Project acronym 3D Reloaded
Project 3D Reloaded: Novel Algorithms for 3D Shape Inference and Analysis
Researcher (PI) Daniel Cremers
Host Institution (HI) TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Country Germany
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE6, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary Despite their amazing success, we believe that computer vision algorithms have only scratched the surface of what can be done in terms of modeling and understanding our world from images. We believe that novel image analysis techniques will be a major enabler and driving force behind next-generation technologies, enhancing everyday life and opening up radically new possibilities. And we believe that the key to achieving this is to develop algorithms for reconstructing and analyzing the 3D structure of our world.
In this project, we will focus on three lines of research:
A) We will develop algorithms for 3D reconstruction from standard color cameras and from RGB-D cameras. In particular, we will promote real-time-capable direct and dense methods. In contrast to the classical two-stage approach of sparse feature-point based motion estimation and subsequent dense reconstruction, these methods optimally exploit all color information to jointly estimate dense geometry and camera motion.
B) We will develop algorithms for 3D shape analysis, including rigid and non-rigid matching, decomposition and interpretation of 3D shapes. We will focus on algorithms which are optimal or near-optimal. One of the major computational challenges lies in generalizing existing 2D shape analysis techniques to shapes in 3D and 4D (temporal evolutions of 3D shape).
C) We will develop shape priors for 3D reconstruction. These can be learned from sample shapes or acquired during the reconstruction process. For example, when reconstructing a larger office algorithms may exploit the geometric self-similarity of the scene, storing a model of a chair and its multiple instances only once rather than multiple times.
Advancing the state of the art in geometric reconstruction and geometric analysis will have a profound impact well beyond computer vision. We strongly believe that we have the necessary competence to pursue this project. Preliminary results have been well received by the community.
Summary
Despite their amazing success, we believe that computer vision algorithms have only scratched the surface of what can be done in terms of modeling and understanding our world from images. We believe that novel image analysis techniques will be a major enabler and driving force behind next-generation technologies, enhancing everyday life and opening up radically new possibilities. And we believe that the key to achieving this is to develop algorithms for reconstructing and analyzing the 3D structure of our world.
In this project, we will focus on three lines of research:
A) We will develop algorithms for 3D reconstruction from standard color cameras and from RGB-D cameras. In particular, we will promote real-time-capable direct and dense methods. In contrast to the classical two-stage approach of sparse feature-point based motion estimation and subsequent dense reconstruction, these methods optimally exploit all color information to jointly estimate dense geometry and camera motion.
B) We will develop algorithms for 3D shape analysis, including rigid and non-rigid matching, decomposition and interpretation of 3D shapes. We will focus on algorithms which are optimal or near-optimal. One of the major computational challenges lies in generalizing existing 2D shape analysis techniques to shapes in 3D and 4D (temporal evolutions of 3D shape).
C) We will develop shape priors for 3D reconstruction. These can be learned from sample shapes or acquired during the reconstruction process. For example, when reconstructing a larger office algorithms may exploit the geometric self-similarity of the scene, storing a model of a chair and its multiple instances only once rather than multiple times.
Advancing the state of the art in geometric reconstruction and geometric analysis will have a profound impact well beyond computer vision. We strongly believe that we have the necessary competence to pursue this project. Preliminary results have been well received by the community.
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31
Project acronym 3D-JOINT
Project 3D Bioprinting of JOINT Replacements
Researcher (PI) Johannes Jos Malda
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAIR MEDISCH CENTRUM UTRECHT
Country Netherlands
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS7, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary The world has a significant medical challenge in repairing injured or diseased joints. Joint degeneration and its related pain is a major socio-economic burden that will increase over the next decade and is currently addressed by implanting a metal prosthesis. For the long term, the ideal solution to joint injury is to successfully regenerate rather than replace the damaged cartilage with synthetic implants. Recent advances in key technologies are now bringing this “holy grail” within reach; regenerative approaches, based on cell therapy, are already clinically available albeit only for smaller focal cartilage defects.
