Project acronym 1stProposal
Project An alternative development of analytic number theory and applications
Researcher (PI) ANDREW Granville
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE1, ERC-2014-ADG
Summary The traditional (Riemann) approach to analytic number theory uses the zeros of zeta functions. This requires the associated multiplicative function, say f(n), to have special enough properties that the associated Dirichlet series may be analytically continued. In this proposal we continue to develop an approach which requires less of the multiplicative function, linking the original question with the mean value of f. Such techniques have been around for a long time but have generally been regarded as “ad hoc”. In this project we aim to show that one can develop a coherent approach to the whole subject, not only reproving all of the old results, but also many new ones that appear inaccessible to traditional methods.
Our first goal is to complete a monograph yielding a reworking of all the classical theory using these new methods and then to push forward in new directions. The most important is to extend these techniques to GL(n) L-functions, which we hope will now be feasible having found the correct framework in which to proceed. Since we rarely know how to analytically continue such L-functions this could be of great benefit to the subject.
We are developing the large sieve so that it can be used for individual moduli, and will determine a strong form of that. Also a new method to give asymptotics for mean values, when they are not too small.
We wish to incorporate techniques of analytic number theory into our theory, for example recent advances on mean values of Dirichlet polynomials. Also the recent breakthroughs on the sieve suggest strong links that need further exploration.
Additive combinatorics yields important results in many areas. There are strong analogies between its results, and those for multiplicative functions, especially in large value spectrum theory, and its applications. We hope to develop these further.
Much of this is joint work with K Soundararajan of Stanford University.
Summary
The traditional (Riemann) approach to analytic number theory uses the zeros of zeta functions. This requires the associated multiplicative function, say f(n), to have special enough properties that the associated Dirichlet series may be analytically continued. In this proposal we continue to develop an approach which requires less of the multiplicative function, linking the original question with the mean value of f. Such techniques have been around for a long time but have generally been regarded as “ad hoc”. In this project we aim to show that one can develop a coherent approach to the whole subject, not only reproving all of the old results, but also many new ones that appear inaccessible to traditional methods.
Our first goal is to complete a monograph yielding a reworking of all the classical theory using these new methods and then to push forward in new directions. The most important is to extend these techniques to GL(n) L-functions, which we hope will now be feasible having found the correct framework in which to proceed. Since we rarely know how to analytically continue such L-functions this could be of great benefit to the subject.
We are developing the large sieve so that it can be used for individual moduli, and will determine a strong form of that. Also a new method to give asymptotics for mean values, when they are not too small.
We wish to incorporate techniques of analytic number theory into our theory, for example recent advances on mean values of Dirichlet polynomials. Also the recent breakthroughs on the sieve suggest strong links that need further exploration.
Additive combinatorics yields important results in many areas. There are strong analogies between its results, and those for multiplicative functions, especially in large value spectrum theory, and its applications. We hope to develop these further.
Much of this is joint work with K Soundararajan of Stanford University.
Max ERC Funding
2 011 742 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-08-01, End date: 2020-07-31
Project acronym 2DHIBSA
Project Nanoscopic and Hierachical Materials via Living Crystallization-Driven Self-Assembly
Researcher (PI) Ian MANNERS
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE5, ERC-2017-ADG
Summary A key synthetic challenge of widespread interest in chemical science involves the creation of well-defined 2D functional materials that exist on a length-scale of nanometers to microns. In this ambitious 5 year proposal we aim to tackle this issue by exploiting the unique opportunities made possible by recent developments with the living crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) platform. Using this solution processing approach, amphiphilic block copolymers (BCPs) with crystallizable blocks, related amphiphiles, and polymers with charged end groups will be used to predictably construct monodisperse samples of tailored, functional soft matter-based 2D nanostructures with controlled shape, size, and spatially-defined chemistries. Many of the resulting nanostructures will also offer unprecedented opportunities as precursors to materials with hierarchical structures through further solution-based “bottom-up” assembly methods. In addition to fundamental studies, the proposed work also aims to make important impact in the cutting-edge fields of liquid crystals, interface stabilization, catalysis, supramolecular polymers, and hierarchical materials.
