Project acronym CHOMP
Project A Complete History of Massive Proto-Galaxies
Researcher (PI) James Dunlop
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE9, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary A key question in modern science is to explain how the present-day universe of galaxies evolved from the initial conditions measured in the micro-wave background at recombination. Over the next 5 years I propose to undertake a major program of research to address this issue, by discovering and studying directly the progenitors of today's massive galaxies during the first ~2 billion years of cosmic history, and hence performing critical tests of current theories of galaxy formation. It is now clear that to sample representative volumes of the high-redshift universe requires ultra-deep near-infrared, mid-infrared and sub-mm surveys covering over ~1 sq. degree. Until now this has not been possible, but this field is about to be revolutionized by the introduction of a new generation of wide-field facilities in the next year. Specifically, 2009 will see the commissioning of the new near-infrared VISTA survey telescope in Chile, the new SCUBA2 sub-mm camera on the JCMT in Hawaii, the far-infrared Herschel Space Observatory, and the near-infrared camera WFC3 in the Hubble Space Telescope. Now, through my leadership of the deepest of the new generation of wide-field infrared and submm surveys to be undertaken with these revolutionary new facilities, I am unusually well-placed to take an integrated approach to the study of galaxy formation/evolution reaching back, for the first time, into the epoch of re-ionisation, at redshifts z ~ 7 - 10. Through this application I request the level of support required to exploit these new and unique data in what is one of the most important and topical areas at the forefront of modern astronomical research. Investment in this research program will also help ensure that European astronomers are strongly positioned to exploit the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA), and future large telescopes (e.g. E-ELT) to study the physics of galaxy formation over virtually all of cosmic history.
Summary
A key question in modern science is to explain how the present-day universe of galaxies evolved from the initial conditions measured in the micro-wave background at recombination. Over the next 5 years I propose to undertake a major program of research to address this issue, by discovering and studying directly the progenitors of today's massive galaxies during the first ~2 billion years of cosmic history, and hence performing critical tests of current theories of galaxy formation. It is now clear that to sample representative volumes of the high-redshift universe requires ultra-deep near-infrared, mid-infrared and sub-mm surveys covering over ~1 sq. degree. Until now this has not been possible, but this field is about to be revolutionized by the introduction of a new generation of wide-field facilities in the next year. Specifically, 2009 will see the commissioning of the new near-infrared VISTA survey telescope in Chile, the new SCUBA2 sub-mm camera on the JCMT in Hawaii, the far-infrared Herschel Space Observatory, and the near-infrared camera WFC3 in the Hubble Space Telescope. Now, through my leadership of the deepest of the new generation of wide-field infrared and submm surveys to be undertaken with these revolutionary new facilities, I am unusually well-placed to take an integrated approach to the study of galaxy formation/evolution reaching back, for the first time, into the epoch of re-ionisation, at redshifts z ~ 7 - 10. Through this application I request the level of support required to exploit these new and unique data in what is one of the most important and topical areas at the forefront of modern astronomical research. Investment in this research program will also help ensure that European astronomers are strongly positioned to exploit the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA), and future large telescopes (e.g. E-ELT) to study the physics of galaxy formation over virtually all of cosmic history.
Max ERC Funding
2 317 255 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-04-01, End date: 2016-03-31
Project acronym CHROMOCOND
Project A molecular view of chromosome condensation
Researcher (PI) Frank Uhlmann
Host Institution (HI) CANCER RESEARCH UK LBG
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS3, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary Eukaryotic cells inherit much of their genomic information in the form of chromosomes during cell division. Centimetre-long DNA molecules are packed into micrometer-sized chromosomes to enable this process. How DNA is organised within mitotic chromosomes is still largely unknown. A key structural protein component of mitotic chromosomes, implicated in their compaction, is the condensin complex. In this proposal, we aim to elucidate the molecular architecture of mitotic chromosomes, taking advantage of new genomic techniques and the relatively simple genome organisation of yeast model systems. We will place particular emphasis on elucidating the contribution of the condensin complex, and the cell cycle regulation of its activities, in promoting chromosome condensation. Our previous work has provided genome-wide maps of condensin binding to budding and fission yeast chromosomes. We will continue to decipher the molecular determinants for condensin binding. To investigate how condensin mediates DNA compaction, we propose to generate chromosome-wide DNA/DNA proximity maps. Our approach will be an extension of the chromosome conformation capture (3C) technique. High throughput sequencing of interaction points has provided a first glimpse of the interactions that govern chromosome condensation. The role that condensin plays in promoting these interactions will be investigated. The contribution of condensin s ATP-dependent activities, and cell cycle-dependent post-translational modifications, will be studied. This will be complemented by mathematical modelling of the condensation process. In addition to chromosome condensation, condensin is required for resolution of sister chromatids in anaphase. We will develop an assay to study the catenation status of sister chromatids and how condensin may contribute to their topological resolution.
