Project acronym 1D-Engine
Project 1D-electrons coupled to dissipation: a novel approach for understanding and engineering superconducting materials and devices
Researcher (PI) Adrian KANTIAN
Host Institution (HI) UPPSALA UNIVERSITET
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE3, ERC-2017-STG
Summary Correlated electrons are at the forefront of condensed matter theory. Interacting quasi-1D electrons have seen vast progress in analytical and numerical theory, and thus in fundamental understanding and quantitative prediction. Yet, in the 1D limit fluctuations preclude important technological use, particularly of superconductors. In contrast, high-Tc superconductors in 2D/3D are not precluded by fluctuations, but lack a fundamental theory, making prediction and engineering of their properties, a major goal in physics, very difficult. This project aims to combine the advantages of both areas by making major progress in the theory of quasi-1D electrons coupled to an electron bath, in part building on recent breakthroughs (with the PIs extensive involvement) in simulating 1D and 2D electrons with parallelized density matrix renormalization group (pDMRG) numerics. Such theory will fundamentally advance the study of open electron systems, and show how to use 1D materials as elements of new superconducting (SC) devices and materials: 1) It will enable a new state of matter, 1D electrons with true SC order. Fluctuations from the electronic liquid, such as graphene, could also enable nanoscale wires to appear SC at high temperatures. 2) A new approach for the deliberate engineering of a high-Tc superconductor. In 1D, how electrons pair by repulsive interactions is understood and can be predicted. Stabilization by reservoir - formed by a parallel array of many such 1D systems - offers a superconductor for which all factors setting Tc are known and can be optimized. 3) Many existing superconductors with repulsive electron pairing, all presently not understood, can be cast as 1D electrons coupled to a bath. Developing chain-DMFT theory based on pDMRG will allow these materials SC properties to be simulated and understood for the first time. 4) The insights gained will be translated to 2D superconductors to study how they could be enhanced by contact with electronic liquids.
Summary
Correlated electrons are at the forefront of condensed matter theory. Interacting quasi-1D electrons have seen vast progress in analytical and numerical theory, and thus in fundamental understanding and quantitative prediction. Yet, in the 1D limit fluctuations preclude important technological use, particularly of superconductors. In contrast, high-Tc superconductors in 2D/3D are not precluded by fluctuations, but lack a fundamental theory, making prediction and engineering of their properties, a major goal in physics, very difficult. This project aims to combine the advantages of both areas by making major progress in the theory of quasi-1D electrons coupled to an electron bath, in part building on recent breakthroughs (with the PIs extensive involvement) in simulating 1D and 2D electrons with parallelized density matrix renormalization group (pDMRG) numerics. Such theory will fundamentally advance the study of open electron systems, and show how to use 1D materials as elements of new superconducting (SC) devices and materials: 1) It will enable a new state of matter, 1D electrons with true SC order. Fluctuations from the electronic liquid, such as graphene, could also enable nanoscale wires to appear SC at high temperatures. 2) A new approach for the deliberate engineering of a high-Tc superconductor. In 1D, how electrons pair by repulsive interactions is understood and can be predicted. Stabilization by reservoir - formed by a parallel array of many such 1D systems - offers a superconductor for which all factors setting Tc are known and can be optimized. 3) Many existing superconductors with repulsive electron pairing, all presently not understood, can be cast as 1D electrons coupled to a bath. Developing chain-DMFT theory based on pDMRG will allow these materials SC properties to be simulated and understood for the first time. 4) The insights gained will be translated to 2D superconductors to study how they could be enhanced by contact with electronic liquids.
Max ERC Funding
1 491 013 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-10-01, End date: 2023-09-30
Project acronym 3DPROTEINPUZZLES
Project Shape-directed protein assembly design
Researcher (PI) Lars Ingemar ANDRÉ
Host Institution (HI) LUNDS UNIVERSITET
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS9, ERC-2017-COG
Summary Large protein complexes carry out some of the most complex functions in biology. Such structures are often assembled spontaneously from individual components through the process of self-assembly. If self-assembled protein complexes could be engineered from first principle it would enable a wide range of applications in biomedicine, nanotechnology and materials science. Recently, approaches to rationally design proteins to self-assembly into predefined structures have emerged. The highlight of this work is the design of protein cages that may be engineered into protein containers. However, current approaches for self-assembly design does not result in the assemblies with the required structural complexity to encode many of the sophisticated functions found in nature. To move forward, we have to learn how to engineer protein subunits with more than one designed interface that can assemble into tightly interacting complexes. In this proposal we propose a new protein design paradigm, shape directed protein design, in order to address shortcomings of the current methodology. The proposed method combines geometric shape matching and computational protein design. Using this approach we will de novo design assemblies with a wide variety of structural states, including protein complexes with cyclic and dihedral symmetry as well as icosahedral protein capsids built from novel protein building blocks. To enable these two design challenges we also develop a high-throughput assay to measure assembly stability in vivo that builds on a three-color fluorescent assay. This method will not only facilitate the screening of orders of magnitude more design constructs, but also enable the application of directed evolution to experimentally improve stable and assembly properties of designed containers as well as other designed assemblies.
