Project acronym 15CBOOKTRADE
Project The 15th-century Book Trade: An Evidence-based Assessment and Visualization of the Distribution, Sale, and Reception of Books in the Renaissance
Researcher (PI) Cristina Dondi
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH6, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary The idea that underpins this project is to use the material evidence from thousands of surviving 15th-c. books, as well as unique documentary evidence — the unpublished ledger of a Venetian bookseller in the 1480s which records the sale of 25,000 printed books with their prices — to address four fundamental questions relating to the introduction of printing in the West which have so far eluded scholarship, partly because of lack of evidence, partly because of the lack of effective tools to deal with existing evidence. The book trade differs from other trades operating in the medieval and early modern periods in that the goods traded survive in considerable numbers. Not only do they survive, but many of them bear stratified evidence of their history in the form of marks of ownership, prices, manuscript annotations, binding and decoration styles. A British Academy pilot project conceived by the PI produced a now internationally-used database which gathers together this kind of evidence for thousands of surviving 15th-c. printed books. For the first time, this makes it possible to track the circulation of books, their trade routes and later collecting, across Europe and the USA, and throughout the centuries. The objectives of this project are to examine (1) the distribution and trade-routes, national and international, of 15th-c. printed books, along with the identity of the buyers and users (private, institutional, religious, lay, female, male, and by profession) and their reading practices; (2) the books' contemporary market value; (3) the transmission and dissemination of the texts they contain, their survival and their loss (rebalancing potentially skewed scholarship); and (4) the circulation and re-use of the illustrations they contain. Finally, the project will experiment with the application of scientific visualization techniques to represent, geographically and chronologically, the movement of 15th-c. printed books and of the texts they contain.
Summary
The idea that underpins this project is to use the material evidence from thousands of surviving 15th-c. books, as well as unique documentary evidence — the unpublished ledger of a Venetian bookseller in the 1480s which records the sale of 25,000 printed books with their prices — to address four fundamental questions relating to the introduction of printing in the West which have so far eluded scholarship, partly because of lack of evidence, partly because of the lack of effective tools to deal with existing evidence. The book trade differs from other trades operating in the medieval and early modern periods in that the goods traded survive in considerable numbers. Not only do they survive, but many of them bear stratified evidence of their history in the form of marks of ownership, prices, manuscript annotations, binding and decoration styles. A British Academy pilot project conceived by the PI produced a now internationally-used database which gathers together this kind of evidence for thousands of surviving 15th-c. printed books. For the first time, this makes it possible to track the circulation of books, their trade routes and later collecting, across Europe and the USA, and throughout the centuries. The objectives of this project are to examine (1) the distribution and trade-routes, national and international, of 15th-c. printed books, along with the identity of the buyers and users (private, institutional, religious, lay, female, male, and by profession) and their reading practices; (2) the books' contemporary market value; (3) the transmission and dissemination of the texts they contain, their survival and their loss (rebalancing potentially skewed scholarship); and (4) the circulation and re-use of the illustrations they contain. Finally, the project will experiment with the application of scientific visualization techniques to represent, geographically and chronologically, the movement of 15th-c. printed books and of the texts they contain.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 172 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
Project acronym ADaPt
Project Adaptation, Dispersals and Phenotype: understanding the roles of climate,
natural selection and energetics in shaping global hunter-gatherer adaptability
Researcher (PI) Jay Stock
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARSOF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH6, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary Relative to other species, humans are characterised by considerable biological diversity despite genetic homogeneity. This diversity is reflected in skeletal variation, but we lack sufficient understanding of the underlying mechanisms to adequately interpret the archaeological record. The proposed research will address problems in our current understanding of the origins of human variation in the past by: 1) documenting and interpreting the pattern of global hunter-gatherer variation relative to genetic phylogenies and climatic variation; 2) testing the relationship between environmental and skeletal variation among genetically related hunter-gatherers from different environments; 3) examining the adaptability of living humans to different environments, through the study of energetic expenditure and life history trade-offs associated with locomotion; and 4) investigating the relationship between muscle and skeletal variation associated with locomotion in diverse environments. This will be achieved by linking: a) detailed study of the global pattern of hunter-gatherer variation in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene with; b) ground-breaking experimental research which tests the relationship between energetic stress, muscle function, and bone variation in living humans. The first component tests the correspondence between skeletal variation and both genetic and climatic history, to infer mechanisms driving variation. The second component integrates this skeletal variation with experimental studies of living humans to, for the first time, directly test adaptive implications of skeletal variation observed in the past. ADaPt will provide the first links between prehistoric hunter-gatherer variation and the evolutionary parameters of life history and energetics that may have shaped our success as a species. It will lead to breakthroughs necessary to interpret variation in the archaeological record, relative to human dispersals and adaptation in the past.