Summary
Eukaryotic cells inherit much of their genomic information in the form of chromosomes during cell division. Centimetre-long DNA molecules are packed into micrometer-sized chromosomes to enable this process. How DNA is organised within mitotic chromosomes is still largely unknown. A key structural protein component of mitotic chromosomes, implicated in their compaction, is the condensin complex. In this proposal, we aim to elucidate the molecular architecture of mitotic chromosomes, taking advantage of new genomic techniques and the relatively simple genome organisation of yeast model systems. We will place particular emphasis on elucidating the contribution of the condensin complex, and the cell cycle regulation of its activities, in promoting chromosome condensation. Our previous work has provided genome-wide maps of condensin binding to budding and fission yeast chromosomes. We will continue to decipher the molecular determinants for condensin binding. To investigate how condensin mediates DNA compaction, we propose to generate chromosome-wide DNA/DNA proximity maps. Our approach will be an extension of the chromosome conformation capture (3C) technique. High throughput sequencing of interaction points has provided a first glimpse of the interactions that govern chromosome condensation. The role that condensin plays in promoting these interactions will be investigated. The contribution of condensin s ATP-dependent activities, and cell cycle-dependent post-translational modifications, will be studied. This will be complemented by mathematical modelling of the condensation process. In addition to chromosome condensation, condensin is required for resolution of sister chromatids in anaphase. We will develop an assay to study the catenation status of sister chromatids and how condensin may contribute to their topological resolution.
Max ERC Funding
2 076 126 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-04-01, End date: 2015-03-31
Project acronym CIF
Project Complex Interfacial Flows: From the Nano- to the Macro-Scale
Researcher (PI) Serafim Kalliadasis
Host Institution (HI) IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary A wide variety of natural phenomena and technological applications involve flow, transport and chemical reactions taking place on or near fluid-solid or fluid-fluid interfaces. From gravity currents under water and lava flows to heat and mass transport processes in engineering applications and to the rapidly developing field of microfluidics. Both equilibrium properties of a fluid and transportcoefficients are modified in the vicinity of interfaces. The effect of these changes is crucial in the behavior of ultra-thin fluidfilms and fluid motion in microchannels of micro-electromechanical systems, but is essential as well in macroscopic phenomena involving interfacial singularities, such as thin-film rupture and motion of three-phase contact lines associated e.g. with droplet spreading. Interface boundaries are mesoscopic structures. While material properties vary smoothly at macroscopic distances from an interface, gradients in the normal direction of conserved parameters, such as density, are steep with strong variations as the molecular scale in the neighborhood of the interface is approached. This brings about a contradiction between the need in macroscopic description and a necessity to take into consideration microscopic factors that come to influence the fluid motion and transport on incommensurately larger scales. The aim of the proposed research is to develop a class of novel continuous models bridging the gap between molecular dynamics and conventional hydrodynamics and applicable at mesoscopic distances from gas-liquid and fluid-solid interfaces. A combination of analytical techniques, numerical modeling and computer-aided multiscale analysis will be employed. The results of the proposed work will greatly contribute to the fundamental understanding of mesoscopic non-equilibrium phenomena in the vicinity of interfaces and to the development of novel computational methods combining the advantages of molecular and continuous models.