Summary
Large protein complexes carry out some of the most complex functions in biology. Such structures are often assembled spontaneously from individual components through the process of self-assembly. If self-assembled protein complexes could be engineered from first principle it would enable a wide range of applications in biomedicine, nanotechnology and materials science. Recently, approaches to rationally design proteins to self-assembly into predefined structures have emerged. The highlight of this work is the design of protein cages that may be engineered into protein containers. However, current approaches for self-assembly design does not result in the assemblies with the required structural complexity to encode many of the sophisticated functions found in nature. To move forward, we have to learn how to engineer protein subunits with more than one designed interface that can assemble into tightly interacting complexes. In this proposal we propose a new protein design paradigm, shape directed protein design, in order to address shortcomings of the current methodology. The proposed method combines geometric shape matching and computational protein design. Using this approach we will de novo design assemblies with a wide variety of structural states, including protein complexes with cyclic and dihedral symmetry as well as icosahedral protein capsids built from novel protein building blocks. To enable these two design challenges we also develop a high-throughput assay to measure assembly stability in vivo that builds on a three-color fluorescent assay. This method will not only facilitate the screening of orders of magnitude more design constructs, but also enable the application of directed evolution to experimentally improve stable and assembly properties of designed containers as well as other designed assemblies.
Max ERC Funding
2 325 292 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-06-01, End date: 2023-05-31
Project acronym AfricanNeo
Project The African Neolithic: A genetic perspective
Researcher (PI) Carina SCHLEBUSCH
Host Institution (HI) UPPSALA UNIVERSITET
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH6, ERC-2017-STG
Summary The spread of farming practices in various parts of the world had a marked influence on how humans live today and how we are distributed around the globe. Around 10,000 years ago, warmer conditions lead to population increases, coinciding with the invention of farming in several places around the world. Archaeological evidence attest to the spread of these practices to neighboring regions. In many cases this lead to whole continents being converted from hunter-gatherer to farming societies. It is however difficult to see from archaeological records if only the farming culture spread to other places or whether the farming people themselves migrated. Investigating patterns of genetic variation for farming populations and for remaining hunter-gatherer groups can help to resolve questions on population movements co-occurring with the spread of farming practices. It can further shed light on the routes of migration and dates when migrants arrived.
The spread of farming to Europe has been thoroughly investigated in the fields of archaeology, linguistics and genetics, while on other continents these events have been less investigated. In Africa, mainly linguistic and archaeological studies have attempted to elucidate the spread of farming and herding practices. I propose to investigate the movement of farmer and pastoral groups in Africa, by typing densely spaced genome-wide variant positions in a large number of African populations. The data will be used to infer how farming and pastoralism was introduced to various regions, where the incoming people originated from and when these (potential) population movements occurred. Through this study, the Holocene history of Africa will be revealed and placed into a global context of migration, mobility and cultural transitions. Additionally the study will give due credence to one of the largest Neolithic expansion events, the Bantu-expansion, which caused a pronounced change in the demographic landscape of the African continent
Summary
The spread of farming practices in various parts of the world had a marked influence on how humans live today and how we are distributed around the globe. Around 10,000 years ago, warmer conditions lead to population increases, coinciding with the invention of farming in several places around the world. Archaeological evidence attest to the spread of these practices to neighboring regions. In many cases this lead to whole continents being converted from hunter-gatherer to farming societies. It is however difficult to see from archaeological records if only the farming culture spread to other places or whether the farming people themselves migrated. Investigating patterns of genetic variation for farming populations and for remaining hunter-gatherer groups can help to resolve questions on population movements co-occurring with the spread of farming practices. It can further shed light on the routes of migration and dates when migrants arrived.