Summary
Relative to other species, humans are characterised by considerable biological diversity despite genetic homogeneity. This diversity is reflected in skeletal variation, but we lack sufficient understanding of the underlying mechanisms to adequately interpret the archaeological record. The proposed research will address problems in our current understanding of the origins of human variation in the past by: 1) documenting and interpreting the pattern of global hunter-gatherer variation relative to genetic phylogenies and climatic variation; 2) testing the relationship between environmental and skeletal variation among genetically related hunter-gatherers from different environments; 3) examining the adaptability of living humans to different environments, through the study of energetic expenditure and life history trade-offs associated with locomotion; and 4) investigating the relationship between muscle and skeletal variation associated with locomotion in diverse environments. This will be achieved by linking: a) detailed study of the global pattern of hunter-gatherer variation in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene with; b) ground-breaking experimental research which tests the relationship between energetic stress, muscle function, and bone variation in living humans. The first component tests the correspondence between skeletal variation and both genetic and climatic history, to infer mechanisms driving variation. The second component integrates this skeletal variation with experimental studies of living humans to, for the first time, directly test adaptive implications of skeletal variation observed in the past. ADaPt will provide the first links between prehistoric hunter-gatherer variation and the evolutionary parameters of life history and energetics that may have shaped our success as a species. It will lead to breakthroughs necessary to interpret variation in the archaeological record, relative to human dispersals and adaptation in the past.
Max ERC Funding
1 911 485 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-07-01, End date: 2019-06-30
Project acronym COMOTION
Project Controlling the Motion of Complex Molecules and Particles
Researcher (PI) Jochen Kuepper
Host Institution (HI) STIFTUNG DEUTSCHES ELEKTRONEN-SYNCHROTRON DESY
Country Germany
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE4, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "The main objective of COMOTION is to enable novel experiments for the investigation of the intrinsic properties of large molecules, including biological samples like proteins, viruses, and small cells
-X-ray free-electron lasers have enabled the observation of near-atomic-resolution structures in diffraction- before-destruction experiments, for instance, of isolated mimiviruses and of proteins from microscopic crystals. The goal to record molecular movies with spatial and temporal atomic-resolution (femtoseconds and picometers) of individual molecules is near.
-The investigation of ultrafast, sub-femtosecond electron dynamics in small molecules is providing first results. Its extension to large molecules promises the unraveling of charge migration and energy transport in complex (bio)molecules.
-Matter-wave experiments of large molecules, with currently up to some hundred atoms, are testing the limits of quantum mechanics, particle-wave duality, and coherence. These metrology experiments also allow the precise measurement of molecular properties.
The principal obstacle for these and similar experiments in molecular sciences is the controlled production of samples of identical molecules in the gas phase. We will develop novel concepts and technologies for the manipulation of complex molecules, ranging from amino acids to proteins, viruses, nano-objects, and small cells: We will implement new methods to inject complex molecules into vacuum, to rapidly cool them, and to manipulate the motion of these cold gas-phase samples using combinations of external electric and electromagnetic fields. These external-field handles enable the spatial separation of molecules according to size, shape, and isomer.
The generated controlled samples are ideally suited for the envisioned precision experiments. We will exploit them to record atomic-resolution molecular movies using the European XFEL, as well as to investigate the limits of quantum mechanics using matter-wave interferometry."