One of these key technologies is three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing, which provides a greatly controlled placement and organization of living constructs through the layer-by-layer deposition of materials and cells. These tissue constructs can be applied as tissue models for research and screening. However, the lack of biomechanical properties of these tissue constructs has hampered their application to the regeneration of damaged, degenerated or diseased tissue.
Having established a cartilage-focussed research laboratory in the University Medical Center Utrecht, I have addressed this biomechanical limitation of hydrogels through the use of hydrogel composites. Specifically, I have pioneered a 3D bio-printing technology that combines accurately printed small diameter thermoplast filaments with cell invasive hydrogels to form strong fibre-reinforced constructs. This, in combination with bioreactor technology, is the key to the generation of larger, complex tissue constructs with cartilage-like biomechanical resilience. With 3D-JOINT I will use my in-depth bio-printing and bioreactor knowledge and experience to develop a multi-phasic 3D-printed biological replacement of the joint.
Summary
The world has a significant medical challenge in repairing injured or diseased joints. Joint degeneration and its related pain is a major socio-economic burden that will increase over the next decade and is currently addressed by implanting a metal prosthesis. For the long term, the ideal solution to joint injury is to successfully regenerate rather than replace the damaged cartilage with synthetic implants. Recent advances in key technologies are now bringing this “holy grail” within reach; regenerative approaches, based on cell therapy, are already clinically available albeit only for smaller focal cartilage defects.
One of these key technologies is three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing, which provides a greatly controlled placement and organization of living constructs through the layer-by-layer deposition of materials and cells. These tissue constructs can be applied as tissue models for research and screening. However, the lack of biomechanical properties of these tissue constructs has hampered their application to the regeneration of damaged, degenerated or diseased tissue.
Having established a cartilage-focussed research laboratory in the University Medical Center Utrecht, I have addressed this biomechanical limitation of hydrogels through the use of hydrogel composites. Specifically, I have pioneered a 3D bio-printing technology that combines accurately printed small diameter thermoplast filaments with cell invasive hydrogels to form strong fibre-reinforced constructs. This, in combination with bioreactor technology, is the key to the generation of larger, complex tissue constructs with cartilage-like biomechanical resilience. With 3D-JOINT I will use my in-depth bio-printing and bioreactor knowledge and experience to develop a multi-phasic 3D-printed biological replacement of the joint.
Max ERC Funding
1 998 871 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2020-06-30
Project acronym 3D-REPAIR
Project Spatial organization of DNA repair within the nucleus
Researcher (PI) Evanthia Soutoglou
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS2, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary Faithful repair of double stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) is essential, as they are at the origin of genome instability, chromosomal translocations and cancer. Cells repair DSBs through different pathways, which can be faithful or mutagenic, and the balance between them at a given locus must be tightly regulated to preserve genome integrity. Although, much is known about DSB repair factors, how the choice between pathways is controlled within the nuclear environment is not understood. We have shown that nuclear architecture and non-random genome organization determine the frequency of chromosomal translocations and that pathway choice is dictated by the spatial organization of DNA in the nucleus. Nevertheless, what determines which pathway is activated in response to DSBs at specific genomic locations is not understood. Furthermore, the impact of 3D-genome folding on the kinetics and efficiency of DSB repair is completely unknown.
Here we aim to understand how nuclear compartmentalization, chromatin structure and genome organization impact on the efficiency of detection, signaling and repair of DSBs. We will unravel what determines the DNA repair specificity within distinct nuclear compartments using protein tethering, promiscuous biotinylation and quantitative proteomics. We will determine how DNA repair is orchestrated at different heterochromatin structures using a CRISPR/Cas9-based system that allows, for the first time robust induction of DSBs at specific heterochromatin compartments. Finally, we will investigate the role of 3D-genome folding in the kinetics of DNA repair and pathway choice using single nucleotide resolution DSB-mapping coupled to 3D-topological maps.