Summary
A wide variety of natural phenomena and technological applications involve flow, transport and chemical reactions taking place on or near fluid-solid or fluid-fluid interfaces. From gravity currents under water and lava flows to heat and mass transport processes in engineering applications and to the rapidly developing field of microfluidics. Both equilibrium properties of a fluid and transportcoefficients are modified in the vicinity of interfaces. The effect of these changes is crucial in the behavior of ultra-thin fluidfilms and fluid motion in microchannels of micro-electromechanical systems, but is essential as well in macroscopic phenomena involving interfacial singularities, such as thin-film rupture and motion of three-phase contact lines associated e.g. with droplet spreading. Interface boundaries are mesoscopic structures. While material properties vary smoothly at macroscopic distances from an interface, gradients in the normal direction of conserved parameters, such as density, are steep with strong variations as the molecular scale in the neighborhood of the interface is approached. This brings about a contradiction between the need in macroscopic description and a necessity to take into consideration microscopic factors that come to influence the fluid motion and transport on incommensurately larger scales. The aim of the proposed research is to develop a class of novel continuous models bridging the gap between molecular dynamics and conventional hydrodynamics and applicable at mesoscopic distances from gas-liquid and fluid-solid interfaces. A combination of analytical techniques, numerical modeling and computer-aided multiscale analysis will be employed. The results of the proposed work will greatly contribute to the fundamental understanding of mesoscopic non-equilibrium phenomena in the vicinity of interfaces and to the development of novel computational methods combining the advantages of molecular and continuous models.
Max ERC Funding
1 273 788 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-04-01, End date: 2016-03-31
Project acronym CILIARYDISEASE
Project Deciphering mechanisms of ciliary disease
Researcher (PI) Heiko Lickert
Host Institution (HI) HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM MUENCHEN DEUTSCHES FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM FUER GESUNDHEIT UND UMWELT GMBH
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS3, ERC-2009-StG
Summary Ciliopathies are pleiotropic diseases with a wide spectrum of human phenotypes. These include cyst formation in the liver and pancreas, respiratory disorders and a predisposition to diabetes and cancer. The pleiotropic nature of these disorders may reflect the many roles cilia play in physiology and signalling, highlighting the clinical importance of understanding their function in organ development and homeostasis. Despite the biological importance of cilia and decades of research, many aspects of cilia assembly and disassembly remain elusive. The earliest steps of cilia assembly involve conversion of the centrosome into a basal body, which anchors the cilia to the plasma membrane. Odf2 is one of the only proteins known to be important for this process, thus Ofd2 mutant cells lack cilia. During cell cycle re-entry primary cilia disassemble, the basal body dislodges from the plasma membrane and duplicates to serve as the mitotic centrosome. We recently identified Pitchfork, which functions in basal body-to-centrosome conversion and regulates embryonic patterning. The overall aim of this proposal is to better understand the cellular and bio-molecular mechanisms underlying ciliary disease. We will conditionally delete Odf2 and Pitchfork during embryogenesis and organogenesis. This will reveal the different requirements for the process of cilia assembly and disassembly in embryonic development, organ formation and homeostasis. The phenotypes will be analyzed at all levels of complexity. Subcellular imaging and identification of protein interaction partners will uncover the molecular basis of cilia assembly and disassembly. In summary, this project will decipher mechanisms underlying a wide spectrum of human ciliary disease and will open new avenues of clinical research.
Summary
Ciliopathies are pleiotropic diseases with a wide spectrum of human phenotypes. These include cyst formation in the liver and pancreas, respiratory disorders and a predisposition to diabetes and cancer. The pleiotropic nature of these disorders may reflect the many roles cilia play in physiology and signalling, highlighting the clinical importance of understanding their function in organ development and homeostasis. Despite the biological importance of cilia and decades of research, many aspects of cilia assembly and disassembly remain elusive. The earliest steps of cilia assembly involve conversion of the centrosome into a basal body, which anchors the cilia to the plasma membrane. Odf2 is one of the only proteins known to be important for this process, thus Ofd2 mutant cells lack cilia. During cell cycle re-entry primary cilia disassemble, the basal body dislodges from the plasma membrane and duplicates to serve as the mitotic centrosome. We recently identified Pitchfork, which functions in basal body-to-centrosome conversion and regulates embryonic patterning. The overall aim of this proposal is to better understand the cellular and bio-molecular mechanisms underlying ciliary disease. We will conditionally delete Odf2 and Pitchfork during embryogenesis and organogenesis. This will reveal the different requirements for the process of cilia assembly and disassembly in embryonic development, organ formation and homeostasis. The phenotypes will be analyzed at all levels of complexity. Subcellular imaging and identification of protein interaction partners will uncover the molecular basis of cilia assembly and disassembly. In summary, this project will decipher mechanisms underlying a wide spectrum of human ciliary disease and will open new avenues of clinical research.
