Project acronym AROMA-CFD
Project Advanced Reduced Order Methods with Applications in Computational Fluid Dynamics
Researcher (PI) Gianluigi Rozza
Host Institution (HI) SCUOLA INTERNAZIONALE SUPERIORE DI STUDI AVANZATI DI TRIESTE
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE1, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary The aim of AROMA-CFD is to create a team of scientists at SISSA for the development of Advanced Reduced Order Modelling techniques with a focus in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), in order to face and overcome many current limitations of the state of the art and improve the capabilities of reduced order methodologies for more demanding applications in industrial, medical and applied sciences contexts. AROMA-CFD deals with strong methodological developments in numerical analysis, with a special emphasis on mathematical modelling and extensive exploitation of computational science and engineering. Several tasks have been identified to tackle important problems and open questions in reduced order modelling: study of bifurcations and instabilities in flows, increasing Reynolds number and guaranteeing stability, moving towards turbulent flows, considering complex geometrical parametrizations of shapes as computational domains into extended networks. A reduced computational and geometrical framework will be developed for nonlinear inverse problems, focusing on optimal flow control, shape optimization and uncertainty quantification. Further, all the advanced developments in reduced order modelling for CFD will be delivered for applications in multiphysics, such as fluid-structure interaction problems and general coupled phenomena involving inviscid, viscous and thermal flows, solids and porous media. The advanced developed framework within AROMA-CFD will provide attractive capabilities for several industrial and medical applications (e.g. aeronautical, mechanical, naval, off-shore, wind, sport, biomedical engineering, and cardiovascular surgery as well), combining high performance computing (in dedicated supercomputing centers) and advanced reduced order modelling (in common devices) to guarantee real time computing and visualization. A new open source software library for AROMA-CFD will be created: ITHACA, In real Time Highly Advanced Computational Applications.
Summary
The aim of AROMA-CFD is to create a team of scientists at SISSA for the development of Advanced Reduced Order Modelling techniques with a focus in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), in order to face and overcome many current limitations of the state of the art and improve the capabilities of reduced order methodologies for more demanding applications in industrial, medical and applied sciences contexts. AROMA-CFD deals with strong methodological developments in numerical analysis, with a special emphasis on mathematical modelling and extensive exploitation of computational science and engineering. Several tasks have been identified to tackle important problems and open questions in reduced order modelling: study of bifurcations and instabilities in flows, increasing Reynolds number and guaranteeing stability, moving towards turbulent flows, considering complex geometrical parametrizations of shapes as computational domains into extended networks. A reduced computational and geometrical framework will be developed for nonlinear inverse problems, focusing on optimal flow control, shape optimization and uncertainty quantification. Further, all the advanced developments in reduced order modelling for CFD will be delivered for applications in multiphysics, such as fluid-structure interaction problems and general coupled phenomena involving inviscid, viscous and thermal flows, solids and porous media. The advanced developed framework within AROMA-CFD will provide attractive capabilities for several industrial and medical applications (e.g. aeronautical, mechanical, naval, off-shore, wind, sport, biomedical engineering, and cardiovascular surgery as well), combining high performance computing (in dedicated supercomputing centers) and advanced reduced order modelling (in common devices) to guarantee real time computing and visualization. A new open source software library for AROMA-CFD will be created: ITHACA, In real Time Highly Advanced Computational Applications.
Max ERC Funding
1 656 579 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-05-01, End date: 2021-10-31
Project acronym BOPNIE
Project Boundary value problems for nonlinear integrable equations
Researcher (PI) Jonatan Carl Anders Lenells
Host Institution (HI) KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN
Country Sweden
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE1, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary The purpose of this project is to develop new methods for solving boundary value problems (BVPs) for nonlinear integrable partial differential equations (PDEs). Integrable PDEs can be analyzed by means of the Inverse Scattering Transform, whose introduction was one of the most important developments in the theory of nonlinear PDEs in the 20th century. Until the 1990s the inverse scattering methodology was pursued almost entirely for pure initial-value problems. However, in many laboratory and field situations, the solution is generated by what corresponds to the imposition of boundary conditions rather than initial conditions. Thus, an understanding of BVPs is crucial.