Summary
A key synthetic challenge of widespread interest in chemical science involves the creation of well-defined 2D functional materials that exist on a length-scale of nanometers to microns. In this ambitious 5 year proposal we aim to tackle this issue by exploiting the unique opportunities made possible by recent developments with the living crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) platform. Using this solution processing approach, amphiphilic block copolymers (BCPs) with crystallizable blocks, related amphiphiles, and polymers with charged end groups will be used to predictably construct monodisperse samples of tailored, functional soft matter-based 2D nanostructures with controlled shape, size, and spatially-defined chemistries. Many of the resulting nanostructures will also offer unprecedented opportunities as precursors to materials with hierarchical structures through further solution-based “bottom-up” assembly methods. In addition to fundamental studies, the proposed work also aims to make important impact in the cutting-edge fields of liquid crystals, interface stabilization, catalysis, supramolecular polymers, and hierarchical materials.
Max ERC Funding
2 499 597 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-05-01, End date: 2023-04-30
Project acronym 3D-E
Project 3D Engineered Environments for Regenerative Medicine
Researcher (PI) Ruth Elizabeth Cameron
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARSOF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE8, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary "This proposal develops a unified, underpinning technology to create novel, complex and biomimetic 3D environments for the control of tissue growth. As director of Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials, I have recently been approached by medical colleagues to help to solve important problems in the separate therapeutic areas of breast cancer, cardiac disease and blood disorders. In each case, the solution lies in complex 3D engineered environments for cell culture. These colleagues make it clear that existing 3D scaffolds fail to provide the required complex orientational and spatial anisotropy, and are limited in their ability to impart appropriate biochemical and mechanical cues.
I have a strong track record in this area. A particular success has been the use of a freeze drying technology to make collagen based porous implants for the cartilage-bone interface in the knee, which has now been commercialised. The novelty of this proposal lies in the broadening of the established scientific base of this technology to enable biomacromolecular structures with:
(A) controlled and complex pore orientation to mimic many normal multi-oriented tissue structures
(B) compositional and positional control to match varying local biochemical environments,
(C) the attachment of novel peptides designed to control cell behaviour, and
(D) mechanical control at both a local and macroscopic level to provide mechanical cues for cells.
These will be complemented by the development of
(E) robust characterisation methodologies for the structures created.
These advances will then be employed in each of the medical areas above.
This approach is highly interdisciplinary. Existing working relationships with experts in each medical field will guarantee expertise and licensed facilities in the required biological disciplines. Funds for this proposal would therefore establish a rich hub of mutually beneficial research and opportunities for cross-disciplinary sharing of expertise."
Summary
"This proposal develops a unified, underpinning technology to create novel, complex and biomimetic 3D environments for the control of tissue growth. As director of Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials, I have recently been approached by medical colleagues to help to solve important problems in the separate therapeutic areas of breast cancer, cardiac disease and blood disorders. In each case, the solution lies in complex 3D engineered environments for cell culture. These colleagues make it clear that existing 3D scaffolds fail to provide the required complex orientational and spatial anisotropy, and are limited in their ability to impart appropriate biochemical and mechanical cues.
I have a strong track record in this area. A particular success has been the use of a freeze drying technology to make collagen based porous implants for the cartilage-bone interface in the knee, which has now been commercialised. The novelty of this proposal lies in the broadening of the established scientific base of this technology to enable biomacromolecular structures with:
(A) controlled and complex pore orientation to mimic many normal multi-oriented tissue structures
(B) compositional and positional control to match varying local biochemical environments,
(C) the attachment of novel peptides designed to control cell behaviour, and
(D) mechanical control at both a local and macroscopic level to provide mechanical cues for cells.
These will be complemented by the development of
(E) robust characterisation methodologies for the structures created.
These advances will then be employed in each of the medical areas above.
This approach is highly interdisciplinary. Existing working relationships with experts in each medical field will guarantee expertise and licensed facilities in the required biological disciplines. Funds for this proposal would therefore establish a rich hub of mutually beneficial research and opportunities for cross-disciplinary sharing of expertise."