Max ERC Funding
1 449 640 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-02-01, End date: 2015-01-31
Project acronym CLEAR
Project Modulating cellular clearance to cure human disease
Researcher (PI) Andrea Ballabio
Host Institution (HI) FONDAZIONE TELETHON
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS2, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary Cellular clearance is a fundamental process required by all cells in all species. Important physiological processes, such as aging, and pathological mechanisms, such as neurodegeneration, are strictly dependent on cellular clearance. In eukaryotes, most of the cellular clearing processes occur in a specialized organelle, the lysosome. This project is based on a recent discovery, made in our laboratory, of a gene network, which we have named CLEAR, that controls lysosomal biogenesis and function and regulates cellular clearance. The specific goals of the project are: 1) the comprehensive characterization of the mechanisms underlying the CLEAR network, 2) the thorough understanding of CLEAR physiological function at the cellular and organism levels, 3) the development of strategies and tools to modulate cellular clearance, and 4) the implementation of proof-of-principle therapeutic studies based on the activation of the CLEAR network in murine models of human lysosomal storage disorders and of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers s and Huntington s diseases. A combination of genomics, bioinformatics, systems biology, chemical genomics, cell biology, and mouse genetics approaches will be used to achieve these goals. Our goal is to develop tools to modulate cellular clearance and to use such tools to develop therapies to cure human disease. The potential medical relevance of this project is very high, particularly in the field of neurodegenerative disease. Therapies that prevent, ameliorate or delay neurodegeneration in these diseases would have a huge impact on human health.
Summary
Cellular clearance is a fundamental process required by all cells in all species. Important physiological processes, such as aging, and pathological mechanisms, such as neurodegeneration, are strictly dependent on cellular clearance. In eukaryotes, most of the cellular clearing processes occur in a specialized organelle, the lysosome. This project is based on a recent discovery, made in our laboratory, of a gene network, which we have named CLEAR, that controls lysosomal biogenesis and function and regulates cellular clearance. The specific goals of the project are: 1) the comprehensive characterization of the mechanisms underlying the CLEAR network, 2) the thorough understanding of CLEAR physiological function at the cellular and organism levels, 3) the development of strategies and tools to modulate cellular clearance, and 4) the implementation of proof-of-principle therapeutic studies based on the activation of the CLEAR network in murine models of human lysosomal storage disorders and of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers s and Huntington s diseases. A combination of genomics, bioinformatics, systems biology, chemical genomics, cell biology, and mouse genetics approaches will be used to achieve these goals. Our goal is to develop tools to modulate cellular clearance and to use such tools to develop therapies to cure human disease. The potential medical relevance of this project is very high, particularly in the field of neurodegenerative disease. Therapies that prevent, ameliorate or delay neurodegeneration in these diseases would have a huge impact on human health.
Max ERC Funding
2 100 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-03-01, End date: 2015-02-28
Project acronym CMR
Project Cosmic ray acceleration, magnetic field and radiation hydrodynamics
Researcher (PI) Anthony Raymond Bell
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE9, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary Diffusive shock acceleration is widely acknowledged as the most likely source of cosmic rays and high energy particles. The basic macroscopic theory of how cosmic rays gain energy during multiple shock crossings is well known, but the microphysics of the interaction between cosmic rays (CR) and the MHD background fluid remained poorly understood before the recent discovery of a new non-resonant instability by which the CR precursor could greatly amplify the ambient magnetic field. The aims of the project are: 1) to develop the first self-consistent non-linear simulation of the CR/MHD interaction; to calculate the magnitude of the saturated magnetic field and the maximum energy to which CR are accelerated. We will characterise the structure of the amplified magnetic field and compare it with x-ray observations of the time-evolving outer shock of supernova remnants (SNR). We will investigate the effect of various orientations of the shock relative to the ambient magnetic field, the effect of non-diffusive transport on the energy spectrum and CR escape from the SNR, and how these match observation. 2) to extend the simulation to relativistic shocks as found in gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and active galactic nuclei (AGN); to establish whether the non-resonant instability operates effectively at relativistic shock velocities, whether it explains the large magnetic field found in GRB, and determine the maximum CR energy achieved by relativistic shocks. 3) to investigate high density shocks in GRB, x-ray flashes (XRF) and supernovae (SN) where radiative processes, pair production and other particle/photon and particle/particle interactions are important. We shall investigate CR acceleration on SN shock breakout and very young SNR as a possible source of very high energy CR.