In an exciting sequence of events taking place in the last two decades, new tools have become available to deal with BVPs for integrable PDEs. Although some important issues have already been resolved, several major problems remain open.
The aim of this project is to solve a number of these open problems and to find solutions of BVPs which were heretofore not solvable. More precisely, the proposal has eight objectives:
1. Develop methods for solving problems with time-periodic boundary conditions.
2. Answer some long-standing open questions raised by series of wave-tank experiments 35 years ago.
3. Develop a new approach for the study of space-periodic solutions.
4. Develop new approaches for the analysis of BVPs for equations with 3 x 3-matrix Lax pairs.
5. Derive new asymptotic formulas by using a nonlinear version of the steepest descent method.
6. Construct disk and disk/black-hole solutions of the stationary axisymmetric Einstein equations.
7. Solve a BVP in Einstein's theory of relativity describing two colliding gravitational waves.
8. Extend the above methods to BVPs in higher dimensions.
Summary
The purpose of this project is to develop new methods for solving boundary value problems (BVPs) for nonlinear integrable partial differential equations (PDEs). Integrable PDEs can be analyzed by means of the Inverse Scattering Transform, whose introduction was one of the most important developments in the theory of nonlinear PDEs in the 20th century. Until the 1990s the inverse scattering methodology was pursued almost entirely for pure initial-value problems. However, in many laboratory and field situations, the solution is generated by what corresponds to the imposition of boundary conditions rather than initial conditions. Thus, an understanding of BVPs is crucial.
In an exciting sequence of events taking place in the last two decades, new tools have become available to deal with BVPs for integrable PDEs. Although some important issues have already been resolved, several major problems remain open.
The aim of this project is to solve a number of these open problems and to find solutions of BVPs which were heretofore not solvable. More precisely, the proposal has eight objectives:
1. Develop methods for solving problems with time-periodic boundary conditions.
2. Answer some long-standing open questions raised by series of wave-tank experiments 35 years ago.
3. Develop a new approach for the study of space-periodic solutions.
4. Develop new approaches for the analysis of BVPs for equations with 3 x 3-matrix Lax pairs.
5. Derive new asymptotic formulas by using a nonlinear version of the steepest descent method.
6. Construct disk and disk/black-hole solutions of the stationary axisymmetric Einstein equations.
7. Solve a BVP in Einstein's theory of relativity describing two colliding gravitational waves.
8. Extend the above methods to BVPs in higher dimensions.
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-05-01, End date: 2022-02-28
Project acronym CAVE
Project Challenges and Advancements in Virtual Elements
Researcher (PI) Lourenco Beirao da veiga
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO-BICOCCA
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE1, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary The Virtual Element Method (VEM) is a novel technology for the discretization of partial differential equations (PDEs), that shares the same variational background as the Finite Element Method. First but not only, the VEM responds to the strongly increasing interest in using general polyhedral and polygonal meshes in the approximation of PDEs without the limit of using tetrahedral or hexahedral grids. By avoiding the explicit integration of the shape functions that span the discrete space and introducing an innovative construction of the stiffness matrixes, the VEM acquires very interesting properties and advantages with respect to more standard Galerkin methods, yet still keeping the same coding complexity. For instance, the VEM easily allows for polygonal/polyhedral meshes (even non-conforming) with non-convex elements and possibly with curved faces; it allows for discrete spaces of arbitrary C^k regularity on unstructured meshes.
The main scope of the project is to address the recent theoretical challenges posed by VEM and to assess whether this promising technology can achieve a breakthrough in applications. First, the theoretical and computational foundations of VEM will be made stronger. A deeper theoretical insight, supported by a wider numerical experience on benchmark problems, will be developed to gain a better understanding of the method's potentials and set the foundations for more applicative purposes. Second, we will focus our attention on two tough and up-to-date problems of practical interest: large deformation elasticity (where VEM can yield a dramatically more efficient handling of material inclusions, meshing of the domain and grid adaptivity, plus a much stronger robustness with respect to large grid distortions) and the cardiac bidomain model (where VEM can lead to a more accurate domain approximation through MRI data, a flexible refinement/de-refinement procedure along the propagation front, to an exact satisfaction of conservation laws).