Max ERC Funding
2 486 267 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-04-01, End date: 2018-03-31
Project acronym 3DIMAGE
Project 3D Imaging Across Lengthscales: From Atoms to Grains
Researcher (PI) Paul Anthony Midgley
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARSOF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE4, ERC-2011-ADG_20110209
Summary "Understanding structure-property relationships across lengthscales is key to the design of functional and structural materials and devices. Moreover, the complexity of modern devices extends to three dimensions and as such 3D characterization is required across those lengthscales to provide a complete understanding and enable improvement in the material’s physical and chemical behaviour. 3D imaging and analysis from the atomic scale through to granular microstructure is proposed through the development of electron tomography using (S)TEM, and ‘dual beam’ SEM-FIB, techniques offering complementary approaches to 3D imaging across lengthscales stretching over 5 orders of magnitude.
We propose to extend tomography to include novel methods to determine atom positions in 3D with approaches incorporating new reconstruction algorithms, image processing and complementary nano-diffraction techniques. At the nanoscale, true 3D nano-metrology of morphology and composition is a key objective of the project, minimizing reconstruction and visualization artefacts. Mapping strain and optical properties in 3D are ambitious and exciting challenges that will yield new information at the nanoscale. Using the SEM-FIB, 3D ‘mesoscale’ structures will be revealed: morphology, crystallography and composition can be mapped simultaneously, with ~5nm resolution and over volumes too large to tackle by (S)TEM and too small for most x-ray techniques. In parallel, we will apply 3D imaging to a wide variety of key materials including heterogeneous catalysts, aerospace alloys, biomaterials, photovoltaic materials, and novel semiconductors.
We will collaborate with many departments in Cambridge and institutes worldwide. The personnel on the proposal will cover all aspects of the tomography proposed using high-end TEMs, including an aberration-corrected Titan, and a Helios dual beam. Importantly, a postdoc is dedicated to developing new algorithms for reconstruction, image and spectral processing."
Summary
"Understanding structure-property relationships across lengthscales is key to the design of functional and structural materials and devices. Moreover, the complexity of modern devices extends to three dimensions and as such 3D characterization is required across those lengthscales to provide a complete understanding and enable improvement in the material’s physical and chemical behaviour. 3D imaging and analysis from the atomic scale through to granular microstructure is proposed through the development of electron tomography using (S)TEM, and ‘dual beam’ SEM-FIB, techniques offering complementary approaches to 3D imaging across lengthscales stretching over 5 orders of magnitude.
We propose to extend tomography to include novel methods to determine atom positions in 3D with approaches incorporating new reconstruction algorithms, image processing and complementary nano-diffraction techniques. At the nanoscale, true 3D nano-metrology of morphology and composition is a key objective of the project, minimizing reconstruction and visualization artefacts. Mapping strain and optical properties in 3D are ambitious and exciting challenges that will yield new information at the nanoscale. Using the SEM-FIB, 3D ‘mesoscale’ structures will be revealed: morphology, crystallography and composition can be mapped simultaneously, with ~5nm resolution and over volumes too large to tackle by (S)TEM and too small for most x-ray techniques. In parallel, we will apply 3D imaging to a wide variety of key materials including heterogeneous catalysts, aerospace alloys, biomaterials, photovoltaic materials, and novel semiconductors.
We will collaborate with many departments in Cambridge and institutes worldwide. The personnel on the proposal will cover all aspects of the tomography proposed using high-end TEMs, including an aberration-corrected Titan, and a Helios dual beam. Importantly, a postdoc is dedicated to developing new algorithms for reconstruction, image and spectral processing."
Max ERC Funding
2 337 330 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-01-01, End date: 2017-12-31
Project acronym 3SPIN
Project Three Dimensional Spintronics
Researcher (PI) Russell Paul Cowburn
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARSOF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE3, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary Spintronics, in which both the spin and the charge of the electron are used, is one of the most exciting new disciplines to emerge from nanoscience. The 3SPIN project seeks to open a new research front within spintronics: namely 3-dimensional spintronics, in which magnetic nanostructures are formed into a 3-dimensional interacting network of unrivalled density and hence technological benefit. 3SPIN will explore early-stage science that could underpin 3-dimensional metallic spintronics. The thesis of the project is: that by careful control of the constituent nanostructure properties, a 3-dimensional medium can be created in which a large number of topological solitons can exist. Although hardly studied at all to date, these solitons should be stable at room temperature, extremely compact and easy to manipulate and propagate. This makes them potentially ideal candidates to form the basis of a new spintronics in which the soliton is the basic transport vector instead of electrical current. ¬3.5M of funding is requested to form a new team of 5 researchers who, over a period of 60 months, will perform computer simulations and experimental studies of solitons in 3-dimensional networks of magnetic nanostructures and develop a laboratory demonstrator 3-dimensional memory device using solitons to represent and store data. A high performance electron beam lithography system (cost 1M¬) will be purchased to allow state-of-the-art magnetic nanostructures to be fabricated with perfect control over their magnetic properties, thus allowing the ideal conditions for solitons to be created and controllably manipulated. Outputs from the project will be a complete understanding of the properties of these new objects and a road map charting the next steps for research in the field.