Summary
Diffusive shock acceleration is widely acknowledged as the most likely source of cosmic rays and high energy particles. The basic macroscopic theory of how cosmic rays gain energy during multiple shock crossings is well known, but the microphysics of the interaction between cosmic rays (CR) and the MHD background fluid remained poorly understood before the recent discovery of a new non-resonant instability by which the CR precursor could greatly amplify the ambient magnetic field. The aims of the project are: 1) to develop the first self-consistent non-linear simulation of the CR/MHD interaction; to calculate the magnitude of the saturated magnetic field and the maximum energy to which CR are accelerated. We will characterise the structure of the amplified magnetic field and compare it with x-ray observations of the time-evolving outer shock of supernova remnants (SNR). We will investigate the effect of various orientations of the shock relative to the ambient magnetic field, the effect of non-diffusive transport on the energy spectrum and CR escape from the SNR, and how these match observation. 2) to extend the simulation to relativistic shocks as found in gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and active galactic nuclei (AGN); to establish whether the non-resonant instability operates effectively at relativistic shock velocities, whether it explains the large magnetic field found in GRB, and determine the maximum CR energy achieved by relativistic shocks. 3) to investigate high density shocks in GRB, x-ray flashes (XRF) and supernovae (SN) where radiative processes, pair production and other particle/photon and particle/particle interactions are important. We shall investigate CR acceleration on SN shock breakout and very young SNR as a possible source of very high energy CR.
Max ERC Funding
900 024 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-05-01, End date: 2015-04-30
Project acronym COCOON
Project Conformal coating of nanoporous materials
Researcher (PI) Christophe Detavernier
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT GENT
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE8, ERC-2009-StG
Summary CONTEXT - Nanoporous structures are used for application in catalysis, molecular separation, fuel cells, dye sensitized solar cells etc. Given the near molecular size of the porous network, it is extremely challenging to modify the interior surface of the pores after the nanoporous material has been synthesized.
THIS PROPOSAL - Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is envisioned as a novel technique for creating catalytically active sites and for controlling the pore size distribution in nanoporous materials. ALD is a self-limited growth method that is characterized by alternating exposure of the growing film to precursor vapours, resulting in the sequential deposition of (sub)monolayers. It provides atomic level control of thickness and composition, and is currently used in micro-electronics to grow films into structures with aspect ratios of up to 100 / 1. We aim to make the fundamental breakthroughs necessary to enable atomic layer deposition to engineer the composition, size and shape of the interior surface of nanoporous materials with aspect ratios in excess of 10,000 / 1.
POTENTIAL IMPACT Achieving these objectives will enable atomic level engineering of the interior surface of any porous material. We plan to focus on three specific applications where our results will have both medium and long term impacts:
- Engineering the composition of pore walls using ALD, e.g. to create catalytic sites (e.g. Al for acid sites, Ti for redox sites, or Pt, Pd or Ni)
- chemical functionalization of the pore walls with atomic level control can result in breakthrough applications in the fields of catalysis and sensors.
- Atomic level control of the size of nanopores through ALD controlling the pore size distribution of molecular sieves can potentially lead to breakthrough applications in molecular separation and filtration.
- Nanocasting replication of a mesoporous template by means of ALD can result in the mass-scale production of nanotubes.
Summary
CONTEXT - Nanoporous structures are used for application in catalysis, molecular separation, fuel cells, dye sensitized solar cells etc. Given the near molecular size of the porous network, it is extremely challenging to modify the interior surface of the pores after the nanoporous material has been synthesized.
THIS PROPOSAL - Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is envisioned as a novel technique for creating catalytically active sites and for controlling the pore size distribution in nanoporous materials. ALD is a self-limited growth method that is characterized by alternating exposure of the growing film to precursor vapours, resulting in the sequential deposition of (sub)monolayers. It provides atomic level control of thickness and composition, and is currently used in micro-electronics to grow films into structures with aspect ratios of up to 100 / 1. We aim to make the fundamental breakthroughs necessary to enable atomic layer deposition to engineer the composition, size and shape of the interior surface of nanoporous materials with aspect ratios in excess of 10,000 / 1.
POTENTIAL IMPACT Achieving these objectives will enable atomic level engineering of the interior surface of any porous material. We plan to focus on three specific applications where our results will have both medium and long term impacts:
- Engineering the composition of pore walls using ALD, e.g. to create catalytic sites (e.g. Al for acid sites, Ti for redox sites, or Pt, Pd or Ni)
- chemical functionalization of the pore walls with atomic level control can result in breakthrough applications in the fields of catalysis and sensors.