The spread of farming to Europe has been thoroughly investigated in the fields of archaeology, linguistics and genetics, while on other continents these events have been less investigated. In Africa, mainly linguistic and archaeological studies have attempted to elucidate the spread of farming and herding practices. I propose to investigate the movement of farmer and pastoral groups in Africa, by typing densely spaced genome-wide variant positions in a large number of African populations. The data will be used to infer how farming and pastoralism was introduced to various regions, where the incoming people originated from and when these (potential) population movements occurred. Through this study, the Holocene history of Africa will be revealed and placed into a global context of migration, mobility and cultural transitions. Additionally the study will give due credence to one of the largest Neolithic expansion events, the Bantu-expansion, which caused a pronounced change in the demographic landscape of the African continent
Max ERC Funding
1 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-11-01, End date: 2022-10-31
Project acronym ALPHA
Project Alpha Shape Theory Extended
Researcher (PI) Herbert Edelsbrunner
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYAUSTRIA
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE6, ERC-2017-ADG
Summary Alpha shapes were invented in the early 80s of last century, and their implementation in three dimensions in the early 90s was at the forefront of the exact arithmetic paradigm that enabled fast and correct geometric software. In the late 90s, alpha shapes motivated the development of the wrap algorithm for surface reconstruction, and of persistent homology, which was the starting point of rapidly expanding interest in topological algorithms aimed at data analysis questions.
We now see alpha shapes, wrap complexes, and persistent homology as three aspects of a larger theory, which we propose to fully develop. This viewpoint was a long time coming and finds its clear expression within a generalized
version of discrete Morse theory. This unified framework offers new opportunities, including
(I) the adaptive reconstruction of shapes driven by the cavity structure;
(II) the stochastic analysis of all aspects of the theory;
(III) the computation of persistence of dense data, both in scale and in depth;
(IV) the study of long-range order in periodic and near-periodic point configurations.
These capabilities will significantly deepen as well as widen the theory and enable new applications in the sciences. To gain focus, we concentrate on low-dimensional applications in structural molecular biology and particle systems.
Summary
Alpha shapes were invented in the early 80s of last century, and their implementation in three dimensions in the early 90s was at the forefront of the exact arithmetic paradigm that enabled fast and correct geometric software. In the late 90s, alpha shapes motivated the development of the wrap algorithm for surface reconstruction, and of persistent homology, which was the starting point of rapidly expanding interest in topological algorithms aimed at data analysis questions.
We now see alpha shapes, wrap complexes, and persistent homology as three aspects of a larger theory, which we propose to fully develop. This viewpoint was a long time coming and finds its clear expression within a generalized
version of discrete Morse theory. This unified framework offers new opportunities, including
(I) the adaptive reconstruction of shapes driven by the cavity structure;
(II) the stochastic analysis of all aspects of the theory;
(III) the computation of persistence of dense data, both in scale and in depth;
(IV) the study of long-range order in periodic and near-periodic point configurations.
These capabilities will significantly deepen as well as widen the theory and enable new applications in the sciences. To gain focus, we concentrate on low-dimensional applications in structural molecular biology and particle systems.
Max ERC Funding
1 678 432 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-07-01, End date: 2023-06-30
Project acronym AMBH
Project Ancient Music Beyond Hellenisation
Researcher (PI) Stefan HAGEL
Host Institution (HI) OESTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH5, ERC-2017-ADG
Summary From medieval times, Arabic as well as European music was analysed in terms that were inherited from Classical Antiquity and had thus developed in a very different music culture. In spite of recent breakthroughs in the understanding of the latter, whose technicalities we access not only through texts and iconography, but also through instrument finds and surviving notated melodies, its relation to music traditions known from later periods and different places is almost uncharted territory.
The present project explores relations between Hellenic/Hellenistic music as pervaded the theatres and concert halls throughout and beyond the Roman empire, Near Eastern traditions – from the diatonic system emerging from cuneiform sources to the flourishing musical world of the caliphates – and, as far as possible, African musical life south of Egypt as well – a region that maintained close ties both with the Hellenised culture of its northern neighbours and with the Arabian Peninsula.