This proposal has significant implications for understanding the mechanisms controlling DNA repair within the nuclear environment and will reveal the regions of the genome that are susceptible to genomic instability and help us understand why certain mutations and translocations are recurrent in cancer
Summary
Faithful repair of double stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) is essential, as they are at the origin of genome instability, chromosomal translocations and cancer. Cells repair DSBs through different pathways, which can be faithful or mutagenic, and the balance between them at a given locus must be tightly regulated to preserve genome integrity. Although, much is known about DSB repair factors, how the choice between pathways is controlled within the nuclear environment is not understood. We have shown that nuclear architecture and non-random genome organization determine the frequency of chromosomal translocations and that pathway choice is dictated by the spatial organization of DNA in the nucleus. Nevertheless, what determines which pathway is activated in response to DSBs at specific genomic locations is not understood. Furthermore, the impact of 3D-genome folding on the kinetics and efficiency of DSB repair is completely unknown.
Here we aim to understand how nuclear compartmentalization, chromatin structure and genome organization impact on the efficiency of detection, signaling and repair of DSBs. We will unravel what determines the DNA repair specificity within distinct nuclear compartments using protein tethering, promiscuous biotinylation and quantitative proteomics. We will determine how DNA repair is orchestrated at different heterochromatin structures using a CRISPR/Cas9-based system that allows, for the first time robust induction of DSBs at specific heterochromatin compartments. Finally, we will investigate the role of 3D-genome folding in the kinetics of DNA repair and pathway choice using single nucleotide resolution DSB-mapping coupled to 3D-topological maps.
This proposal has significant implications for understanding the mechanisms controlling DNA repair within the nuclear environment and will reveal the regions of the genome that are susceptible to genomic instability and help us understand why certain mutations and translocations are recurrent in cancer
Max ERC Funding
1 999 750 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-03-01, End date: 2022-02-28
Project acronym 3DPBio
Project Computational Models of Motion for Fabrication-aware Design of Bioinspired Systems
Researcher (PI) Stelian Coros
Host Institution (HI) EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH
Country Switzerland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE6, ERC-2019-COG
Summary "Bridging the fields of Computer Animation and Computational Fabrication, this proposal will establish the foundations for algorithmic design of physical structures that can generate lifelike movements. Driven by embedded actuators, these types of structures will enable an abundance of possibilities for a wide array of real-world technologies: animatronic characters whose organic motions will enhance their ability to awe, entertain and educate; soft robotic creatures that are both skilled and safe to be around; patient-specific prosthetics and wearable devices that match the soft touch of the human body, etc. Recent advances in additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are particularly exciting in this context, as they allow us to create designs of unparalleled geometric complexity using a constantly expanding range of materials. And if past developments are an indication, within the next decade we will be able to fabricate physical structures that approach, at least at the macro scale, the functional sophistication of their biological counterparts. However, while this unprecedented capability enables fascinating opportunities, it also leads to an explosion in the dimensionality of the space that must be explored during the design process. As AM technologies keep evolving, the gap between ""what we can produce"" and ""what we can design"" is therefore rapidly growing.
To effectively leverage the extraordinary design possibilities enabled by AM, 3DPBio will develop the computational and mathematical foundations required to study a fundamental scientific question: how are physical deformations, mechanical movements and overall functional capabilities governed by geometric shape features, material compositions and the design of compliant actuation systems? By enabling computers to reason about this question, our work will establish new ways to algorithmically create digital designs that can be turned into mechanical lifeforms at the push of a button."
Summary
"Bridging the fields of Computer Animation and Computational Fabrication, this proposal will establish the foundations for algorithmic design of physical structures that can generate lifelike movements. Driven by embedded actuators, these types of structures will enable an abundance of possibilities for a wide array of real-world technologies: animatronic characters whose organic motions will enhance their ability to awe, entertain and educate; soft robotic creatures that are both skilled and safe to be around; patient-specific prosthetics and wearable devices that match the soft touch of the human body, etc. Recent advances in additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are particularly exciting in this context, as they allow us to create designs of unparalleled geometric complexity using a constantly expanding range of materials. And if past developments are an indication, within the next decade we will be able to fabricate physical structures that approach, at least at the macro scale, the functional sophistication of their biological counterparts. However, while this unprecedented capability enables fascinating opportunities, it also leads to an explosion in the dimensionality of the space that must be explored during the design process. As AM technologies keep evolving, the gap between ""what we can produce"" and ""what we can design"" is therefore rapidly growing.
