Project acronym PHDVIRTA
Project Physically-based Virtual Acoustics
Researcher (PI) Kalle Tapio Lokki
Host Institution (HI) AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE5, ERC-2007-StG
Summary The objective of the project is to find new methods for quality evaluation and modeling of room acoustics. Room acoustics has been studied over 100 years, but, e.g., the relation between objective attributes and subjective measures is not fully understood yet. This project will develop novel methods to simulate and auralize sound propagation in rooms, in particular in concert halls. The research is divided into three main topics. First, authentic auralization with physically-based room acoustics modeling methods will be studied. The recently introduced acoustic radiance transfer method is developed further to handle complex reflections from surfaces as well as diffraction. The second research topic is quality evaluation of concert hall acoustics. Novel algorithms will be developed for spatial sound analysis of a large impulse response database. Live recordings will be analyzed to find new objective quality measures. Quality assessments will also be performed subjectively with sensory evaluation methods borrowed from food industry. The third topic is related to augmented reality audio technology, which reveals the potential and richness of emerging technologies, giving a scenario of the possible future personalized mobile audio communications. The results of the project will be widely applicable in the academia, but also in every day life of people all over the world. The new knowledge in room acoustics will help to build acoustically better concert halls and public places such as libraries, shopping malls, etc. The augmented reality audio applications will help and enrich communication between humans. The concert hall acoustics research has great potential to find novel objective and subjective quality metrics. They also help in creation of authentic auralization, which will be one of the main tools for consultants in design, and in particular when explaining design results to architects, clients, and public audience.
Summary
The objective of the project is to find new methods for quality evaluation and modeling of room acoustics. Room acoustics has been studied over 100 years, but, e.g., the relation between objective attributes and subjective measures is not fully understood yet. This project will develop novel methods to simulate and auralize sound propagation in rooms, in particular in concert halls. The research is divided into three main topics. First, authentic auralization with physically-based room acoustics modeling methods will be studied. The recently introduced acoustic radiance transfer method is developed further to handle complex reflections from surfaces as well as diffraction. The second research topic is quality evaluation of concert hall acoustics. Novel algorithms will be developed for spatial sound analysis of a large impulse response database. Live recordings will be analyzed to find new objective quality measures. Quality assessments will also be performed subjectively with sensory evaluation methods borrowed from food industry. The third topic is related to augmented reality audio technology, which reveals the potential and richness of emerging technologies, giving a scenario of the possible future personalized mobile audio communications. The results of the project will be widely applicable in the academia, but also in every day life of people all over the world. The new knowledge in room acoustics will help to build acoustically better concert halls and public places such as libraries, shopping malls, etc. The augmented reality audio applications will help and enrich communication between humans. The concert hall acoustics research has great potential to find novel objective and subjective quality metrics. They also help in creation of authentic auralization, which will be one of the main tools for consultants in design, and in particular when explaining design results to architects, clients, and public audience.
Max ERC Funding
880 224 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-07-01, End date: 2013-06-30
Project acronym QUESPACE
Project Quantifying Energy Circulation in Space Plasma
Researcher (PI) Minna Maria Emilia Palmroth
Host Institution (HI) ILMATIETEEN LAITOS
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE7, ERC-2007-StG
Summary The project aims to quantify energy circulation in space plasmas. Scientifically, energy transfer is a fundamental plasma physical problem having many applications in a variety of plasma environments ranging from coronal heating on the Sun to electric heating in the ionosphere. Technologically, understanding the plasma and energy transport properties is a step toward predictions of the space environment needed for spacecraft design and operations. The space physics community lacks an accurate and self-consistent numerical model capable of describing the global plasma system in particular in the inner magnetosphere, where major magnetic storms can cause serious damage to space-borne technology. The project has two goals: 1. Novel integration of observations from ESA’s four-spacecraft Cluster mission with simulation results to gain quantitative understanding of global energy transport properties in the near-Earth space; 2. Development of a new self-consistent global plasma simulation that describes multi-component and multi-temperature plasmas to resolve non-MHD processes that currently cannot be self-consistently described by the existing global plasma simulations. The new simulation methods are now feasible due to the increased computational capabilities. Our existing simulation environment and unique analysis methods have brought exciting new results on magnetospheric energy circulation. Seven years after launch, the Cluster database is now large enough to quantitatively assess these effects. The proposing team has a long record in observational research of global energetics and a world-leading role in developing global magnetospheric computer simulations.