Summary
Spintronics, in which both the spin and the charge of the electron are used, is one of the most exciting new disciplines to emerge from nanoscience. The 3SPIN project seeks to open a new research front within spintronics: namely 3-dimensional spintronics, in which magnetic nanostructures are formed into a 3-dimensional interacting network of unrivalled density and hence technological benefit. 3SPIN will explore early-stage science that could underpin 3-dimensional metallic spintronics. The thesis of the project is: that by careful control of the constituent nanostructure properties, a 3-dimensional medium can be created in which a large number of topological solitons can exist. Although hardly studied at all to date, these solitons should be stable at room temperature, extremely compact and easy to manipulate and propagate. This makes them potentially ideal candidates to form the basis of a new spintronics in which the soliton is the basic transport vector instead of electrical current. ¬3.5M of funding is requested to form a new team of 5 researchers who, over a period of 60 months, will perform computer simulations and experimental studies of solitons in 3-dimensional networks of magnetic nanostructures and develop a laboratory demonstrator 3-dimensional memory device using solitons to represent and store data. A high performance electron beam lithography system (cost 1M¬) will be purchased to allow state-of-the-art magnetic nanostructures to be fabricated with perfect control over their magnetic properties, thus allowing the ideal conditions for solitons to be created and controllably manipulated. Outputs from the project will be a complete understanding of the properties of these new objects and a road map charting the next steps for research in the field.
Max ERC Funding
2 799 996 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-03-01, End date: 2016-02-29
Project acronym 4PI-SKY
Project 4 pi sky: Extreme Astrophysics with Revolutionary Radio Telescopes
Researcher (PI) Robert Philip Fender
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE9, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary Extreme astrophysical events such as relativistic flows, cataclysmic explosions and black hole accretion are one of the key areas for astrophysics in the 21st century. The extremes of physics experienced in these environments are beyond anything achievable in any laboratory on Earth, and provide a unique glimpse at the laws of physics operating in extraordinary regimes. All of these events are associated with transient radio emission, a tracer both of the acceleration of particles to relativistic energies, and coherent emitting regions with huge effective temperatures. By studying radio bursts from these phenomena we can pinpoint the sources of explosive events, understand the budget of kinetic feedback by explosive events in the ambient medium, and probe the physical state of the universe back to the epoch of reionisation, less than a billion years after the big bang. In seeking to push back the frontiers of extreme astrophysics, I will use a trio of revolutionary new radio telescopes, LOFAR, ASKAP and MeerKAT, pathfinders for the Square Kilometre Array, and all facilities in which I have a major role in the search for transients. I will build an infrastructure which transforms their combined operations for the discovery, classification and reporting of transient astrophysical events, over the whole sky, making them much more than the sum of their parts. This will include development of environments for the coordinated handling of extreme astrophysical events, in real time, via automated systems, as well as novel techniques for the detection of these events in a sea of noise. I will furthermore augment this program by buying in as a major partner to a rapid-response robotic optical telescope, and by cementing my relationship with an orbiting X-ray facility. This multiwavelength dimension will secure the astrophysical interpretation of our observational results and help to revolutionise high-energy astrophysics via a strong scientific exploitation program.