To effectively leverage the extraordinary design possibilities enabled by AM, 3DPBio will develop the computational and mathematical foundations required to study a fundamental scientific question: how are physical deformations, mechanical movements and overall functional capabilities governed by geometric shape features, material compositions and the design of compliant actuation systems? By enabling computers to reason about this question, our work will establish new ways to algorithmically create digital designs that can be turned into mechanical lifeforms at the push of a button."
Max ERC Funding
2 000 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-02-01, End date: 2025-01-31
Project acronym 3DSPIN
Project 3-Dimensional Maps of the Spinning Nucleon
Researcher (PI) Alessandro Bacchetta
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary How does the inside of the proton look like? What generates its spin?
3DSPIN will deliver essential information to answer these questions at the frontier of subnuclear physics.
At present, we have detailed maps of the distribution of quarks and gluons in the nucleon in 1D (as a function of their momentum in a single direction). We also know that quark spins account for only about 1/3 of the spin of the nucleon.
3DSPIN will lead the way into a new stage of nucleon mapping, explore the distribution of quarks in full 3D momentum space and obtain unprecedented information on orbital angular momentum.
Goals
1. extract from experimental data the 3D distribution of quarks (in momentum space), as described by Transverse-Momentum Distributions (TMDs);
2. obtain from TMDs information on quark Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM).
Methodology
3DSPIN will implement state-of-the-art fitting procedures to analyze relevant experimental data and extract quark TMDs, similarly to global fits of standard parton distribution functions. Information about quark angular momentum will be obtained through assumptions based on theoretical considerations. The next five years represent an ideal time window to accomplish our goals, thanks to the wealth of expected data from deep-inelastic scattering experiments (COMPASS, Jefferson Lab), hadronic colliders (Fermilab, BNL, LHC), and electron-positron colliders (BELLE, BABAR). The PI has a strong reputation in this field. The group will operate in partnership with the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics and in close interaction with leading experts and experimental collaborations worldwide.
Impact
Mapping the 3D structure of chemical compounds has revolutionized chemistry. Similarly, mapping the 3D structure of the nucleon will have a deep impact on our understanding of the fundamental constituents of matter. We will open new perspectives on the dynamics of quarks and gluons and sharpen our view of high-energy processes involving nucleons.
Summary
How does the inside of the proton look like? What generates its spin?
3DSPIN will deliver essential information to answer these questions at the frontier of subnuclear physics.
At present, we have detailed maps of the distribution of quarks and gluons in the nucleon in 1D (as a function of their momentum in a single direction). We also know that quark spins account for only about 1/3 of the spin of the nucleon.
3DSPIN will lead the way into a new stage of nucleon mapping, explore the distribution of quarks in full 3D momentum space and obtain unprecedented information on orbital angular momentum.
Goals
1. extract from experimental data the 3D distribution of quarks (in momentum space), as described by Transverse-Momentum Distributions (TMDs);
2. obtain from TMDs information on quark Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM).
Methodology
3DSPIN will implement state-of-the-art fitting procedures to analyze relevant experimental data and extract quark TMDs, similarly to global fits of standard parton distribution functions. Information about quark angular momentum will be obtained through assumptions based on theoretical considerations. The next five years represent an ideal time window to accomplish our goals, thanks to the wealth of expected data from deep-inelastic scattering experiments (COMPASS, Jefferson Lab), hadronic colliders (Fermilab, BNL, LHC), and electron-positron colliders (BELLE, BABAR). The PI has a strong reputation in this field. The group will operate in partnership with the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics and in close interaction with leading experts and experimental collaborations worldwide.
Impact
Mapping the 3D structure of chemical compounds has revolutionized chemistry. Similarly, mapping the 3D structure of the nucleon will have a deep impact on our understanding of the fundamental constituents of matter. We will open new perspectives on the dynamics of quarks and gluons and sharpen our view of high-energy processes involving nucleons.