Summary
The Virtual Element Method (VEM) is a novel technology for the discretization of partial differential equations (PDEs), that shares the same variational background as the Finite Element Method. First but not only, the VEM responds to the strongly increasing interest in using general polyhedral and polygonal meshes in the approximation of PDEs without the limit of using tetrahedral or hexahedral grids. By avoiding the explicit integration of the shape functions that span the discrete space and introducing an innovative construction of the stiffness matrixes, the VEM acquires very interesting properties and advantages with respect to more standard Galerkin methods, yet still keeping the same coding complexity. For instance, the VEM easily allows for polygonal/polyhedral meshes (even non-conforming) with non-convex elements and possibly with curved faces; it allows for discrete spaces of arbitrary C^k regularity on unstructured meshes.
The main scope of the project is to address the recent theoretical challenges posed by VEM and to assess whether this promising technology can achieve a breakthrough in applications. First, the theoretical and computational foundations of VEM will be made stronger. A deeper theoretical insight, supported by a wider numerical experience on benchmark problems, will be developed to gain a better understanding of the method's potentials and set the foundations for more applicative purposes. Second, we will focus our attention on two tough and up-to-date problems of practical interest: large deformation elasticity (where VEM can yield a dramatically more efficient handling of material inclusions, meshing of the domain and grid adaptivity, plus a much stronger robustness with respect to large grid distortions) and the cardiac bidomain model (where VEM can lead to a more accurate domain approximation through MRI data, a flexible refinement/de-refinement procedure along the propagation front, to an exact satisfaction of conservation laws).
Max ERC Funding
980 634 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-07-01, End date: 2021-06-30
Project acronym DELMIT
Project Maintaining the Human Mitochondrial Genome
Researcher (PI) Maria Falkenberg Gustafsson
Host Institution (HI) GOETEBORGS UNIVERSITET
Country Sweden
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS1, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary Mitochondria are required to convert food into usable energy forms and every cell contains thousands of them. Unlike most other cellular compartments, mitochondria have their own genomes (mtDNA) that encode for 13 of the about 90 proteins present in the respiratory chain. All proteins necessary for mtDNA replication, as well as transcription and translation of mtDNA-encoded genes, are encoded in the nucleus. Mutations in nuclear-encoded proteins required for mtDNA maintenance is an important cause of neurodegeneration and muscle diseases. The common result of these defects is either mtDNA depletion or accumulation of multiple deletions of mtDNA in postmitotic tissues.
The long-term goal (or vision) of research in my laboratory is to understand in molecular detail how mtDNA is replicated and how this process is regulated in mammalian cells. To this end we use a protein biochemistry approach, which we combine with in vivo verification in cell lines. My group was in 2004 the first to reconstitute mtDNA replication in vitro and we have continued to develop even more elaborate system ever since. In the current application, the major focus is studies of the mitochondrial D-loop region, a triple-stranded structure in the mitochondrial genome. The D-loop functions as a regulatory hub and we will determine how initiation and termination of mtDNA replication is controlled from this region. We will also determine the physical organization of the mtDNA replication machinery at the replication fork and establish how mtDNA deletions, a classical hallmark of human ageing, are formed.
Summary
Mitochondria are required to convert food into usable energy forms and every cell contains thousands of them. Unlike most other cellular compartments, mitochondria have their own genomes (mtDNA) that encode for 13 of the about 90 proteins present in the respiratory chain. All proteins necessary for mtDNA replication, as well as transcription and translation of mtDNA-encoded genes, are encoded in the nucleus. Mutations in nuclear-encoded proteins required for mtDNA maintenance is an important cause of neurodegeneration and muscle diseases. The common result of these defects is either mtDNA depletion or accumulation of multiple deletions of mtDNA in postmitotic tissues.