Summary
"The main objective of COMOTION is to enable novel experiments for the investigation of the intrinsic properties of large molecules, including biological samples like proteins, viruses, and small cells
-X-ray free-electron lasers have enabled the observation of near-atomic-resolution structures in diffraction- before-destruction experiments, for instance, of isolated mimiviruses and of proteins from microscopic crystals. The goal to record molecular movies with spatial and temporal atomic-resolution (femtoseconds and picometers) of individual molecules is near.
-The investigation of ultrafast, sub-femtosecond electron dynamics in small molecules is providing first results. Its extension to large molecules promises the unraveling of charge migration and energy transport in complex (bio)molecules.
-Matter-wave experiments of large molecules, with currently up to some hundred atoms, are testing the limits of quantum mechanics, particle-wave duality, and coherence. These metrology experiments also allow the precise measurement of molecular properties.
The principal obstacle for these and similar experiments in molecular sciences is the controlled production of samples of identical molecules in the gas phase. We will develop novel concepts and technologies for the manipulation of complex molecules, ranging from amino acids to proteins, viruses, nano-objects, and small cells: We will implement new methods to inject complex molecules into vacuum, to rapidly cool them, and to manipulate the motion of these cold gas-phase samples using combinations of external electric and electromagnetic fields. These external-field handles enable the spatial separation of molecules according to size, shape, and isomer.
The generated controlled samples are ideally suited for the envisioned precision experiments. We will exploit them to record atomic-resolution molecular movies using the European XFEL, as well as to investigate the limits of quantum mechanics using matter-wave interferometry."
Max ERC Funding
1 982 500 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-09-01, End date: 2019-08-31
Project acronym ESTYMA
Project Excited state quantum dynamics in molecular aggregates: a unified description from biology to devices
Researcher (PI) Alessandro Troisi
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE4, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary The coherent dynamics of excitons in systems of biological interest and in organic materials can now be studied with advanced experimental techniques, including two dimensional electronic spectroscopy, with time resolution of few femtoseconds. The theory of open quantum systems, that should support the interpretation of these new experiments, has been developed in different contexts over the past 60 years but seems now very inadequate for the problems of current interest. First of all, the systems under investigation are extremely complex and the most common approach, based on the development of phenomenological models, is often not very informative. Many different models yield results in agreement with the experiments and there is no systematic way to derive these models or to select the best model among many. Secondly, the quantum dynamics of excitons is so fast that one cannot assume that the dynamics of environment is much faster than the dynamics of the system, an assumption crucial for most theories. A remedy to the current limitation is proposed here through the following research objectives.
(1) A general and automatic protocol will be developed to generate simple treatable models of the system from an accurate atomistic description of the same system based on computational chemistry methods.
(2) A professionally-written software will be developed to study the quantum dynamics of model Hamiltonians for excitons in molecular aggregates. This software will incorporate different methodologies and will be designed to be usable also by non-specialists in the theory of quantum open systems (e.g. spectroscopists, computational chemists).
(3) A broad number of problems will be studied with this methodology including (i) exciton dynamics in light harvesting complexes and artificial proteins and (ii) exciton dynamics in molecular aggregates of relevance for organic electronics devices.
Summary
The coherent dynamics of excitons in systems of biological interest and in organic materials can now be studied with advanced experimental techniques, including two dimensional electronic spectroscopy, with time resolution of few femtoseconds. The theory of open quantum systems, that should support the interpretation of these new experiments, has been developed in different contexts over the past 60 years but seems now very inadequate for the problems of current interest. First of all, the systems under investigation are extremely complex and the most common approach, based on the development of phenomenological models, is often not very informative. Many different models yield results in agreement with the experiments and there is no systematic way to derive these models or to select the best model among many. Secondly, the quantum dynamics of excitons is so fast that one cannot assume that the dynamics of environment is much faster than the dynamics of the system, an assumption crucial for most theories. A remedy to the current limitation is proposed here through the following research objectives.
(1) A general and automatic protocol will be developed to generate simple treatable models of the system from an accurate atomistic description of the same system based on computational chemistry methods.