- Atomic level control of the size of nanopores through ALD controlling the pore size distribution of molecular sieves can potentially lead to breakthrough applications in molecular separation and filtration.
- Nanocasting replication of a mesoporous template by means of ALD can result in the mass-scale production of nanotubes.
Max ERC Funding
1 432 800 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-01-01, End date: 2014-12-31
Project acronym COGATIMABIO
Project Combined time domain and spectral domain coherence gating for imaging and biosensing
Researcher (PI) Adrian Podoleanu
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF KENT
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS7, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary Revolutionary combination of principles of spectral domain and time domain coherence gating will be researched. The present proposal puts forward: (i) a novel class of optical interferometers, (ii) a novel class of wavefront sensors and (iii) combinations of imaging channels with the novel wavefront sensors. All these are driven by the needs to address the limitations in terms of speed of the time domain (TD) optical coherence tomography (OCT), in terms of range, resolution and focus of the spectral (SD) OCT methods and in terms of spatial resolution of wavefront sensors. A new class of OCT systems is researched, as a marriage between the TD-OCT and SD-OCT methods. The novel methods present the generality of being compatible with both TD-OCT and SD-OCT. It is envisaged that the research results will revolutionise the field of high resolution imaging and high sensitive sensing and open applications not currently possible with the present OCT, confocal microscopy or multiphoton microscopy technology. The method to be researched will allow versatile functionality in measurements, in 3D imaging of moving tissue and functional/low noise imaging by making use of angular compounding or polarisation. Novel directions are opened in the tracking of the axial position of objects (cornea or retina), automatic dispersion compensation as well as improvement in the synchronism between the coherence gate and the focus in axial scanning. Simultaneous measurements over multiple path lengths becomes feasible, with potential applications in high throughput sensing. The methods proposed open novel avenues in biosensing by amplification of tiny frequency shifts or tiny changes in the optical paths. Possible outcome are high sensitive biosensors, multiple imaging at different depths, fast and long range tracking, long axial scanning, coherence gated wavefront sensors with applications in vision sciences and microscopy, protein identification and contrast agents developments.
Summary
Revolutionary combination of principles of spectral domain and time domain coherence gating will be researched. The present proposal puts forward: (i) a novel class of optical interferometers, (ii) a novel class of wavefront sensors and (iii) combinations of imaging channels with the novel wavefront sensors. All these are driven by the needs to address the limitations in terms of speed of the time domain (TD) optical coherence tomography (OCT), in terms of range, resolution and focus of the spectral (SD) OCT methods and in terms of spatial resolution of wavefront sensors. A new class of OCT systems is researched, as a marriage between the TD-OCT and SD-OCT methods. The novel methods present the generality of being compatible with both TD-OCT and SD-OCT. It is envisaged that the research results will revolutionise the field of high resolution imaging and high sensitive sensing and open applications not currently possible with the present OCT, confocal microscopy or multiphoton microscopy technology. The method to be researched will allow versatile functionality in measurements, in 3D imaging of moving tissue and functional/low noise imaging by making use of angular compounding or polarisation. Novel directions are opened in the tracking of the axial position of objects (cornea or retina), automatic dispersion compensation as well as improvement in the synchronism between the coherence gate and the focus in axial scanning. Simultaneous measurements over multiple path lengths becomes feasible, with potential applications in high throughput sensing. The methods proposed open novel avenues in biosensing by amplification of tiny frequency shifts or tiny changes in the optical paths. Possible outcome are high sensitive biosensors, multiple imaging at different depths, fast and long range tracking, long axial scanning, coherence gated wavefront sensors with applications in vision sciences and microscopy, protein identification and contrast agents developments.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 241 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-05-01, End date: 2015-10-31
Project acronym COGNIMUND
Project Cognitive Image Understanding: Image representations and Multimodal learning
Researcher (PI) Tinne Tuytelaars
Host Institution (HI) KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE6, ERC-2009-StG
Summary One of the primary and most appealing goals of computer vision is to automatically understand the content of images on a cognitive level. Ultimately we want to have computers interpret images as we humans do, recognizing all the objects, scenes, and people as well as their relations as they appear in natural images or video. With this project, I want to advance the state of the art in this field in two directions, which I believe to be crucial to build the next generation of image understanding tools. First, novel more robust yet descriptive image representations will be designed, that incorporate the intrinsic structure of images. These should already go a long way towards removing irrelevant sources of variability while capturing the essence of the image content. I believe the importance of further research into image representations is currently underestimated within the research community, yet I claim this is a crucial step with lots of opportunities good learning cannot easily make up for bad features. Second, weakly supervised methods to learn from multimodal input (especially the combination of images and text) will be investigated, making it possible to leverage the large amount of weak annotations available via the internet. This is essential if we want to scale the methods to a larger number of object categories (several hundreds instead of a few tens). As more data can be used for training, such weakly supervised methods might in the end even come on par with or outperform supervised schemes. Here we will call upon the latest results in semi-supervised learning, datamining, and computational linguistics.