The long-term goal (or vision) of research in my laboratory is to understand in molecular detail how mtDNA is replicated and how this process is regulated in mammalian cells. To this end we use a protein biochemistry approach, which we combine with in vivo verification in cell lines. My group was in 2004 the first to reconstitute mtDNA replication in vitro and we have continued to develop even more elaborate system ever since. In the current application, the major focus is studies of the mitochondrial D-loop region, a triple-stranded structure in the mitochondrial genome. The D-loop functions as a regulatory hub and we will determine how initiation and termination of mtDNA replication is controlled from this region. We will also determine the physical organization of the mtDNA replication machinery at the replication fork and establish how mtDNA deletions, a classical hallmark of human ageing, are formed.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 985 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-11-01, End date: 2021-10-31
Project acronym ECOHERB
Project Drivers and impacts of invertebrate herbivores across forest ecosystems globally.
Researcher (PI) Daniel Metcalfe
Host Institution (HI) UMEA UNIVERSITET
Country Sweden
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE10, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary Forests slow global climate change by absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide but this ecosystem service is limited by soil nutrients. Herbivores potentially alter soil nutrients in a range of ways, but these have mostly only been recorded for large mammals. By comparison, the impacts of the abundant invertebrates in forests have largely been ignored and are not included in current models used to generate the climate predictions so vital for designing governmental policies
The proposed project will use a pioneering new interdisciplinary approach to provide the most complete picture yet available of the rates, underlying drivers and ultimate impacts of key nutrient inputs from invertebrate herbivores across forest ecosystems worldwide. Specifically, we will:
(1) Establish a network of herbivory monitoring stations across all major forest types, and across key environmental gradients (temperature, rainfall, ecosystem development).
(2) Perform laboratory experiments to examine the effects of herbivore excreta on soil processes under different temperature and moisture conditions.
(3) Integrate this information into a cutting-edge ecosystem model, to generate more accurate predictions of forest carbon sequestration under future climate change.
The network established will form the foundation for a unique long-term global monitoring effort which we intend to continue long after the current funding time scale. This work represents a powerful blend of several disciplines harnessing an array of cutting edge tools to provide fundamentally novel insights into an area of direct and urgent importance for the society.
Summary
Forests slow global climate change by absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide but this ecosystem service is limited by soil nutrients. Herbivores potentially alter soil nutrients in a range of ways, but these have mostly only been recorded for large mammals. By comparison, the impacts of the abundant invertebrates in forests have largely been ignored and are not included in current models used to generate the climate predictions so vital for designing governmental policies
The proposed project will use a pioneering new interdisciplinary approach to provide the most complete picture yet available of the rates, underlying drivers and ultimate impacts of key nutrient inputs from invertebrate herbivores across forest ecosystems worldwide. Specifically, we will:
(1) Establish a network of herbivory monitoring stations across all major forest types, and across key environmental gradients (temperature, rainfall, ecosystem development).
(2) Perform laboratory experiments to examine the effects of herbivore excreta on soil processes under different temperature and moisture conditions.
(3) Integrate this information into a cutting-edge ecosystem model, to generate more accurate predictions of forest carbon sequestration under future climate change.
The network established will form the foundation for a unique long-term global monitoring effort which we intend to continue long after the current funding time scale. This work represents a powerful blend of several disciplines harnessing an array of cutting edge tools to provide fundamentally novel insights into an area of direct and urgent importance for the society.
Max ERC Funding
1 750 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-03-01, End date: 2022-02-28
Project acronym ENUBET
Project Enhanced NeUtrino BEams from kaon Tagging
Researcher (PI) Andrea Longhin
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary ENUBET has been designed to open a new window of opportunities in accelerator neutrino physics.
The proposed project enables for the first time the measurement of the positrons produced in the decay tunnel of conventional neutrino beams: these particles signal uniquely the generation of an electron neutrino at source.
Neutrino facilities enhanced by the ENUBET technique will have an unprecedented control of the neutrino flux. This will allow to reduce by one order of magnitude the uncertainties on neutrino cross sections: a leap that has been sought after since decades and that is needed to address the challenges of discovering matter-antimatter asymmetries in the leptonic sector.