On the one hand, this demands collaboration between Classical Philology and Arabic Studies, extending methods recently developed within music archaeological research related to the Classical Mediterranean. Arabic writings need to be examined in close reading, using recent insights into the interplay between ancient music theory and practice, in order to segregate the influence of Greek thinking from ideas and facts that must relate to contemporaneous ‘Arabic’ music-making. In this way we hope better to define the relation of this tradition to the ‘Classical world’, potentially breaking free of Orientalising bias informing modern views. On the other hand, the study and reconstruction, virtual and material, of wind instruments of Hellenistic pedigree but found outside the confinements of the Hellenistic ‘heartlands’ may provide evidence of ‘foreign’ tonality employed in those regions – specifically the royal city of Meroë in modern Sudan and the Oxus Temple in modern Tajikistan.
Summary
From medieval times, Arabic as well as European music was analysed in terms that were inherited from Classical Antiquity and had thus developed in a very different music culture. In spite of recent breakthroughs in the understanding of the latter, whose technicalities we access not only through texts and iconography, but also through instrument finds and surviving notated melodies, its relation to music traditions known from later periods and different places is almost uncharted territory.
The present project explores relations between Hellenic/Hellenistic music as pervaded the theatres and concert halls throughout and beyond the Roman empire, Near Eastern traditions – from the diatonic system emerging from cuneiform sources to the flourishing musical world of the caliphates – and, as far as possible, African musical life south of Egypt as well – a region that maintained close ties both with the Hellenised culture of its northern neighbours and with the Arabian Peninsula.
On the one hand, this demands collaboration between Classical Philology and Arabic Studies, extending methods recently developed within music archaeological research related to the Classical Mediterranean. Arabic writings need to be examined in close reading, using recent insights into the interplay between ancient music theory and practice, in order to segregate the influence of Greek thinking from ideas and facts that must relate to contemporaneous ‘Arabic’ music-making. In this way we hope better to define the relation of this tradition to the ‘Classical world’, potentially breaking free of Orientalising bias informing modern views. On the other hand, the study and reconstruction, virtual and material, of wind instruments of Hellenistic pedigree but found outside the confinements of the Hellenistic ‘heartlands’ may provide evidence of ‘foreign’ tonality employed in those regions – specifically the royal city of Meroë in modern Sudan and the Oxus Temple in modern Tajikistan.
Max ERC Funding
775 959 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-09-01, End date: 2023-08-31
Project acronym ATMEN
Project Atomic precision materials engineering
Researcher (PI) Toma SUSI
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAT WIEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE5, ERC-2017-STG
Summary Despite more than fifty years of scientific progress since Richard Feynman's 1959 vision for nanotechnology, there is only one way to manipulate individual atoms in materials: scanning tunneling microscopy. Since the late 1980s, its atomically sharp tip has been used to move atoms over clean metal surfaces held at cryogenic temperatures. Scanning transmission electron microscopy, on the other hand, has been able to resolve atoms only more recently by focusing the electron beam with sub-atomic precision. This is especially useful in the two-dimensional form of hexagonally bonded carbon called graphene, which has superb electronic and mechanical properties. Several ways to further engineer those have been proposed, including by doping the structure with substitutional heteroatoms such as boron, nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon. My recent discovery that the scattering of the energetic imaging electrons can cause a silicon impurity to move through the graphene lattice has revealed a potential for atomically precise manipulation using the Ångström-sized electron probe. To develop this into a practical technique, improvements in the description of beam-induced displacements, advances in heteroatom implantation, and a concerted effort towards the automation of manipulations are required. My project tackles these in a multidisciplinary effort combining innovative computational techniques with pioneering experiments in an instrument where a low-energy ion implantation chamber is directly connected to an advanced electron microscope. To demonstrate the power of the method, I will prototype an atomic memory with an unprecedented memory density, and create heteroatom quantum corrals optimized for their plasmonic properties. The capability for atom-scale engineering of covalent materials opens a new vista for nanotechnology, pushing back the boundaries of the possible and allowing a plethora of materials science questions to be studied at the ultimate level of control.