(2) A professionally-written software will be developed to study the quantum dynamics of model Hamiltonians for excitons in molecular aggregates. This software will incorporate different methodologies and will be designed to be usable also by non-specialists in the theory of quantum open systems (e.g. spectroscopists, computational chemists).
(3) A broad number of problems will be studied with this methodology including (i) exciton dynamics in light harvesting complexes and artificial proteins and (ii) exciton dynamics in molecular aggregates of relevance for organic electronics devices.
Max ERC Funding
1 512 873 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
Project acronym EXONMR
Project "Exploiting 17O NMR Spectroscopy: Atomic-Scale Structure, Disorder and Dynamics in Solids"
Researcher (PI) Sharon Elizabeth Marie Ashbrook
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE4, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "The fundamental importance of oxide-based systems in technology, energy materials, geochemistry and catalysis, and the presence of oxygen in many biomaterials, should have resulted in oxygen nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy emerging as a vital tool for materials characterization. NMR offers an element-specific, atomic-scale probe of the local environment, providing a potentially powerful probe of local structure, disorder and dynamics in solids. However, despite the almost ubiquitous presence of oxygen in inorganic solids, oxygen NMR studies have been relatively scarce in comparison to other nuclei, owing primarily to the low natural abundance of the NMR-active isotope, 17O (0.037%). Hence, isotopic enrichment is necessary, often at considerable cost and effort. Furthermore, the presence of anisotropic quadrupolar broadening (and the need for complex high-resolution experiments) has also limited the development and application of 17O NMR to date. Here, we propose to develop an internationally-leading research programme to exploit the largely untapped potential of 17O spectroscopy. This wide-ranging programme will involve (i) the exploration of novel synthetic approaches for cost-efficient isotopic enrichment, (ii) the development of new solid-state NMR methodology, specific for 17O, (iii) the application of state-of-the-art first-principles calculations of 17O NMR parameters and (iv) the application of these methods to three different areas of investigation: high-pressure silicate minerals, microporous materials and ceramics for waste encapsulation. The ultimate long-term aim is to change the way in which solid-state chemists characterise materials; so that solid-state NMR (and 17O NMR in particular) is viewed as a necessary and important step in the refinement of a detailed structural model."
Summary
"The fundamental importance of oxide-based systems in technology, energy materials, geochemistry and catalysis, and the presence of oxygen in many biomaterials, should have resulted in oxygen nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy emerging as a vital tool for materials characterization. NMR offers an element-specific, atomic-scale probe of the local environment, providing a potentially powerful probe of local structure, disorder and dynamics in solids. However, despite the almost ubiquitous presence of oxygen in inorganic solids, oxygen NMR studies have been relatively scarce in comparison to other nuclei, owing primarily to the low natural abundance of the NMR-active isotope, 17O (0.037%). Hence, isotopic enrichment is necessary, often at considerable cost and effort. Furthermore, the presence of anisotropic quadrupolar broadening (and the need for complex high-resolution experiments) has also limited the development and application of 17O NMR to date. Here, we propose to develop an internationally-leading research programme to exploit the largely untapped potential of 17O spectroscopy. This wide-ranging programme will involve (i) the exploration of novel synthetic approaches for cost-efficient isotopic enrichment, (ii) the development of new solid-state NMR methodology, specific for 17O, (iii) the application of state-of-the-art first-principles calculations of 17O NMR parameters and (iv) the application of these methods to three different areas of investigation: high-pressure silicate minerals, microporous materials and ceramics for waste encapsulation. The ultimate long-term aim is to change the way in which solid-state chemists characterise materials; so that solid-state NMR (and 17O NMR in particular) is viewed as a necessary and important step in the refinement of a detailed structural model."