Max ERC Funding
1 509 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2020-12-31
Project acronym 4DPHOTON
Project Beyond Light Imaging: High-Rate Single-Photon Detection in Four Dimensions
Researcher (PI) Massimiliano FIORINI
Host Institution (HI) ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI FISICA NUCLEARE
Country Italy
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2018-COG
Summary Goal of the 4DPHOTON project is the development and construction of a photon imaging detector with unprecedented performance. The proposed device will be capable of detecting fluxes of single-photons up to one billion photons per second, over areas of several square centimetres, and will measure - for each photon - position and time simultaneously with resolutions better than ten microns and few tens of picoseconds, respectively. These figures of merit will open many important applications allowing significant advances in particle physics, life sciences or other emerging fields where excellent timing and position resolutions are simultaneously required.
Our goal will be achieved thanks to the use of an application-specific integrated circuit in 65 nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, that will deliver a timing resolution of few tens of picoseconds at the pixel level, over few hundred thousand individually-active pixel channels, allowing very high rates of photons to be detected, and the corresponding information digitized and transferred to a processing unit.
As a result of the 4DPHOTON project we will remove the constraints that many light imaging applications have due to the lack of precise single-photon information on four dimensions (4D): the three spatial coordinates and time simultaneously. In particular, we will prove the performance of this detector in the field of particle physics, performing the reconstruction of Cherenkov photon rings with a timing resolution of ten picoseconds. With its excellent granularity, timing resolution, rate capability and compactness, this detector will represent a new paradigm for the realisation of future Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors, capable of achieving high efficiency particle identification in environments with very high particle multiplicities, exploiting time-association of the photon hits.
Summary
Goal of the 4DPHOTON project is the development and construction of a photon imaging detector with unprecedented performance. The proposed device will be capable of detecting fluxes of single-photons up to one billion photons per second, over areas of several square centimetres, and will measure - for each photon - position and time simultaneously with resolutions better than ten microns and few tens of picoseconds, respectively. These figures of merit will open many important applications allowing significant advances in particle physics, life sciences or other emerging fields where excellent timing and position resolutions are simultaneously required.
Our goal will be achieved thanks to the use of an application-specific integrated circuit in 65 nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, that will deliver a timing resolution of few tens of picoseconds at the pixel level, over few hundred thousand individually-active pixel channels, allowing very high rates of photons to be detected, and the corresponding information digitized and transferred to a processing unit.
As a result of the 4DPHOTON project we will remove the constraints that many light imaging applications have due to the lack of precise single-photon information on four dimensions (4D): the three spatial coordinates and time simultaneously. In particular, we will prove the performance of this detector in the field of particle physics, performing the reconstruction of Cherenkov photon rings with a timing resolution of ten picoseconds. With its excellent granularity, timing resolution, rate capability and compactness, this detector will represent a new paradigm for the realisation of future Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors, capable of achieving high efficiency particle identification in environments with very high particle multiplicities, exploiting time-association of the photon hits.
Max ERC Funding
1 975 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-12-01, End date: 2024-11-30
Project acronym 4DRepLy
Project Closing the 4D Real World Reconstruction Loop
Researcher (PI) Christian THEOBALT
Host Institution (HI) MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Country Germany
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE6, ERC-2017-COG
Summary 4D reconstruction, the camera-based dense dynamic scene reconstruction, is a grand challenge in computer graphics and computer vision. Despite great progress, 4D capturing the complex, diverse real world outside a studio is still far from feasible. 4DRepLy builds a new generation of high-fidelity 4D reconstruction (4DRecon) methods. They will be the first to efficiently capture all types of deformable objects (humans and other types) in crowded real world scenes with a single color or depth camera. They capture space-time coherent deforming geometry, motion, high-frequency reflectance and illumination at unprecedented detail, and will be the first to handle difficult occlusions, topology changes and large groups of interacting objects. They automatically adapt to new scene types, yet deliver models with meaningful, interpretable parameters. This requires far reaching contributions: First, we develop groundbreaking new plasticity-enhanced model-based 4D reconstruction methods that automatically adapt to new scenes. Second, we develop radically new machine learning-based dense 4D reconstruction methods. Third, these model- and learning-based methods are combined in two revolutionary new classes of 4DRecon methods: 1) advanced fusion-based methods and 2) methods with deep architectural integration. Both, 1) and 2), are automatically designed in the 4D Real World Reconstruction Loop, a revolutionary new design paradigm in which 4DRecon methods refine and adapt themselves while continuously processing unlabeled real world input. This overcomes the previously unbreakable scalability barrier to real world scene diversity, complexity and generality. This paradigm shift opens up a new research direction in graphics and vision and has far reaching relevance across many scientific fields. It enables new applications of profound social pervasion and significant economic impact, e.g., for visual media and virtual/augmented reality, and for future autonomous and robotic systems.