The apparatus is a highly specialized electromagnetic calorimeter with fast response, sustaining particle rates as high as 0.5 MHz/cm^2, having excellent electron/pion separation capabilities with a reduced number of read-out channels. ENUBET will boost technologies that have been envisaged for high energy colliders to address this new challenge. On the other hand it will operate in a substantially different configuration. The experiment will be performed at the CERN Neutrino Platform, a recently approved facility where innovative neutrino detectors will be developed exploiting dedicated hadron beam-lines from the SPS accelerator. In the first phase of the project, ENUBET will address the challenges of particle identification from extended sources, developing innovative optical readout systems and cost-effective solutions for radiation imaging. This approach is based on cutting-edge technologies for single photon sensitive devices. During the second phase, the detector will be assembled and characterized at CERN with particle beams. Finally, it will be operated in time coincidence with Liquid Argon neutrino detectors, achieving a major step towards the realization of the concept of tagging individual neutrinos both at production and interaction level, on an event-by-event basis.
Summary
ENUBET has been designed to open a new window of opportunities in accelerator neutrino physics.
The proposed project enables for the first time the measurement of the positrons produced in the decay tunnel of conventional neutrino beams: these particles signal uniquely the generation of an electron neutrino at source.
Neutrino facilities enhanced by the ENUBET technique will have an unprecedented control of the neutrino flux. This will allow to reduce by one order of magnitude the uncertainties on neutrino cross sections: a leap that has been sought after since decades and that is needed to address the challenges of discovering matter-antimatter asymmetries in the leptonic sector.
The apparatus is a highly specialized electromagnetic calorimeter with fast response, sustaining particle rates as high as 0.5 MHz/cm^2, having excellent electron/pion separation capabilities with a reduced number of read-out channels. ENUBET will boost technologies that have been envisaged for high energy colliders to address this new challenge. On the other hand it will operate in a substantially different configuration. The experiment will be performed at the CERN Neutrino Platform, a recently approved facility where innovative neutrino detectors will be developed exploiting dedicated hadron beam-lines from the SPS accelerator. In the first phase of the project, ENUBET will address the challenges of particle identification from extended sources, developing innovative optical readout systems and cost-effective solutions for radiation imaging. This approach is based on cutting-edge technologies for single photon sensitive devices. During the second phase, the detector will be assembled and characterized at CERN with particle beams. Finally, it will be operated in time coincidence with Liquid Argon neutrino detectors, achieving a major step towards the realization of the concept of tagging individual neutrinos both at production and interaction level, on an event-by-event basis.
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-06-01, End date: 2022-05-31
Project acronym EPIScOPE
Project Reversing the epigenetic state of oligodendrocyte precursors cells in multiple sclerosis
Researcher (PI) Goncalo DE Sa E SOUSA DE CASTELO BRANCO
Host Institution (HI) KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET
Country Sweden
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS7, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary Oligodendrocytes (OL) are glial cells that mediate myelination of neurons, a process that is defective in multiple sclerosis (MS). Although OL precursor cells (OPCs) can initially promote remyelination in MS, this regenerative mechanism eventually fails in progressive MS. OPCs go through several epigenetic states that ultimately define their potential to differentiate and myelinate. OPCs in progressive MS stall in a distinct epigenetic state, incompatible with differentiation and remyelination. We hypothesize that these OPCs regress to an epigenetic state reminiscent of the state of embryonic OPCs, which remain undifferentiated.