Max ERC Funding
1 902 188 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
Project acronym HeteroIce
Project Towards a molecular-level understanding of heterogeneous ice nucleation
Researcher (PI) Angelos Michaelides
Host Institution (HI) University College London
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE4, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary Ice formation is one of the most common phase transitions on Earth. It is relevant to an enormous variety of phenomena such as weathering, cloud formation, airline safety, agriculture, and energy. However, despite having been studied since antiquity, our molecular level understanding of ice formation is largely incomplete. In particular, almost all ice formation in nature is aided by impurities or the surfaces of foreign materials, yet how surfaces act to facilitate ice formation (heterogeneous ice nucleation) is unclear. Given the ubiquity of ice nucleation, this is arguably one of the biggest unsolved problems in the physical sciences.
Experiment provides insight into crystal nucleation and growth, but most nucleation events happen too quickly and involve too few particles to be rationalised purely by experiment. As a result, computer simulations play an important role and I believe we are now on the verge of using simulation to bring about major breakthroughs in understanding ice formation. Specifically, in this project we aim to perform the first full-on attack on heterogeneous ice nucleation so as to elucidate how the physiochemical properties of materials control their ability to nucleate ice. We will focus on nucleation on solid inorganic substrates and our approach will be to couple systematic studies on model systems with in-depth explorations of more realistic (and experimentally realisable) surfaces. We will improve existing computer simulation methods and develop new ones for accurate large- scale simulations of phase transitions in complex heterogeneous environments. In so doing we will help to make simulations of ice nucleation more routine, enabling us to establish what makes a good ice nucleating agent. The results from this multi-disciplinary project will not only shed light on an important everyday process but may also help to improve climate models and develop improved cloud seeding materials, or inhibitor coatings for industrial purposes.
Summary
Ice formation is one of the most common phase transitions on Earth. It is relevant to an enormous variety of phenomena such as weathering, cloud formation, airline safety, agriculture, and energy. However, despite having been studied since antiquity, our molecular level understanding of ice formation is largely incomplete. In particular, almost all ice formation in nature is aided by impurities or the surfaces of foreign materials, yet how surfaces act to facilitate ice formation (heterogeneous ice nucleation) is unclear. Given the ubiquity of ice nucleation, this is arguably one of the biggest unsolved problems in the physical sciences.
Experiment provides insight into crystal nucleation and growth, but most nucleation events happen too quickly and involve too few particles to be rationalised purely by experiment. As a result, computer simulations play an important role and I believe we are now on the verge of using simulation to bring about major breakthroughs in understanding ice formation. Specifically, in this project we aim to perform the first full-on attack on heterogeneous ice nucleation so as to elucidate how the physiochemical properties of materials control their ability to nucleate ice. We will focus on nucleation on solid inorganic substrates and our approach will be to couple systematic studies on model systems with in-depth explorations of more realistic (and experimentally realisable) surfaces. We will improve existing computer simulation methods and develop new ones for accurate large- scale simulations of phase transitions in complex heterogeneous environments. In so doing we will help to make simulations of ice nucleation more routine, enabling us to establish what makes a good ice nucleating agent. The results from this multi-disciplinary project will not only shed light on an important everyday process but may also help to improve climate models and develop improved cloud seeding materials, or inhibitor coatings for industrial purposes.
Max ERC Funding
1 915 083 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
Project acronym MASSLIP
Project Systems Medical Diagnostics by In-vivo Ambient Mass Spectrometric Profiling of Tissue Lipidome
Researcher (PI) Zoltan Takats
Host Institution (HI) IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE4, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "The objective of the proposal is the development of ambient mass spectrometric methods for the characterisation of mucosal metabolome and lipidome. While recent advent of ambient MS provided new means for in-situ and imaging analyses and led to the development of real-time, in-vivo MS characterisation of tissues, there are no methods available for minimally invasive testing of mucosal surfaces including the associated microflora. Human mucosa-associated microbiome (with special emphasis on the gastrointestinal microbiota) has been recently demonstrated to play a key role in the pathogenesis of localised (cancer, chronic inflammatory disease) and systemic (hypertension, diabetes, obesity) conditions. While the microbiota interacts with the host mostly via production of a variety of metabolites, currently there is no method available for the in-situ metabolic profiling of mucosa. The envisioned methods will presumably fill this gap, by providing a technique for the diagnosis of a wide range of diseases ranging from acute infections through cancer to dysbiotic conditions of the microflora leading to chronic illnesses.