Summary
4D reconstruction, the camera-based dense dynamic scene reconstruction, is a grand challenge in computer graphics and computer vision. Despite great progress, 4D capturing the complex, diverse real world outside a studio is still far from feasible. 4DRepLy builds a new generation of high-fidelity 4D reconstruction (4DRecon) methods. They will be the first to efficiently capture all types of deformable objects (humans and other types) in crowded real world scenes with a single color or depth camera. They capture space-time coherent deforming geometry, motion, high-frequency reflectance and illumination at unprecedented detail, and will be the first to handle difficult occlusions, topology changes and large groups of interacting objects. They automatically adapt to new scene types, yet deliver models with meaningful, interpretable parameters. This requires far reaching contributions: First, we develop groundbreaking new plasticity-enhanced model-based 4D reconstruction methods that automatically adapt to new scenes. Second, we develop radically new machine learning-based dense 4D reconstruction methods. Third, these model- and learning-based methods are combined in two revolutionary new classes of 4DRecon methods: 1) advanced fusion-based methods and 2) methods with deep architectural integration. Both, 1) and 2), are automatically designed in the 4D Real World Reconstruction Loop, a revolutionary new design paradigm in which 4DRecon methods refine and adapt themselves while continuously processing unlabeled real world input. This overcomes the previously unbreakable scalability barrier to real world scene diversity, complexity and generality. This paradigm shift opens up a new research direction in graphics and vision and has far reaching relevance across many scientific fields. It enables new applications of profound social pervasion and significant economic impact, e.g., for visual media and virtual/augmented reality, and for future autonomous and robotic systems.
Max ERC Funding
1 977 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-09-01, End date: 2023-08-31
Project acronym 9 SALT
Project Reassessing Ninth Century Philosophy. A Synchronic Approach to the Logical Traditions
Researcher (PI) Christophe Florian Erismann
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAT WIEN
Country Austria
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH5, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary This project aims at a better understanding of the philosophical richness of ninth century thought using the unprecedented and highly innovative method of the synchronic approach. The hypothesis directing this synchronic approach is that studying together in parallel the four main philosophical traditions of the century – i.e. Latin, Greek, Syriac and Arabic – will bring results that the traditional enquiry limited to one tradition alone can never reach. This implies pioneering a new methodology to overcome the compartmentalization of research which prevails nowadays. Using this method is only possible because the four conditions of applicability – comparable intellectual environment, common text corpus, similar methodological perspective, commensurable problems – are fulfilled. The ninth century, a time of cultural renewal in the Carolingian, Byzantine and Abbasid empires, possesses the remarkable characteristic – which ensures commensurability – that the same texts, namely the writings of Aristotelian logic (mainly Porphyry’s Isagoge and Aristotle’s Categories) were read and commented upon in Latin, Greek, Syriac and Arabic alike.
Logic is fundamental to philosophical enquiry. The contested question is the human capacity to rationalise, analyse and describe the sensible reality, to understand the ontological structure of the world, and to define the types of entities which exist. The use of this unprecedented synchronic approach will allow us a deeper understanding of the positions, a clear identification of the a priori postulates of the philosophical debates, and a critical evaluation of the arguments used. It provides a unique opportunity to compare the different traditions and highlight the heritage which is common, to stress the specificities of each tradition when tackling philosophical issues and to discover the doctrinal results triggered by their mutual interactions, be they constructive (scholarly exchanges) or polemic (religious controversies).