Summary
Extreme astrophysical events such as relativistic flows, cataclysmic explosions and black hole accretion are one of the key areas for astrophysics in the 21st century. The extremes of physics experienced in these environments are beyond anything achievable in any laboratory on Earth, and provide a unique glimpse at the laws of physics operating in extraordinary regimes. All of these events are associated with transient radio emission, a tracer both of the acceleration of particles to relativistic energies, and coherent emitting regions with huge effective temperatures. By studying radio bursts from these phenomena we can pinpoint the sources of explosive events, understand the budget of kinetic feedback by explosive events in the ambient medium, and probe the physical state of the universe back to the epoch of reionisation, less than a billion years after the big bang. In seeking to push back the frontiers of extreme astrophysics, I will use a trio of revolutionary new radio telescopes, LOFAR, ASKAP and MeerKAT, pathfinders for the Square Kilometre Array, and all facilities in which I have a major role in the search for transients. I will build an infrastructure which transforms their combined operations for the discovery, classification and reporting of transient astrophysical events, over the whole sky, making them much more than the sum of their parts. This will include development of environments for the coordinated handling of extreme astrophysical events, in real time, via automated systems, as well as novel techniques for the detection of these events in a sea of noise. I will furthermore augment this program by buying in as a major partner to a rapid-response robotic optical telescope, and by cementing my relationship with an orbiting X-ray facility. This multiwavelength dimension will secure the astrophysical interpretation of our observational results and help to revolutionise high-energy astrophysics via a strong scientific exploitation program.
Max ERC Funding
2 999 847 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-07-01, End date: 2017-06-30
Project acronym ABEL
Project "Alpha-helical Barrels: Exploring, Understanding and Exploiting a New Class of Protein Structure"
Researcher (PI) Derek Neil Woolfson
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS9, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary "Recently through de novo peptide design, we have discovered and presented a new protein structure. This is an all-parallel, 6-helix bundle with a continuous central channel of 0.5 – 0.6 nm diameter. We posit that this is one of a broader class of protein structures that we call the alpha-helical barrels. Here, in three Work Packages, we propose to explore these structures and to develop protein functions within them. First, through a combination of computer-aided design, peptide synthesis and thorough biophysical characterization, we will examine the extents and limits of the alpha-helical-barrel structures. Whilst this is curiosity driven research, it also has practical consequences for the studies that will follow; that is, alpha-helical barrels made from increasing numbers of helices have channels or pores that increase in a predictable way. Second, we will use rational and empirical design approaches to engineer a range of functions within these cavities, including binding capabilities and enzyme-like activities. Finally, and taking the programme into another ambitious area, we will use the alpha-helical barrels to template other folds that are otherwise difficult to design and engineer, notably beta-barrels that insert into membranes to render ion-channel and sensor functions."
Summary
"Recently through de novo peptide design, we have discovered and presented a new protein structure. This is an all-parallel, 6-helix bundle with a continuous central channel of 0.5 – 0.6 nm diameter. We posit that this is one of a broader class of protein structures that we call the alpha-helical barrels. Here, in three Work Packages, we propose to explore these structures and to develop protein functions within them. First, through a combination of computer-aided design, peptide synthesis and thorough biophysical characterization, we will examine the extents and limits of the alpha-helical-barrel structures. Whilst this is curiosity driven research, it also has practical consequences for the studies that will follow; that is, alpha-helical barrels made from increasing numbers of helices have channels or pores that increase in a predictable way. Second, we will use rational and empirical design approaches to engineer a range of functions within these cavities, including binding capabilities and enzyme-like activities. Finally, and taking the programme into another ambitious area, we will use the alpha-helical barrels to template other folds that are otherwise difficult to design and engineer, notably beta-barrels that insert into membranes to render ion-channel and sensor functions."
Max ERC Funding
2 467 844 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31
Project acronym ACB
Project The Analytic Conformal Bootstrap
Researcher (PI) Luis Fernando ALDAY
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2017-ADG
Summary The aim of the present proposal is to establish a research team developing and exploiting innovative techniques to study conformal field theories (CFT) analytically. Our approach does not rely on a Lagrangian description but on symmetries and consistency conditions. As such it applies to any CFT, offering a unified framework to study generic CFTs analytically. The initial implementation of this program has already led to striking new results and insights for both Lagrangian and non-Lagrangian CFTs.