In the current proposal we put forward the development of different ambient ionisation setups utilising Jet Desorption Ionisation, Sonic Spray Ionisation and Rapid Evaporation Ionisation MS covering a broad range of invasiveness. We plan to combine the methods with standard endoscopic tools and develop the concept of ´chemically aware´ or intelligent endoscopic device capable of the unambiguous identification of pathological conditions of the mucosa. Since the metabolic profile-based identification approach requires large authentic datasets, we plan to create both histopathological and bacterial spectral databases with histological and 16SrRNA-based validation. The proposal also comprises the development of novel multivariate statistical analysis workflows and data fusion algorithms allowing rapid and accurate identification using multimodal MS datasets."
Summary
"The objective of the proposal is the development of ambient mass spectrometric methods for the characterisation of mucosal metabolome and lipidome. While recent advent of ambient MS provided new means for in-situ and imaging analyses and led to the development of real-time, in-vivo MS characterisation of tissues, there are no methods available for minimally invasive testing of mucosal surfaces including the associated microflora. Human mucosa-associated microbiome (with special emphasis on the gastrointestinal microbiota) has been recently demonstrated to play a key role in the pathogenesis of localised (cancer, chronic inflammatory disease) and systemic (hypertension, diabetes, obesity) conditions. While the microbiota interacts with the host mostly via production of a variety of metabolites, currently there is no method available for the in-situ metabolic profiling of mucosa. The envisioned methods will presumably fill this gap, by providing a technique for the diagnosis of a wide range of diseases ranging from acute infections through cancer to dysbiotic conditions of the microflora leading to chronic illnesses.
In the current proposal we put forward the development of different ambient ionisation setups utilising Jet Desorption Ionisation, Sonic Spray Ionisation and Rapid Evaporation Ionisation MS covering a broad range of invasiveness. We plan to combine the methods with standard endoscopic tools and develop the concept of ´chemically aware´ or intelligent endoscopic device capable of the unambiguous identification of pathological conditions of the mucosa. Since the metabolic profile-based identification approach requires large authentic datasets, we plan to create both histopathological and bacterial spectral databases with histological and 16SrRNA-based validation. The proposal also comprises the development of novel multivariate statistical analysis workflows and data fusion algorithms allowing rapid and accurate identification using multimodal MS datasets."
Max ERC Funding
1 997 663 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-06-01, End date: 2019-05-31
Project acronym MEMOPHI
Project Medieval Philosophy in Modern History of Philosophy
Researcher (PI) Catherine Koenig
Host Institution (HI) ALBERT-LUDWIGS-UNIVERSITAET FREIBURG
Country Germany
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH6, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary MEMOPHI plans the first comprehensive study of how eighteenth- and nineteenth-century historians of philosophy reconstructed medieval thought. Associating intellectual and cultural approaches, it investigates to what ends and how the history of medieval philosophy has been written, used and institutionalised in European institutions of knowledge. In the 18th and 19th centuries, history and philosophy were at the center of the scientific endeavour. Philosophy gave itself a history in the scientific sense of the word, and the scientific practice of philosophy was secularized in the new academies and universities. Writing the history of philosophy was a process of introspection and discrimination, putting into play the self-conception of the discipline. In this context, the Middle Ages occupied a central place: the first university was founded around 1200 and institutionalized the future practices of Western science. The scholastic Middle Ages and the modern period constitute indeed the two inaugural moments in the history of university thought. Modern historians of philosophy reconstructed, evaluated and criticized the scientific practices of medieval authors whom they considered as medieval “philosophers” and thus as the first university philosophers. Furthermore, these modern reconstructions of medieval philosophy distinguished and described various medieval “cultures” – Jewish, Arabic, Christian, etc. – for the purposes of defining the cultural identity of modern Europe and of European nations. In a broader context MEMOPHI addresses the intersection between cultural politics (notably the creations of national cultural identities) and reconstructions of philosophy’s past. It will bring to light not only the role played by the history of philosophy in the SSH, but also civil society’s expectations from the SSH.