Summary
This project aims at a better understanding of the philosophical richness of ninth century thought using the unprecedented and highly innovative method of the synchronic approach. The hypothesis directing this synchronic approach is that studying together in parallel the four main philosophical traditions of the century – i.e. Latin, Greek, Syriac and Arabic – will bring results that the traditional enquiry limited to one tradition alone can never reach. This implies pioneering a new methodology to overcome the compartmentalization of research which prevails nowadays. Using this method is only possible because the four conditions of applicability – comparable intellectual environment, common text corpus, similar methodological perspective, commensurable problems – are fulfilled. The ninth century, a time of cultural renewal in the Carolingian, Byzantine and Abbasid empires, possesses the remarkable characteristic – which ensures commensurability – that the same texts, namely the writings of Aristotelian logic (mainly Porphyry’s Isagoge and Aristotle’s Categories) were read and commented upon in Latin, Greek, Syriac and Arabic alike.
Logic is fundamental to philosophical enquiry. The contested question is the human capacity to rationalise, analyse and describe the sensible reality, to understand the ontological structure of the world, and to define the types of entities which exist. The use of this unprecedented synchronic approach will allow us a deeper understanding of the positions, a clear identification of the a priori postulates of the philosophical debates, and a critical evaluation of the arguments used. It provides a unique opportunity to compare the different traditions and highlight the heritage which is common, to stress the specificities of each tradition when tackling philosophical issues and to discover the doctrinal results triggered by their mutual interactions, be they constructive (scholarly exchanges) or polemic (religious controversies).
Max ERC Funding
1 998 566 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2021-02-28
Project acronym A-BINGOS
Project Accreting binary populations in Nearby Galaxies: Observations and Simulations
Researcher (PI) Andreas Zezas
Host Institution (HI) IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS
Country Greece
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "High-energy observations of our Galaxy offer a good, albeit not complete, picture of the X-ray source populations, in particular the accreting binary sources. Recent ability to study accreting binaries in nearby galaxies has shown that we would be short-sighted if we restricted ourselves to our Galaxy or to a few nearby ones. I propose an ambitious project that involves a comprehensive study of all the galaxies within 10 Mpc for which we can study in detail their X-ray sources and stellar populations. The study will combine data from a unique suite of observatories (Chandra, XMM-Newton, HST, Spitzer) with state-of-the-art theoretical modelling of binary systems. I propose a novel approach that links the accreting binary populations to their parent stellar populations and surpasses any current studies of X-ray binary populations, both in scale and in scope, by: (a) combining methods and results from several different areas of astrophysics (compact objects, binary systems, stellar populations, galaxy evolution); (b) using data from almost the whole electromagnetic spectrum (infrared to X-ray bands); (c) identifying and studying the different sub-populations of accreting binaries; and (d) performing direct comparison between observations and theoretical predictions, over a broad parameter space. The project: (a) will answer the long-standing question of the formation efficiency of accreting binaries in different environments; and (b) will constrain their evolutionary paths. As by-products the project will provide eagerly awaited input to the fields of gravitational-wave sources, γ-ray bursts, and X-ray emitting galaxies at cosmological distances and it will produce a heritage multi-wavelength dataset and library of models for future studies of galaxies and accreting binaries."