Summary
One of the primary and most appealing goals of computer vision is to automatically understand the content of images on a cognitive level. Ultimately we want to have computers interpret images as we humans do, recognizing all the objects, scenes, and people as well as their relations as they appear in natural images or video. With this project, I want to advance the state of the art in this field in two directions, which I believe to be crucial to build the next generation of image understanding tools. First, novel more robust yet descriptive image representations will be designed, that incorporate the intrinsic structure of images. These should already go a long way towards removing irrelevant sources of variability while capturing the essence of the image content. I believe the importance of further research into image representations is currently underestimated within the research community, yet I claim this is a crucial step with lots of opportunities good learning cannot easily make up for bad features. Second, weakly supervised methods to learn from multimodal input (especially the combination of images and text) will be investigated, making it possible to leverage the large amount of weak annotations available via the internet. This is essential if we want to scale the methods to a larger number of object categories (several hundreds instead of a few tens). As more data can be used for training, such weakly supervised methods might in the end even come on par with or outperform supervised schemes. Here we will call upon the latest results in semi-supervised learning, datamining, and computational linguistics.
Max ERC Funding
1 538 380 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-02-01, End date: 2015-01-31
Project acronym COGNITION
Project Cognition and Decision-Making: Laws, Norms and Contracts
Researcher (PI) Jean Tirole
Host Institution (HI) FONDATION JEAN-JACQUES LAFFONT,TOULOUSE SCIENCES ECONOMIQUES
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH1, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary The application's unifying theme is cognition. Any decision reflects the information that comes to the decision-maker's awareness at the moment of making the decision. In turn, this information is the stochastic outcome of a sequence of more or less conscious choices and of awareness manipulation by third parties. The three parts of this application all are concerned with two factors of limited awareness (cognitive costs and motivated beliefs) and with the application of imperfect cognition to economics. The various projects can be subsumed into three themes, each with different subprojects: 1. Self-serving beliefs, laws, norms and taboos (expressive function of the law, taboos, dignity and contracts). 2. Cognition, markets, and contracts (mechanism design under costly cognition, directing attention in markets and politics). 3. Cognition and individual decision-making (foundations of some non-standard preferences). The methodology for this research will be that of formal economic modeling and welfare analysis, enriched with important insights from psychology and sociology. It will also include experimental (laboratory) investigations. The output will first take the form of a series of articles in economics journals, as well as, for the research described in Part 1, a book to disseminate the research to broader, multidisciplinary and non-specialized audiences.
Summary
The application's unifying theme is cognition. Any decision reflects the information that comes to the decision-maker's awareness at the moment of making the decision. In turn, this information is the stochastic outcome of a sequence of more or less conscious choices and of awareness manipulation by third parties. The three parts of this application all are concerned with two factors of limited awareness (cognitive costs and motivated beliefs) and with the application of imperfect cognition to economics. The various projects can be subsumed into three themes, each with different subprojects: 1. Self-serving beliefs, laws, norms and taboos (expressive function of the law, taboos, dignity and contracts). 2. Cognition, markets, and contracts (mechanism design under costly cognition, directing attention in markets and politics). 3. Cognition and individual decision-making (foundations of some non-standard preferences). The methodology for this research will be that of formal economic modeling and welfare analysis, enriched with important insights from psychology and sociology. It will also include experimental (laboratory) investigations. The output will first take the form of a series of articles in economics journals, as well as, for the research described in Part 1, a book to disseminate the research to broader, multidisciplinary and non-specialized audiences.
Max ERC Funding
1 910 400 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-04-01, End date: 2016-03-31