The overarching aims of my team will be: To develop an analytic bootstrap program for CFTs in general dimensions; to complement these techniques with more traditional methods and develop a systematic machinery to obtain analytic results for generic CFTs; and to use these results to gain new insights into the mathematical structure of the space of quantum field theories.
The proposal will bring together researchers from different areas. The objectives in brief are:
1) Develop an alternative to Feynman diagram computations for Lagrangian CFTs.
2) Develop a machinery to compute loops for QFT on AdS, with and without gravity.
3) Develop an analytic approach to non-perturbative N=4 SYM and other CFTs.
4) Determine the space of all CFTs.
5) Gain new insights into the mathematical structure of the space of quantum field theories.
The outputs of this proposal will include a new way of doing perturbative computations based on symmetries; a constructive derivation of the AdS/CFT duality; new analytic techniques to attack strongly coupled systems and invaluable new lessons about the space of CFTs and QFTs.
Success in this research will lead to a completely new, unified way to view and solve CFTs, with a huge impact on several branches of physics and mathematics.
Summary
The aim of the present proposal is to establish a research team developing and exploiting innovative techniques to study conformal field theories (CFT) analytically. Our approach does not rely on a Lagrangian description but on symmetries and consistency conditions. As such it applies to any CFT, offering a unified framework to study generic CFTs analytically. The initial implementation of this program has already led to striking new results and insights for both Lagrangian and non-Lagrangian CFTs.
The overarching aims of my team will be: To develop an analytic bootstrap program for CFTs in general dimensions; to complement these techniques with more traditional methods and develop a systematic machinery to obtain analytic results for generic CFTs; and to use these results to gain new insights into the mathematical structure of the space of quantum field theories.
The proposal will bring together researchers from different areas. The objectives in brief are:
1) Develop an alternative to Feynman diagram computations for Lagrangian CFTs.
2) Develop a machinery to compute loops for QFT on AdS, with and without gravity.
3) Develop an analytic approach to non-perturbative N=4 SYM and other CFTs.
4) Determine the space of all CFTs.
5) Gain new insights into the mathematical structure of the space of quantum field theories.
The outputs of this proposal will include a new way of doing perturbative computations based on symmetries; a constructive derivation of the AdS/CFT duality; new analytic techniques to attack strongly coupled systems and invaluable new lessons about the space of CFTs and QFTs.
Success in this research will lead to a completely new, unified way to view and solve CFTs, with a huge impact on several branches of physics and mathematics.
Max ERC Funding
2 171 483 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-12-01, End date: 2023-11-30
Project acronym ACCI
Project Atmospheric Chemistry-Climate Interactions
Researcher (PI) John Adrian Pyle
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARSOF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary Global change involves a large number of complex interactions between various earth system processes. In the atmosphere, one component of the earth system, there are crucial feedbacks between physical, chemical and biological processes. Thus many of the drivers of climate change depend on chemical processes in the atmosphere including, in addition to ozone and water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide, the halocarbons as well as a range of inorganic and organic aerosols. The link between chemistry and climate is two-way and changes in climate can influence atmospheric chemistry processes in a variety of ways.
Previous studies have looked at these interactions in isolation but the time is now right for more comprehensive studies. The crucial contribution that will be made here is in improving our understanding of the processes within this complex system. Process understanding has been the hallmark of my previous work. The earth system scope here will be ambitiously wide but with a similar drive to understand fundamental processes.
The ambitious programme of research is built around four interrelated questions using new state-of-the-art modelling tools: How will the composition of the stratosphere change in the future, given changes in the concentrations of ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases? How will these changes in the stratosphere affect tropospheric composition and climate? How will the composition of the troposphere change in the future, given changes in the emissions of ozone precursors and greenhouse gases? How will these changes in the troposphere affect the troposphere-stratosphere climate system?
ACCI will break new ground in bringing all of these questions into a single modelling and diagnostic framework, enabling interrelated questions to be answered which should radically improve our overall projections for global change.
Summary
Global change involves a large number of complex interactions between various earth system processes. In the atmosphere, one component of the earth system, there are crucial feedbacks between physical, chemical and biological processes. Thus many of the drivers of climate change depend on chemical processes in the atmosphere including, in addition to ozone and water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide, the halocarbons as well as a range of inorganic and organic aerosols. The link between chemistry and climate is two-way and changes in climate can influence atmospheric chemistry processes in a variety of ways.