Summary
The project aims to quantify energy circulation in space plasmas. Scientifically, energy transfer is a fundamental plasma physical problem having many applications in a variety of plasma environments ranging from coronal heating on the Sun to electric heating in the ionosphere. Technologically, understanding the plasma and energy transport properties is a step toward predictions of the space environment needed for spacecraft design and operations. The space physics community lacks an accurate and self-consistent numerical model capable of describing the global plasma system in particular in the inner magnetosphere, where major magnetic storms can cause serious damage to space-borne technology. The project has two goals: 1. Novel integration of observations from ESA’s four-spacecraft Cluster mission with simulation results to gain quantitative understanding of global energy transport properties in the near-Earth space; 2. Development of a new self-consistent global plasma simulation that describes multi-component and multi-temperature plasmas to resolve non-MHD processes that currently cannot be self-consistently described by the existing global plasma simulations. The new simulation methods are now feasible due to the increased computational capabilities. Our existing simulation environment and unique analysis methods have brought exciting new results on magnetospheric energy circulation. Seven years after launch, the Cluster database is now large enough to quantitatively assess these effects. The proposing team has a long record in observational research of global energetics and a world-leading role in developing global magnetospheric computer simulations.
Max ERC Funding
699 985 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-09-01, End date: 2013-08-31
Project acronym SHESTRUCT
Project Understanding the structure and stability of heavy and superheavy elements
Researcher (PI) Paul Thomas Greenlees
Host Institution (HI) JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE2, ERC-2007-StG
Summary "The aim of the project is to further our understanding of the structure and stability of atomic nuclei at the extreme upper end of the chart of the nuclides. One of the major goals of contemporary Nuclear Physics experiments is to locate and chart the fabled superheavy element ""Island of Stability"". Experiments which aim to directly produce the heaviest elements may provide only a limited number of observables, such as decay modes or half-lives. Detailed Nuclear Structure investigations provide extensive data which can be used as a stringent test of modern self-consistent theories. Such theories require input from the study of nuclei with extreme proton-to-neutron ratios. The upper part of the chart of the nuclides is one region in which this data is much sought after. The project will employ state-of-the-art spectrometers at the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland (JYFL) to acquire such data. The spectrometers are part of a multi-national collaboration of European institutes. Results obtained in the course of the project will have a direct impact on current nuclear structure theories. The unique nature of the facilities at JYFL means that it will be impossible to obtain data of comparable quality elsewhere in the world. The project should yield a large number of publications and result in the training of several Ph.D students. The students will benefit from the fact that the Accelerator Laboratory is part of a large and well-respected University."
Summary
"The aim of the project is to further our understanding of the structure and stability of atomic nuclei at the extreme upper end of the chart of the nuclides. One of the major goals of contemporary Nuclear Physics experiments is to locate and chart the fabled superheavy element ""Island of Stability"". Experiments which aim to directly produce the heaviest elements may provide only a limited number of observables, such as decay modes or half-lives. Detailed Nuclear Structure investigations provide extensive data which can be used as a stringent test of modern self-consistent theories. Such theories require input from the study of nuclei with extreme proton-to-neutron ratios. The upper part of the chart of the nuclides is one region in which this data is much sought after. The project will employ state-of-the-art spectrometers at the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland (JYFL) to acquire such data. The spectrometers are part of a multi-national collaboration of European institutes. Results obtained in the course of the project will have a direct impact on current nuclear structure theories. The unique nature of the facilities at JYFL means that it will be impossible to obtain data of comparable quality elsewhere in the world. The project should yield a large number of publications and result in the training of several Ph.D students. The students will benefit from the fact that the Accelerator Laboratory is part of a large and well-respected University."
Max ERC Funding
1 249 608 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-09-01, End date: 2014-02-28
Project acronym SPAECO
Project Spatial ecology: bringing mathematical theory and data together
Researcher (PI) Otso Tapio Ovaskainen
Host Institution (HI) HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2007-StG
Summary The goal of my research plan is to make fundamental progress in the understanding of the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of populations inhabiting the heterogeneous and changing landscapes of the real world. To reach this goal, I will construct general and mathematically rigorous theories and develop novel statistical approaches linking the theories to data. In the mathematical part of the project, I will construct and analyze spatial and stochastic individual-based models formulated as spatiotemporal point processes. I have already made a methodological breakthrough by showing how such models can be analyzed in a mathematically rigorous manner. I plan to use and further develop the mathematical theory to study the interplay among endogenous and exogenous factors in spatial ecology, genetics, and evolution. To link the theory with data, I will develop novel combinations of forward (from process to pattern) and inverse (from pattern to process) approaches in the context of five empirical problems. First, I will build on the strong interaction between empirical studies and modelling in the Glanville fritillary butterfly to develop approaches that integrate genetics with ecology and evolutionary biology in highly fragmented landscapes. Second, I will investigate dead-wood dependent species as a model system of population dynamics in dynamic landscapes, bridging the current gap between data and theory in this system. Third, I will use existing data on butterflies, wolves and bears to study how animal movement depends on the interplay between landscape structure and movement behaviour and on intra- and interspecific interactions. Fourth, I will address fundamental questions in evolutionary quantitative genetics, e.g. the evolution of the matrix of additive genetic variances and covariances. Finally, I will develop Bayesian state-space approaches to root species distribution modelling more deeply in ecological theory.
