser and Pila, which also leads (as shown by Pila) to signi_cant new cases of the Andr_e-Oort conjecture. We intend to pursue in this kind of investigation, exploring further the range of the methods.
Finally, we plan further study of topics of Diophantine Approximation and Hilbert Irreducibility, connected with the above ones in the contents and in the methodology.
Max ERC Funding
928 500 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-02-01, End date: 2016-01-31
Project acronym E-MOBILE
Project Enhanced Modeling and Optimization of Batteries Incorporating Lithium-ion Elements
Researcher (PI) Mathieu Maurice Luisier
Host Institution (HI) EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE7, ERC-2013-StG
Summary "Developing rechargeable batteries with larger storage capacity, higher output power, faster charge/discharge time, and longer calendar lifetime could significantly impact the economical and environmental future of the European Union. New generations of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) based on nanostructured electrodes are perfect candidates to supply all-electrical vehicles and favor the usage of renewable energies instead of fossil fuels. Hence, the global LIB revenue is expected to expand from $11 billion in 2011 up to $50 billion in 2020. The goal of this project is therefore to provide an advanced simulation and optimization platform to design LIBs with improved performance and increase the competitiveness of Europe in this domain. The proposed computer aided design (CAD) tool must satisfy three key requirements in order to reach this ambitious objective: (i) computational efficiency, (ii) results accuracy, and (iii) automated predictability. Massively parallel computing has been identified as the enabling technology to handle the first requirement. The second one will be addressed by implementing a state-of-the-art device operation model relying on a multi-scale resolution of the battery electrodes, a detailed description of the electron and ion motions, a material parametrization derived from ab-initio quantum transport techniques, and a validation of the approach through comparisons with experimental measurements. Finally, to meet the last requirement, the operation model will be coupled to a genetic algorithm optimizer capable of automatically predicting the LIB configuration that best matches pre-defined performance targets. The resulting CAD tool will be released as an open source package so that the entire battery community can benefit from it."
Summary
"Developing rechargeable batteries with larger storage capacity, higher output power, faster charge/discharge time, and longer calendar lifetime could significantly impact the economical and environmental future of the European Union. New generations of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) based on nanostructured electrodes are perfect candidates to supply all-electrical vehicles and favor the usage of renewable energies instead of fossil fuels. Hence, the global LIB revenue is expected to expand from $11 billion in 2011 up to $50 billion in 2020. The goal of this project is therefore to provide an advanced simulation and optimization platform to design LIBs with improved performance and increase the competitiveness of Europe in this domain. The proposed computer aided design (CAD) tool must satisfy three key requirements in order to reach this ambitious objective: (i) computational efficiency, (ii) results accuracy, and (iii) automated predictability. Massively parallel computing has been identified as the enabling technology to handle the first requirement. The second one will be addressed by implementing a state-of-the-art device operation model relying on a multi-scale resolution of the battery electrodes, a detailed description of the electron and ion motions, a material parametrization derived from ab-initio quantum transport techniques, and a validation of the approach through comparisons with experimental measurements. Finally, to meet the last requirement, the operation model will be coupled to a genetic algorithm optimizer capable of automatically predicting the LIB configuration that best matches pre-defined performance targets. The resulting CAD tool will be released as an open source package so that the entire battery community can benefit from it."
Max ERC Funding
1 492 800 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-10-01, End date: 2018-09-30
Project acronym ENTROPHASE
Project Entropy formulation of evolutionary phase transitions
Researcher (PI) Elisabetta Rocca
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE1, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary The ground-breaking nature of the project relies on the possibility of opening new horizons
with a novel mathematical formulation of physical problems.
The project aim is indeed to obtain relevant mathematical results in order to
get further insight into new models for phase transitions and the
corresponding evolution PDE systems. The new approach presented here turns
out to be particularly helpful within the investigation of issues like as existence, uniqueness,
control, and long-time behavior of the solutions for such evolutionary PDEs.
Moreover, the importance of the opportunity to apply such new theory to phase transitions lies
in the fact that such phenomena arise in a variety of applied problems like, e.g.,
melting and freezing in solid-liquid mixtures, phase changes in solids, crystal growth, soil freezing,
damage in elastic materials, plasticity, food conservation, collisions, and so on. From
the practical viewpoint, the possibility to describe these phenomena in a quantitative way
has deeply influenced the technological
development of our society, stimulating the related mathematical interest.