Summary
Despite more than fifty years of scientific progress since Richard Feynman's 1959 vision for nanotechnology, there is only one way to manipulate individual atoms in materials: scanning tunneling microscopy. Since the late 1980s, its atomically sharp tip has been used to move atoms over clean metal surfaces held at cryogenic temperatures. Scanning transmission electron microscopy, on the other hand, has been able to resolve atoms only more recently by focusing the electron beam with sub-atomic precision. This is especially useful in the two-dimensional form of hexagonally bonded carbon called graphene, which has superb electronic and mechanical properties. Several ways to further engineer those have been proposed, including by doping the structure with substitutional heteroatoms such as boron, nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon. My recent discovery that the scattering of the energetic imaging electrons can cause a silicon impurity to move through the graphene lattice has revealed a potential for atomically precise manipulation using the Ångström-sized electron probe. To develop this into a practical technique, improvements in the description of beam-induced displacements, advances in heteroatom implantation, and a concerted effort towards the automation of manipulations are required. My project tackles these in a multidisciplinary effort combining innovative computational techniques with pioneering experiments in an instrument where a low-energy ion implantation chamber is directly connected to an advanced electron microscope. To demonstrate the power of the method, I will prototype an atomic memory with an unprecedented memory density, and create heteroatom quantum corrals optimized for their plasmonic properties. The capability for atom-scale engineering of covalent materials opens a new vista for nanotechnology, pushing back the boundaries of the possible and allowing a plethora of materials science questions to be studied at the ultimate level of control.
Max ERC Funding
1 497 202 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-10-01, End date: 2022-09-30
Project acronym BloodVariome
Project Genetic variation exposes regulators of blood cell formation in vivo in humans
Researcher (PI) Björn Erik Ake NILSSON
Host Institution (HI) LUNDS UNIVERSITET
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS7, ERC-2017-COG
Summary The human hematopoietic system is a paradigmatic, stem cell-maintained organ with enormous cell turnover. Hundreds of billions of new blood cells are produced each day. The process is tightly regulated, and susceptible to perturbation due to genetic variation.
In this project, we will explore an innovative, population-genetic approach to find regulators of blood cell formation. Unlike traditional studies on hematopoiesis in vitro or in animal models, we will exploit natural genetic variation to identify DNA sequence variants and genes that influence blood cell formation in vivo in humans. Instead of inserting artificial mutations in mice, we will read out ripples from the experiments that nature has performed during evolution.
Building on our previous work, unique population-based materials, mathematical modeling, and the latest genomics and genome editing techniques, we will:
1. Develop high-resolution association data and analysis methods to find DNA sequence variants influencing human hematopoiesis, including stem- and progenitor stages.
2. Identify sequence variants and genes influencing specific stages of adult and fetal/perinatal hematopoiesis.
3. Define the function, and disease associations, of identified variants and genes.
Led by the applicant, the project will involve researchers at Lund University, Royal Institute of Technology and deCODE Genetics, and will be carried out in strong environments. It has been preceded by significant preparatory work. It will provide a first detailed analysis of how genetic variation influences human hematopoiesis, potentially increasing our understanding, and abilities to control, diseases marked by abnormal blood cell formation (e.g., leukemia).
Summary
The human hematopoietic system is a paradigmatic, stem cell-maintained organ with enormous cell turnover. Hundreds of billions of new blood cells are produced each day. The process is tightly regulated, and susceptible to perturbation due to genetic variation.
In this project, we will explore an innovative, population-genetic approach to find regulators of blood cell formation. Unlike traditional studies on hematopoiesis in vitro or in animal models, we will exploit natural genetic variation to identify DNA sequence variants and genes that influence blood cell formation in vivo in humans. Instead of inserting artificial mutations in mice, we will read out ripples from the experiments that nature has performed during evolution.
Building on our previous work, unique population-based materials, mathematical modeling, and the latest genomics and genome editing techniques, we will:
1. Develop high-resolution association data and analysis methods to find DNA sequence variants influencing human hematopoiesis, including stem- and progenitor stages.
2. Identify sequence variants and genes influencing specific stages of adult and fetal/perinatal hematopoiesis.
3. Define the function, and disease associations, of identified variants and genes.
Led by the applicant, the project will involve researchers at Lund University, Royal Institute of Technology and deCODE Genetics, and will be carried out in strong environments. It has been preceded by significant preparatory work. It will provide a first detailed analysis of how genetic variation influences human hematopoiesis, potentially increasing our understanding, and abilities to control, diseases marked by abnormal blood cell formation (e.g., leukemia).
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-10-01, End date: 2023-09-30
Project acronym Browsec
Project Foundations and Tools for Client-Side Web Security
Researcher (PI) Matteo MAFFEI
Host Institution (HI) TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET WIEN
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE6, ERC-2017-COG
Summary The constantly increasing number of attacks on web applications shows how their rapid development has not been accompanied by adequate security foundations and demonstrates the lack of solid security enforcement tools. Indeed, web applications expose a gigantic attack surface, which hinders a rigorous understanding and enforcement of security properties. Hence, despite the worthwhile efforts to design secure web applications, users for a while will be confronted with vulnerable, or maliciously crafted, code. Unfortunately, end users have no way at present to reliably protect themselves from malicious applications.