Summary
The goal of my research plan is to make fundamental progress in the understanding of the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of populations inhabiting the heterogeneous and changing landscapes of the real world. To reach this goal, I will construct general and mathematically rigorous theories and develop novel statistical approaches linking the theories to data. In the mathematical part of the project, I will construct and analyze spatial and stochastic individual-based models formulated as spatiotemporal point processes. I have already made a methodological breakthrough by showing how such models can be analyzed in a mathematically rigorous manner. I plan to use and further develop the mathematical theory to study the interplay among endogenous and exogenous factors in spatial ecology, genetics, and evolution. To link the theory with data, I will develop novel combinations of forward (from process to pattern) and inverse (from pattern to process) approaches in the context of five empirical problems. First, I will build on the strong interaction between empirical studies and modelling in the Glanville fritillary butterfly to develop approaches that integrate genetics with ecology and evolutionary biology in highly fragmented landscapes. Second, I will investigate dead-wood dependent species as a model system of population dynamics in dynamic landscapes, bridging the current gap between data and theory in this system. Third, I will use existing data on butterflies, wolves and bears to study how animal movement depends on the interplay between landscape structure and movement behaviour and on intra- and interspecific interactions. Fourth, I will address fundamental questions in evolutionary quantitative genetics, e.g. the evolution of the matrix of additive genetic variances and covariances. Finally, I will develop Bayesian state-space approaches to root species distribution modelling more deeply in ecological theory.
Max ERC Funding
1 501 421 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-07-01, End date: 2013-06-30
Project acronym SSALT
Project Subjectivity and Selfhood in the Arabic and Latin Traditions
Researcher (PI) Taneli Kukkonen
Host Institution (HI) JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH3, ERC-2007-StG
Summary The overall aim of the SSALT project is to throw light on the incubation of modern notions of the self and moral agency in the thought of the ancient world, their adoption and adaptation in the European and Arabic middle ages, and finally their transformation in the early modern period. This aim is approached through the twin paths of Arabic and Latin thought, both of which were in equal measure heir to the legacies of Greek rationalism and Hebrew monotheism. While most of the progress made so far in the scholarship has concentrated on Latin scholasticism, a more equally weighted investigation between the Arabic and Latin traditions can not only serve to bring to light much material that is of contemporary philosophical and ethical interest, but will also bring about a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Greek and Hebrew notions of selfhood and moral agency that form the bedrock of our culture. Once we begin to understand the similarities as well as the differences between the various thinkers frequently cited in the discussions (Aristotle and Descartes; Augustine and al-Ghazali; Avicenna and Aquinas), we can begin to discern what the theoretical implications are of committing to a certain philosophical viewpoint regarding human subjectivity and agency. Plainly, the importance of these findings reaches beyond the merely academic.
Summary
The overall aim of the SSALT project is to throw light on the incubation of modern notions of the self and moral agency in the thought of the ancient world, their adoption and adaptation in the European and Arabic middle ages, and finally their transformation in the early modern period. This aim is approached through the twin paths of Arabic and Latin thought, both of which were in equal measure heir to the legacies of Greek rationalism and Hebrew monotheism. While most of the progress made so far in the scholarship has concentrated on Latin scholasticism, a more equally weighted investigation between the Arabic and Latin traditions can not only serve to bring to light much material that is of contemporary philosophical and ethical interest, but will also bring about a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Greek and Hebrew notions of selfhood and moral agency that form the bedrock of our culture. Once we begin to understand the similarities as well as the differences between the various thinkers frequently cited in the discussions (Aristotle and Descartes; Augustine and al-Ghazali; Avicenna and Aquinas), we can begin to discern what the theoretical implications are of committing to a certain philosophical viewpoint regarding human subjectivity and agency. Plainly, the importance of these findings reaches beyond the merely academic.