Summary
The ground-breaking nature of the project relies on the possibility of opening new horizons
with a novel mathematical formulation of physical problems.
The project aim is indeed to obtain relevant mathematical results in order to
get further insight into new models for phase transitions and the
corresponding evolution PDE systems. The new approach presented here turns
out to be particularly helpful within the investigation of issues like as existence, uniqueness,
control, and long-time behavior of the solutions for such evolutionary PDEs.
Moreover, the importance of the opportunity to apply such new theory to phase transitions lies
in the fact that such phenomena arise in a variety of applied problems like, e.g.,
melting and freezing in solid-liquid mixtures, phase changes in solids, crystal growth, soil freezing,
damage in elastic materials, plasticity, food conservation, collisions, and so on. From
the practical viewpoint, the possibility to describe these phenomena in a quantitative way
has deeply influenced the technological
development of our society, stimulating the related mathematical interest.
Max ERC Funding
659 785 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2017-03-31
Project acronym ESKIN
Project Stretchable Electronic Skins
Researcher (PI) Stephanie Perichon Ep Lacour
Host Institution (HI) ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE7, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary Future electronic systems will be soft and elastic. I propose to explore the materials, technology and integration of stretchable electronic systems, which will transform at will, evenly coat a spherical lens, or smoothly interface with a delicate biological organ. Electronics will be anywhere as well as everywhere. The proposed programme has the potential to emulate yet another revolution in the microelectronics industry and trigger transformations in the biomedical sector.
The ESKIN programme is an ambitious and highly interdisciplinary endeavour requiring expertise at the frontier of engineering, material sciences, biotechnology and neuroscience. Stretchability in an electronic system is its ability to negotiate mechanical deformations without letting them interfere with its electrical functionality. This is a novel and challenging demand on electronic device technology, which has, to date, mainly pushed for smaller scale fabrication and increased performance. Furthermore the natural compliance of biological tissues and cells calls for softer electronic biomedical interfaces. Overcoming the hard to soft mechanical mismatch will, without doubt, open up new horizons in biomedical research and its related industries.
The manufacture of stretchable electronic skins will then require working out the underlying science and technology for active device materials on soft, elastic substrates. This capability will further be implemented to demonstrate various soft and elastic electronic systems ranging from stretchable displays to long-term neural implants. My philosophy is to exploit as much as possible current micro/nanofabrication techniques available for hard surfaces but to tailor them to soft surfaces , optimizing and improving them where needed, in order to ensure rapid transition to worldwide distributed consumer and healthcare products.
Summary
Future electronic systems will be soft and elastic. I propose to explore the materials, technology and integration of stretchable electronic systems, which will transform at will, evenly coat a spherical lens, or smoothly interface with a delicate biological organ. Electronics will be anywhere as well as everywhere. The proposed programme has the potential to emulate yet another revolution in the microelectronics industry and trigger transformations in the biomedical sector.
The ESKIN programme is an ambitious and highly interdisciplinary endeavour requiring expertise at the frontier of engineering, material sciences, biotechnology and neuroscience. Stretchability in an electronic system is its ability to negotiate mechanical deformations without letting them interfere with its electrical functionality. This is a novel and challenging demand on electronic device technology, which has, to date, mainly pushed for smaller scale fabrication and increased performance. Furthermore the natural compliance of biological tissues and cells calls for softer electronic biomedical interfaces. Overcoming the hard to soft mechanical mismatch will, without doubt, open up new horizons in biomedical research and its related industries.
The manufacture of stretchable electronic skins will then require working out the underlying science and technology for active device materials on soft, elastic substrates. This capability will further be implemented to demonstrate various soft and elastic electronic systems ranging from stretchable displays to long-term neural implants. My philosophy is to exploit as much as possible current micro/nanofabrication techniques available for hard surfaces but to tailor them to soft surfaces , optimizing and improving them where needed, in order to ensure rapid transition to worldwide distributed consumer and healthcare products.
Max ERC Funding
1 499 738 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-03-01, End date: 2016-02-29