BROWSEC will develop a holistic approach to client-side web security, laying its theoretical foundations and developing innovative security enforcement technologies. In particular, BROWSEC will deliver the first client-side tool to secure web applications that is practical, in that it is implemented as an extension and can thus be easily deployed at large, and also provably sound, i.e., backed up by machine-checked proofs that the tool provides end users with the required security guarantees. At the core of the proposal lies a novel monitoring technique, which treats the browser as a blackbox and intercepts its inputs and outputs in order to prevent dangerous information flows. With this lightweight monitoring approach, we aim at enforcing strong security properties without requiring any expensive and, given the dynamic nature of web applications, statically infeasible program analysis.
BROWSEC is thus a multidisciplinary research effort, promising practical impact and delivering breakthrough advancements in various disciplines, such as web security, JavaScript semantics, software engineering, and program verification.
Summary
The constantly increasing number of attacks on web applications shows how their rapid development has not been accompanied by adequate security foundations and demonstrates the lack of solid security enforcement tools. Indeed, web applications expose a gigantic attack surface, which hinders a rigorous understanding and enforcement of security properties. Hence, despite the worthwhile efforts to design secure web applications, users for a while will be confronted with vulnerable, or maliciously crafted, code. Unfortunately, end users have no way at present to reliably protect themselves from malicious applications.
BROWSEC will develop a holistic approach to client-side web security, laying its theoretical foundations and developing innovative security enforcement technologies. In particular, BROWSEC will deliver the first client-side tool to secure web applications that is practical, in that it is implemented as an extension and can thus be easily deployed at large, and also provably sound, i.e., backed up by machine-checked proofs that the tool provides end users with the required security guarantees. At the core of the proposal lies a novel monitoring technique, which treats the browser as a blackbox and intercepts its inputs and outputs in order to prevent dangerous information flows. With this lightweight monitoring approach, we aim at enforcing strong security properties without requiring any expensive and, given the dynamic nature of web applications, statically infeasible program analysis.
BROWSEC is thus a multidisciplinary research effort, promising practical impact and delivering breakthrough advancements in various disciplines, such as web security, JavaScript semantics, software engineering, and program verification.
Max ERC Funding
1 990 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-06-01, End date: 2023-05-31
Project acronym CABUM
Project An investigation of the mechanisms at the interaction between cavitation bubbles and contaminants
Researcher (PI) Matevz DULAR
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE8, ERC-2017-COG
Summary A sudden decrease in pressure triggers the formation of vapour and gas bubbles inside a liquid medium (also called cavitation). This leads to many (key) engineering problems: material loss, noise and vibration of hydraulic machinery. On the other hand, cavitation is a potentially a useful phenomenon: the extreme conditions are increasingly used for a wide variety of applications such as surface cleaning, enhanced chemistry, and waste water treatment (bacteria eradication and virus inactivation).
Despite this significant progress a large gap persists between the understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to the effects of cavitation and its application. Although engineers are already commercializing devices that employ cavitation, we are still not able to answer the fundamental question: What precisely are the mechanisms how bubbles can clean, disinfect, kill bacteria and enhance chemical activity? The overall objective of the project is to understand and determine the fundamental physics of the interaction of cavitation bubbles with different contaminants. To address this issue, the CABUM project will investigate the physical background of cavitation from physical, biological and engineering perspective on three complexity scales: i) on single bubble level, ii) on organised and iii) on random bubble clusters, producing a progressive multidisciplinary synergetic effect.
The proposed synergetic approach builds on the PI's preliminary research and employs novel experimental and numerical methodologies, some of which have been developed by the PI and his research group, to explore the physics of cavitation behaviour in interaction with bacteria and viruses.
Understanding the fundamental physical background of cavitation in interaction with contaminants will have a ground-breaking implications in various scientific fields (engineering, chemistry and biology) and will, in the future, enable the exploitation of cavitation in water and soil treatment processes.
Summary
A sudden decrease in pressure triggers the formation of vapour and gas bubbles inside a liquid medium (also called cavitation). This leads to many (key) engineering problems: material loss, noise and vibration of hydraulic machinery. On the other hand, cavitation is a potentially a useful phenomenon: the extreme conditions are increasingly used for a wide variety of applications such as surface cleaning, enhanced chemistry, and waste water treatment (bacteria eradication and virus inactivation).