Summary
MEMOPHI plans the first comprehensive study of how eighteenth- and nineteenth-century historians of philosophy reconstructed medieval thought. Associating intellectual and cultural approaches, it investigates to what ends and how the history of medieval philosophy has been written, used and institutionalised in European institutions of knowledge. In the 18th and 19th centuries, history and philosophy were at the center of the scientific endeavour. Philosophy gave itself a history in the scientific sense of the word, and the scientific practice of philosophy was secularized in the new academies and universities. Writing the history of philosophy was a process of introspection and discrimination, putting into play the self-conception of the discipline. In this context, the Middle Ages occupied a central place: the first university was founded around 1200 and institutionalized the future practices of Western science. The scholastic Middle Ages and the modern period constitute indeed the two inaugural moments in the history of university thought. Modern historians of philosophy reconstructed, evaluated and criticized the scientific practices of medieval authors whom they considered as medieval “philosophers” and thus as the first university philosophers. Furthermore, these modern reconstructions of medieval philosophy distinguished and described various medieval “cultures” – Jewish, Arabic, Christian, etc. – for the purposes of defining the cultural identity of modern Europe and of European nations. In a broader context MEMOPHI addresses the intersection between cultural politics (notably the creations of national cultural identities) and reconstructions of philosophy’s past. It will bring to light not only the role played by the history of philosophy in the SSH, but also civil society’s expectations from the SSH.
Max ERC Funding
1 219 920 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-07-01, End date: 2019-06-30
Project acronym MULTISCOPE
Project Multidimensional Ultrafast Time-Interferometric Spectroscopy of Coherent Phenomena in all Environments
Researcher (PI) Tobias Manuel Brixner
Host Institution (HI) JULIUS-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAT WURZBURG
Country Germany
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE4, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "We propose to develop and apply novel methods of nonlinear spectroscopy to investigate the significance and consequences of coherent effects for a variety of photophysical and photochemical molecular processes. We will use coherent two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy as an ideal tool to study electronic coherences.
Quantum mechanics as described by the Schrödinger equation is fully coherent: The phase of a wavefunction evolves deterministically in the time-dependent case. However, observations are restricted to reduced “systems” coupled to an “environment.” The resulting transition from coherent to incoherent behavior on an ultrafast timescale has many yet unexplored consequences, e.g. for transport in photosynthesis, photovoltaics or other molecular “nanomaterials.”
In contrast to conventional 2D spectroscopy, we will not measure the coherently emitted field within a four-wave mixing process but rather implement a range of incoherent observables (ion mass spectra, fluorescence, and photoelectrons). Yet we can still extract all the desired information using “phase cycling” with collinear pulse sequences from a femtosecond pulse shaper. This opens up a new range of interdisciplinary experiments and will allow for the first time a direct nonlinear-spectroscopic comparison of molecular systems in all states of matter. Specifically, we will realize 2D spectroscopy in molecular beams, liquids, low-temperature solids, and on surfaces including heterogeneous and nanostructured samples. Tuning the external couplings will help elucidating the role of the environment in electronic (de)coherence phenomena.
Furthermore, we will combine 2D spectroscopy with subdiffraction spatial resolution using photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). This enables us to map transport in molecular aggregates and other heterogeneous nanosystems in time and space on a nanometer length scale. Thus we access the intersection between the domains of electronics and nanophotonics."
Summary
"We propose to develop and apply novel methods of nonlinear spectroscopy to investigate the significance and consequences of coherent effects for a variety of photophysical and photochemical molecular processes. We will use coherent two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy as an ideal tool to study electronic coherences.
Quantum mechanics as described by the Schrödinger equation is fully coherent: The phase of a wavefunction evolves deterministically in the time-dependent case. However, observations are restricted to reduced “systems” coupled to an “environment.” The resulting transition from coherent to incoherent behavior on an ultrafast timescale has many yet unexplored consequences, e.g. for transport in photosynthesis, photovoltaics or other molecular “nanomaterials.”