Previous studies have looked at these interactions in isolation but the time is now right for more comprehensive studies. The crucial contribution that will be made here is in improving our understanding of the processes within this complex system. Process understanding has been the hallmark of my previous work. The earth system scope here will be ambitiously wide but with a similar drive to understand fundamental processes.
The ambitious programme of research is built around four interrelated questions using new state-of-the-art modelling tools: How will the composition of the stratosphere change in the future, given changes in the concentrations of ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases? How will these changes in the stratosphere affect tropospheric composition and climate? How will the composition of the troposphere change in the future, given changes in the emissions of ozone precursors and greenhouse gases? How will these changes in the troposphere affect the troposphere-stratosphere climate system?
ACCI will break new ground in bringing all of these questions into a single modelling and diagnostic framework, enabling interrelated questions to be answered which should radically improve our overall projections for global change.
Max ERC Funding
2 496 926 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2017-04-30
Project acronym ACMO
Project Systematic dissection of molecular machines and neural circuits coordinating C. elegans aggregation behaviour
Researcher (PI) Mario De Bono
Host Institution (HI) MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS5, ERC-2010-AdG_20100317
Summary Elucidating how neural circuits coordinate behaviour, and how molecules underpin the properties of individual neurons are major goals of neuroscience. Optogenetics and neural imaging combined with the powerful genetics and well-described nervous system of C. elegans offer special opportunities to address these questions. Previously, we identified a series of sensory neurons that modulate aggregation of C. elegans. These include neurons that respond to O2, CO2, noxious cues, satiety state, and pheromones. We propose to take our analysis to the next level by dissecting how, in mechanistic molecular terms, these distributed inputs modify the activity of populations of interneurons and motoneurons to coordinate group formation. Our strategy is to develop new, highly parallel approaches to replace the traditional piecemeal analysis.
We propose to:
1) Harness next generation sequencing (NGS) to forward genetics, rapidly to identify a molecular ¿parts list¿ for aggregation. Much of the genetics has been done: we have identified almost 200 mutations that inhibit or enhance aggregation but otherwise show no overt phenotype. A pilot study of 50 of these mutations suggests they identify dozens of genes not previously implicated in aggregation. NGS will allow us to molecularly identify these genes in a few months, providing multiple entry points to study molecular and circuitry mechanisms for behaviour.
2) Develop new methods to image the activity of populations of neurons in immobilized and freely moving animals, using genetically encoded indicators such as the calcium sensor cameleon and the voltage indicator mermaid.
This will be the first time a complex behaviour has been dissected in this way. We expect to identify novel conserved molecular and circuitry mechanisms.
Summary
Elucidating how neural circuits coordinate behaviour, and how molecules underpin the properties of individual neurons are major goals of neuroscience. Optogenetics and neural imaging combined with the powerful genetics and well-described nervous system of C. elegans offer special opportunities to address these questions. Previously, we identified a series of sensory neurons that modulate aggregation of C. elegans. These include neurons that respond to O2, CO2, noxious cues, satiety state, and pheromones. We propose to take our analysis to the next level by dissecting how, in mechanistic molecular terms, these distributed inputs modify the activity of populations of interneurons and motoneurons to coordinate group formation. Our strategy is to develop new, highly parallel approaches to replace the traditional piecemeal analysis.
We propose to:
1) Harness next generation sequencing (NGS) to forward genetics, rapidly to identify a molecular ¿parts list¿ for aggregation. Much of the genetics has been done: we have identified almost 200 mutations that inhibit or enhance aggregation but otherwise show no overt phenotype. A pilot study of 50 of these mutations suggests they identify dozens of genes not previously implicated in aggregation. NGS will allow us to molecularly identify these genes in a few months, providing multiple entry points to study molecular and circuitry mechanisms for behaviour.
2) Develop new methods to image the activity of populations of neurons in immobilized and freely moving animals, using genetically encoded indicators such as the calcium sensor cameleon and the voltage indicator mermaid.
This will be the first time a complex behaviour has been dissected in this way. We expect to identify novel conserved molecular and circuitry mechanisms.
Max ERC Funding
2 439 996 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2017-03-31