In this proposal, we aim to uncover the causes behind the remyelination failure upon disease progression in MS. We will determine the epigenetic/transcriptional states of OPCs during development and in MS, using single cell and bulk RNA sequencing and quantitative proteomics. We will further investigate how the interplay between transcription factors (TFs), chromatin modifiers (ChMs) and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) contributes to the transition between epigenetic states of OPCs. The results will allow the identification of ChMs and ncRNAs that can modulate these states and thereby control OPC differentiation and myelination. We will use this knowledge to investigate whether we can reverse the epigenetic state of OPCs in MS, in order to promote their differentiation and remyelination. The unique combination of leading-edge techniques such as SILAC coupled with immunoprecipitation and mass-spectrometry, single-cell RNA sequencing, ChIP-Sequencing, among others, will allow us to provide insights into novel epigenetic mechanisms that might be underlying the effects of environmental and lifestyle risk factors for MS. Moreover, this project has the potential to lead to the discovery of new targets for epigenetic-based therapies for MS, which could provide major opportunities for improved clinical outcome of MS patients in the near future.
Summary
Oligodendrocytes (OL) are glial cells that mediate myelination of neurons, a process that is defective in multiple sclerosis (MS). Although OL precursor cells (OPCs) can initially promote remyelination in MS, this regenerative mechanism eventually fails in progressive MS. OPCs go through several epigenetic states that ultimately define their potential to differentiate and myelinate. OPCs in progressive MS stall in a distinct epigenetic state, incompatible with differentiation and remyelination. We hypothesize that these OPCs regress to an epigenetic state reminiscent of the state of embryonic OPCs, which remain undifferentiated.
In this proposal, we aim to uncover the causes behind the remyelination failure upon disease progression in MS. We will determine the epigenetic/transcriptional states of OPCs during development and in MS, using single cell and bulk RNA sequencing and quantitative proteomics. We will further investigate how the interplay between transcription factors (TFs), chromatin modifiers (ChMs) and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) contributes to the transition between epigenetic states of OPCs. The results will allow the identification of ChMs and ncRNAs that can modulate these states and thereby control OPC differentiation and myelination. We will use this knowledge to investigate whether we can reverse the epigenetic state of OPCs in MS, in order to promote their differentiation and remyelination. The unique combination of leading-edge techniques such as SILAC coupled with immunoprecipitation and mass-spectrometry, single-cell RNA sequencing, ChIP-Sequencing, among others, will allow us to provide insights into novel epigenetic mechanisms that might be underlying the effects of environmental and lifestyle risk factors for MS. Moreover, this project has the potential to lead to the discovery of new targets for epigenetic-based therapies for MS, which could provide major opportunities for improved clinical outcome of MS patients in the near future.
Max ERC Funding
1 895 155 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym MIMIC
Project Modeling microgels: from microscopic design to macroscopic description
Researcher (PI) Emanuela Zaccarelli
Host Institution (HI) CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE3, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary Soft matter provides the ideal playground for exploring physical phenomena that have no counterpart in atomic and molecular systems. A continuous progress in particle synthesis has provided a rich variety of soft, polymeric colloids, which are highly interpenetrable and can reach ultra-dense, jammed states. Such colloids offer exquisite control of material properties through a change in their internal architecture. Among this new generation of soft particles, microgels – colloidal-scale particles individually made by crosslinked polymer networks – have become a favourite model system for their responsive swelling properties and their multitude of applications. Notwithstanding their potentialities, knowledge of their behaviour from a fundamental point of view is still very limited. The present theoretical description is mostly based on simple models, which do not account for the internal, polymeric nature of the particles. Using state-of-the-art computational techniques across all scales (from atomistic to multi-blob coarse-graining), this 5-years work-program will provide an accurate model of both the microgels and of the effective interactions among them. The model will account for
polymer/solvent interactions and for variation of the external control parameters at all densities, up to jamming conditions. In this way, I will develop a unified framework from the design at the molecular level of the individual particle up to the description of the macroscopic properties of the material. At all steps, I will verify my theoretical progress with experimental measurements performed by world-leading collaborators. This proposal will thus bring the current understanding of microgels to a new level: besides rationalizing existing results, it will open the way for new uses and applications of these fascinating systems.