In contrast to conventional 2D spectroscopy, we will not measure the coherently emitted field within a four-wave mixing process but rather implement a range of incoherent observables (ion mass spectra, fluorescence, and photoelectrons). Yet we can still extract all the desired information using “phase cycling” with collinear pulse sequences from a femtosecond pulse shaper. This opens up a new range of interdisciplinary experiments and will allow for the first time a direct nonlinear-spectroscopic comparison of molecular systems in all states of matter. Specifically, we will realize 2D spectroscopy in molecular beams, liquids, low-temperature solids, and on surfaces including heterogeneous and nanostructured samples. Tuning the external couplings will help elucidating the role of the environment in electronic (de)coherence phenomena.
Furthermore, we will combine 2D spectroscopy with subdiffraction spatial resolution using photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). This enables us to map transport in molecular aggregates and other heterogeneous nanosystems in time and space on a nanometer length scale. Thus we access the intersection between the domains of electronics and nanophotonics."
Max ERC Funding
2 669 124 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
Project acronym N2RED
Project Spectroscopic Studies of N2 Reduction: From Biological to Heterogeneous Catalysis
Researcher (PI) Serena Debeer
Host Institution (HI) Klinik Max Planck Institut für Psychiatrie
Country Germany
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE4, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "The conversion of dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3) is of fundamental biological and economic importance. The catalytic conversion is achieved either industrially, using heterogeneous catalysts or biologically, by the nitrogenase enzyme. However, in both cases, the mechanistic details of the process are not fully understood. In order to design advance catalysts that will be essential for a sustainable energy economy, an in-depth understanding of both the biological and chemical mechanisms is required. The goal of this proposal is to develop advanced spectroscopic tools, which will allow for a detailed description of the atomic level processes in the both the biological and the heterogeneous systems. This will include the development of valence to core resonant X-ray emission spectroscopy as a unique probe of transition metal ligation in complex media. High-resolution X-ray absorption, X-ray emission, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and nuclear resonant vibrational spectroscopy will be utilized and their chemical information content fully developed. These experiments will be correlated to advanced quantum chemical calculations to obtain a detailed picture of the electronic structure of the catalytic systems. The results should provide a clear understanding of the electronic factors that govern N-N bond cleavage. The proposed research will bring together the fields of biochemistry and heterogeneous catalysis, by utilizing inorganic, physical and theoretical chemistry to advance our fundamental understanding of N2 cleavage. The proposed developments will provide a powerful set of novel tools for the elucidation of transition metal catalyzed homogenous and heterogeneous reaction mechanisms. The long-term goal is to pave the way for rationally designed catalytic systems, based on fundamental mechanistic knowledge."
Summary
"The conversion of dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3) is of fundamental biological and economic importance. The catalytic conversion is achieved either industrially, using heterogeneous catalysts or biologically, by the nitrogenase enzyme. However, in both cases, the mechanistic details of the process are not fully understood. In order to design advance catalysts that will be essential for a sustainable energy economy, an in-depth understanding of both the biological and chemical mechanisms is required. The goal of this proposal is to develop advanced spectroscopic tools, which will allow for a detailed description of the atomic level processes in the both the biological and the heterogeneous systems. This will include the development of valence to core resonant X-ray emission spectroscopy as a unique probe of transition metal ligation in complex media. High-resolution X-ray absorption, X-ray emission, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and nuclear resonant vibrational spectroscopy will be utilized and their chemical information content fully developed. These experiments will be correlated to advanced quantum chemical calculations to obtain a detailed picture of the electronic structure of the catalytic systems. The results should provide a clear understanding of the electronic factors that govern N-N bond cleavage. The proposed research will bring together the fields of biochemistry and heterogeneous catalysis, by utilizing inorganic, physical and theoretical chemistry to advance our fundamental understanding of N2 cleavage. The proposed developments will provide a powerful set of novel tools for the elucidation of transition metal catalyzed homogenous and heterogeneous reaction mechanisms. The long-term goal is to pave the way for rationally designed catalytic systems, based on fundamental mechanistic knowledge."
Max ERC Funding
1 989 600 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