Summary
"High-energy observations of our Galaxy offer a good, albeit not complete, picture of the X-ray source populations, in particular the accreting binary sources. Recent ability to study accreting binaries in nearby galaxies has shown that we would be short-sighted if we restricted ourselves to our Galaxy or to a few nearby ones. I propose an ambitious project that involves a comprehensive study of all the galaxies within 10 Mpc for which we can study in detail their X-ray sources and stellar populations. The study will combine data from a unique suite of observatories (Chandra, XMM-Newton, HST, Spitzer) with state-of-the-art theoretical modelling of binary systems. I propose a novel approach that links the accreting binary populations to their parent stellar populations and surpasses any current studies of X-ray binary populations, both in scale and in scope, by: (a) combining methods and results from several different areas of astrophysics (compact objects, binary systems, stellar populations, galaxy evolution); (b) using data from almost the whole electromagnetic spectrum (infrared to X-ray bands); (c) identifying and studying the different sub-populations of accreting binaries; and (d) performing direct comparison between observations and theoretical predictions, over a broad parameter space. The project: (a) will answer the long-standing question of the formation efficiency of accreting binaries in different environments; and (b) will constrain their evolutionary paths. As by-products the project will provide eagerly awaited input to the fields of gravitational-wave sources, γ-ray bursts, and X-ray emitting galaxies at cosmological distances and it will produce a heritage multi-wavelength dataset and library of models for future studies of galaxies and accreting binaries."
Max ERC Funding
1 242 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
Project acronym A-DIET
Project Metabolomics based biomarkers of dietary intake- new tools for nutrition research
Researcher (PI) Lorraine Brennan
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN
Country Ireland
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS7, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary In todays advanced technological world, we can track the exact movement of individuals, analyse their genetic makeup and predict predisposition to certain diseases. However, we are unable to accurately assess an individual’s dietary intake. This is without a doubt one of the main stumbling blocks in assessing the link between diet and disease/health. The present proposal (A-DIET) will address this issue with the overarching objective to develop novel strategies for assessment of dietary intake.
Using approaches to (1) identify biomarkers of specific foods (2) classify people into dietary patterns (nutritypes) and (3) develop a tool for integration of dietary and biomarker data, A-DIET has the potential to dramatically enhance our ability to accurately assess dietary intake. The ultimate output from A-DIET will be a dietary assessment tool which can be used to obtain an accurate assessment of dietary intake by combining dietary and biomarker data which in turn will allow investigations into relationships between diet, health and disease. New biomarkers of specific foods will be identified and validated using intervention studies and metabolomic analyses. Methods will be developed to classify individuals into dietary patterns based on biomarker/metabolomic profiles thus demonstrating the novel concept of nutritypes. Strategies for integration of dietary and biomarker data will be developed and translated into a tool that will be made available to the wider scientific community.
Advances made in A-DIET will enable nutrition epidemiologist’s to properly examine the relationship between diet and disease and develop clear public health messages with regard to diet and health. Additionally results from A-DIET will allow researchers to accurately assess people’s diet and implement health promotion strategies and enable dieticians in a clinical environment to assess compliance to therapeutic diets such as adherence to a high fibre diet or a gluten free diet.
Summary
In todays advanced technological world, we can track the exact movement of individuals, analyse their genetic makeup and predict predisposition to certain diseases. However, we are unable to accurately assess an individual’s dietary intake. This is without a doubt one of the main stumbling blocks in assessing the link between diet and disease/health. The present proposal (A-DIET) will address this issue with the overarching objective to develop novel strategies for assessment of dietary intake.
Using approaches to (1) identify biomarkers of specific foods (2) classify people into dietary patterns (nutritypes) and (3) develop a tool for integration of dietary and biomarker data, A-DIET has the potential to dramatically enhance our ability to accurately assess dietary intake. The ultimate output from A-DIET will be a dietary assessment tool which can be used to obtain an accurate assessment of dietary intake by combining dietary and biomarker data which in turn will allow investigations into relationships between diet, health and disease. New biomarkers of specific foods will be identified and validated using intervention studies and metabolomic analyses. Methods will be developed to classify individuals into dietary patterns based on biomarker/metabolomic profiles thus demonstrating the novel concept of nutritypes. Strategies for integration of dietary and biomarker data will be developed and translated into a tool that will be made available to the wider scientific community.
Advances made in A-DIET will enable nutrition epidemiologist’s to properly examine the relationship between diet and disease and develop clear public health messages with regard to diet and health. Additionally results from A-DIET will allow researchers to accurately assess people’s diet and implement health promotion strategies and enable dieticians in a clinical environment to assess compliance to therapeutic diets such as adherence to a high fibre diet or a gluten free diet.
Max ERC Funding
1 995 548 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-08-01, End date: 2020-07-31