Summary
Soft matter provides the ideal playground for exploring physical phenomena that have no counterpart in atomic and molecular systems. A continuous progress in particle synthesis has provided a rich variety of soft, polymeric colloids, which are highly interpenetrable and can reach ultra-dense, jammed states. Such colloids offer exquisite control of material properties through a change in their internal architecture. Among this new generation of soft particles, microgels – colloidal-scale particles individually made by crosslinked polymer networks – have become a favourite model system for their responsive swelling properties and their multitude of applications. Notwithstanding their potentialities, knowledge of their behaviour from a fundamental point of view is still very limited. The present theoretical description is mostly based on simple models, which do not account for the internal, polymeric nature of the particles. Using state-of-the-art computational techniques across all scales (from atomistic to multi-blob coarse-graining), this 5-years work-program will provide an accurate model of both the microgels and of the effective interactions among them. The model will account for
polymer/solvent interactions and for variation of the external control parameters at all densities, up to jamming conditions. In this way, I will develop a unified framework from the design at the molecular level of the individual particle up to the description of the macroscopic properties of the material. At all steps, I will verify my theoretical progress with experimental measurements performed by world-leading collaborators. This proposal will thus bring the current understanding of microgels to a new level: besides rationalizing existing results, it will open the way for new uses and applications of these fascinating systems.
Max ERC Funding
1 314 375 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-06-01, End date: 2022-01-31
Project acronym MOFcat
Project Fundamental and Applied Science on Molecular Redox-Catalysts of Energy Relevance in Metal-Organic Frameworks
Researcher (PI) Sascha Ott
Host Institution (HI) UPPSALA UNIVERSITET
Country Sweden
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE5, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary Organometallic redox-catalysts of energy relevance, i.e. water and hydrogen oxidation, and proton and carbon dioxide reduction catalysts, will be incorporated into metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Immobilization and spatial organization of the molecular catalysts will stabilize their molecular integrity and ensure longevity and recyclability of the resulting MOFcats. The organized environment provided by the MOF will enable the control of conformational flexibility, diffusion, charge transport, and higher coordination sphere effects that play crucial roles in enzymes, but cannot be addressed in homogenous solution and are thus largely unexplored. The effect that the MOF environment has on catalysis will be directly probed electrochemically in MOFcats that are immobilized or grown on electrode surfaces. In combination with spectroscopic techniques in spectroelectrochemical cells, intermediates in the catalytic cycles will be detected and characterized. Kinetic information of the individual steps in the catalytic cycles will be obtained in MOFs that contain both a molecular photosensitizer (PS) and a molecular catalyst (PS-MOFcats). The envisaged systems will allow light-induced electron transfer processes to generate reduced or oxidized catalyst states the reactivity of which will be studied with high time resolution by transient UV/Vis and IR spectroscopy. The acquired fundamental mechanistic knowledge is far beyond the current state-of-the-art in MOF chemistry and catalysis, and will be used to prepare MOFcat-based electrodes that function at highest possible rates and lowest overpotentials. PS-MOFcats will be grown on flat semiconductor surfaces, and explored as a novel concept to photoanode and -cathode designs for dye-sensitized solar fuel devices (DSSFDs). The design is particularly appealing as it accommodates high PS concentrations for efficient light-harvesting, while providing potent catalysts close to the solvent interface.
Summary
Organometallic redox-catalysts of energy relevance, i.e. water and hydrogen oxidation, and proton and carbon dioxide reduction catalysts, will be incorporated into metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Immobilization and spatial organization of the molecular catalysts will stabilize their molecular integrity and ensure longevity and recyclability of the resulting MOFcats. The organized environment provided by the MOF will enable the control of conformational flexibility, diffusion, charge transport, and higher coordination sphere effects that play crucial roles in enzymes, but cannot be addressed in homogenous solution and are thus largely unexplored. The effect that the MOF environment has on catalysis will be directly probed electrochemically in MOFcats that are immobilized or grown on electrode surfaces. In combination with spectroscopic techniques in spectroelectrochemical cells, intermediates in the catalytic cycles will be detected and characterized. Kinetic information of the individual steps in the catalytic cycles will be obtained in MOFs that contain both a molecular photosensitizer (PS) and a molecular catalyst (PS-MOFcats). The envisaged systems will allow light-induced electron transfer processes to generate reduced or oxidized catalyst states the reactivity of which will be studied with high time resolution by transient UV/Vis and IR spectroscopy. The acquired fundamental mechanistic knowledge is far beyond the current state-of-the-art in MOF chemistry and catalysis, and will be used to prepare MOFcat-based electrodes that function at highest possible rates and lowest overpotentials. PS-MOFcats will be grown on flat semiconductor surfaces, and explored as a novel concept to photoanode and -cathode designs for dye-sensitized solar fuel devices (DSSFDs). The design is particularly appealing as it accommodates high PS concentrations for efficient light-harvesting, while providing potent catalysts close to the solvent interface.