Despite this significant progress a large gap persists between the understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to the effects of cavitation and its application. Although engineers are already commercializing devices that employ cavitation, we are still not able to answer the fundamental question: What precisely are the mechanisms how bubbles can clean, disinfect, kill bacteria and enhance chemical activity? The overall objective of the project is to understand and determine the fundamental physics of the interaction of cavitation bubbles with different contaminants. To address this issue, the CABUM project will investigate the physical background of cavitation from physical, biological and engineering perspective on three complexity scales: i) on single bubble level, ii) on organised and iii) on random bubble clusters, producing a progressive multidisciplinary synergetic effect.
The proposed synergetic approach builds on the PI's preliminary research and employs novel experimental and numerical methodologies, some of which have been developed by the PI and his research group, to explore the physics of cavitation behaviour in interaction with bacteria and viruses.
Understanding the fundamental physical background of cavitation in interaction with contaminants will have a ground-breaking implications in various scientific fields (engineering, chemistry and biology) and will, in the future, enable the exploitation of cavitation in water and soil treatment processes.
Max ERC Funding
1 904 565 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-07-01, End date: 2023-06-30
Project acronym CharFL
Project Characterizing the fitness landscape on population and global scales
Researcher (PI) Fyodor Kondrashov
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYAUSTRIA
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS2, ERC-2017-COG
Summary The fitness landscape, the representation of how the genotype manifests at the phenotypic (fitness) levels, may be among the most useful concepts in biology with impact on diverse fields, including quantitative genetics, emergence of pathogen resistance, synthetic biology and protein engineering. While progress in characterizing fitness landscapes has been made, three directions of research in the field remain virtually unexplored: the nature of the genotype to phenotype of standing variation (variation found in a natural population), the shape of the fitness landscape encompassing many genotypes and the modelling of complex genetic interactions in protein sequences.
The current proposal is designed to advance the study of fitness landscapes in these three directions using large-scale genomic experiments and experimental data from a model protein and theoretical work. The study of the fitness landscape of standing variation is aimed at the resolution of an outstanding question in quantitative genetics: the extent to which epistasis, non-additive genetic interactions, is shaping the phenotype. The second aim of characterizing the global fitness landscape will give us an understanding of how evolution proceeds along long evolutionary timescales, which can be directly applied to protein engineering and synthetic biology for the design of novel phenotypes. Finally, the third aim of modelling complex interactions will improve our ability to predict phenotypes from genotypes, such as the prediction of human disease mutations. In summary, the proposed study presents an opportunity to provide a unifying understanding of how phenotypes are shaped through genetic interactions. The consolidation of our empirical and theoretical work on different scales of the genotype to phenotype relationship will provide empirical data and novel context for several fields of biology.
Summary
The fitness landscape, the representation of how the genotype manifests at the phenotypic (fitness) levels, may be among the most useful concepts in biology with impact on diverse fields, including quantitative genetics, emergence of pathogen resistance, synthetic biology and protein engineering. While progress in characterizing fitness landscapes has been made, three directions of research in the field remain virtually unexplored: the nature of the genotype to phenotype of standing variation (variation found in a natural population), the shape of the fitness landscape encompassing many genotypes and the modelling of complex genetic interactions in protein sequences.
The current proposal is designed to advance the study of fitness landscapes in these three directions using large-scale genomic experiments and experimental data from a model protein and theoretical work. The study of the fitness landscape of standing variation is aimed at the resolution of an outstanding question in quantitative genetics: the extent to which epistasis, non-additive genetic interactions, is shaping the phenotype. The second aim of characterizing the global fitness landscape will give us an understanding of how evolution proceeds along long evolutionary timescales, which can be directly applied to protein engineering and synthetic biology for the design of novel phenotypes. Finally, the third aim of modelling complex interactions will improve our ability to predict phenotypes from genotypes, such as the prediction of human disease mutations. In summary, the proposed study presents an opportunity to provide a unifying understanding of how phenotypes are shaped through genetic interactions. The consolidation of our empirical and theoretical work on different scales of the genotype to phenotype relationship will provide empirical data and novel context for several fields of biology.
Max ERC Funding
1 998 280 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-01-01, End date: 2023-12-31