Max ERC Funding
1 968 750 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-01-01, End date: 2021-12-31
Project acronym NanoPokers
Project Deciphering cell heterogeneity in tumors using arrays of nanowires to controllably poke single cells in longitudinal studies
Researcher (PI) Christelle Nathalie Prinz
Host Institution (HI) LUNDS UNIVERSITET
Country Sweden
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE5, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary Cancer is responsible for 20% of all deaths in Europe. Current cancer research is based on cell ensemble measurements or on snapshot studies of individual cells. However, cancer is a systemic disease, involving many cells that interact and evolve over time in a complex manner, which cell ensemble studies and snapshot studies cannot grasp. It is therefore crucial to investigate cancer at the single cell level and in longitudinal studies (over time). Despite the recent developments in micro- and nanotechnologies, combined with live cell imaging, today, there is no method available that meets the crucial need for global monitoring of individual cell responses to stimuli/perturbation in real-time.
This project addresses this crucial need by combining super resolution live-cell imaging and the development of sensors, as well as injection devices based on vertical nanowire arrays. The devices will penetrate multiple single cells in a fully controlled manner, with minimal invasiveness.
The objectives of the project are:
1) To develop nanowire based-tools in order to gain controlled and reliable access to the cell interior with minimal invasiveness.
2) Developing mRNA sensing and biomolecule injection capabilities based on nanowires.
3) Performing longitudinal single cell studies in tumours, including monitoring gene expression in real time, under controlled cell perturbation.
By enabling global, long term monitoring of individual tumour cells submitted to controlled stimuli, the project will open up new horizons in Biology and in Medical Research. It will enable ground-breaking discoveries in understanding the complexity of molecular events underlying the disease. This cross-disciplinary project will lead to paradigm-shifting research, which will enable the development of optimal treatment strategies. This will be applicable, not only for cancer, but also for a broad range of diseases, such as diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.
Summary
Cancer is responsible for 20% of all deaths in Europe. Current cancer research is based on cell ensemble measurements or on snapshot studies of individual cells. However, cancer is a systemic disease, involving many cells that interact and evolve over time in a complex manner, which cell ensemble studies and snapshot studies cannot grasp. It is therefore crucial to investigate cancer at the single cell level and in longitudinal studies (over time). Despite the recent developments in micro- and nanotechnologies, combined with live cell imaging, today, there is no method available that meets the crucial need for global monitoring of individual cell responses to stimuli/perturbation in real-time.
This project addresses this crucial need by combining super resolution live-cell imaging and the development of sensors, as well as injection devices based on vertical nanowire arrays. The devices will penetrate multiple single cells in a fully controlled manner, with minimal invasiveness.
The objectives of the project are:
1) To develop nanowire based-tools in order to gain controlled and reliable access to the cell interior with minimal invasiveness.
2) Developing mRNA sensing and biomolecule injection capabilities based on nanowires.
3) Performing longitudinal single cell studies in tumours, including monitoring gene expression in real time, under controlled cell perturbation.
By enabling global, long term monitoring of individual tumour cells submitted to controlled stimuli, the project will open up new horizons in Biology and in Medical Research. It will enable ground-breaking discoveries in understanding the complexity of molecular events underlying the disease. This cross-disciplinary project will lead to paradigm-shifting research, which will enable the development of optimal treatment strategies. This will be applicable, not only for cancer, but also for a broad range of diseases, such as diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.
Max ERC Funding
2 621 251 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2022-08-31