Max ERC Funding
750 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2009-01-01, End date: 2012-12-31
Project acronym TAPAS
Project Tracing Antimicrobial peptides and Pheromones in the Amphibian Skin
Researcher (PI) Franky Bossuyt
Host Institution (HI) VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS5, ERC-2007-StG
Summary Most studies on amphibian skin peptides have an explicit pharmacological focus, and the origin, diversity, and functional diversification of these molecules therefore remain poorly understood. Antimicrobial peptide research in amphibians has been restricted to relatively few closely related genera in a limited number of families. Furthermore, although behavioral tests indicate chemical communication during courtship in many amphibian species, only a single pheromone peptide has been characterized in anurans (frogs and toads), and only two in caudates (salamanders and newts). We propose an integration of transcriptome analyses, peptidome analyses, functional assays, and phylogenetic analyses to: 1. Identify and characterize novel antimicrobial and pheromone skin peptides in a representative of all amphibian families. 2. Study the evolution of these molecules by mapping diversity and function on well-supported phylogenies. 3. Determine the relative contribution of different genetic mechanisms to the rise of antimicrobial and pheromone peptide diversity (e.g. recruitment from genes with other functions, tandem duplications, gene conversion, ...). 4. Test the relative contributions of skin peptide evolution (ecological adaptation and/or sexual signal differentiation) in shaping species diversity in amphibian evolutionary radiations. The results of this project are expected to throw a new light on amphibian defense and chemical communication. Since (1) there is a correlation between resistance to lethal infection and synthesis of antimicrobial peptides by the host amphibian, and (2) because systems of chemical communication are especially vulnerable to disruption by anthropogenic change, this project is expected to form an important contribution in the struggle against amphibian decline.
Summary
Most studies on amphibian skin peptides have an explicit pharmacological focus, and the origin, diversity, and functional diversification of these molecules therefore remain poorly understood. Antimicrobial peptide research in amphibians has been restricted to relatively few closely related genera in a limited number of families. Furthermore, although behavioral tests indicate chemical communication during courtship in many amphibian species, only a single pheromone peptide has been characterized in anurans (frogs and toads), and only two in caudates (salamanders and newts). We propose an integration of transcriptome analyses, peptidome analyses, functional assays, and phylogenetic analyses to: 1. Identify and characterize novel antimicrobial and pheromone skin peptides in a representative of all amphibian families. 2. Study the evolution of these molecules by mapping diversity and function on well-supported phylogenies. 3. Determine the relative contribution of different genetic mechanisms to the rise of antimicrobial and pheromone peptide diversity (e.g. recruitment from genes with other functions, tandem duplications, gene conversion, ...). 4. Test the relative contributions of skin peptide evolution (ecological adaptation and/or sexual signal differentiation) in shaping species diversity in amphibian evolutionary radiations. The results of this project are expected to throw a new light on amphibian defense and chemical communication. Since (1) there is a correlation between resistance to lethal infection and synthesis of antimicrobial peptides by the host amphibian, and (2) because systems of chemical communication are especially vulnerable to disruption by anthropogenic change, this project is expected to form an important contribution in the struggle against amphibian decline.
Max ERC Funding
900 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-11-01, End date: 2013-10-31
Project acronym TRASTUZUCRAD
Project Oncolytic adenoviruses expressing monoclonal antibody trastuzumab for treatment of Her-2+ cancer
Researcher (PI) Akseli Eetu Hemminki
Host Institution (HI) HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS7, ERC-2007-StG
Summary Metastatic breast, ovarian, gastric and esophageal cancer are currently incurable and therefore require new and innovative treatment approaches. The objective of this project is to construct oncolytic adenoviruses that code for trastuzumab (HerceptinR), a monoclonal antibody against tumor associated receptor Her2. Intravenous trastuzumab is already widely used for treatment of Her2+ breast cancer, and is being actively studied for other tumor types that frequently feature Her2 amplification, including ovarian, gastric and esophageal cancer. We hypothesize that expression of the antibody from a virus will result in production of high, sustained concentrations of functional trastuzumab in situ. In comparison to conventional intravenous delivery, this might results in enhanced anti-tumor activity but reduced systemic exposure and side-effects. Further, a single injection of the virus might result in prolonged production of trastuzumab which might be cost-effective as intravenous trastuzumab is expensive. The viruses will be targeted for effective delivery to tumor cells through viral capsid modifications, and oncolytic cell killing will proceed only in p16/Rb pathway mutant tumor cells. Trastuzumab production will be coupled to virus replication. Further, trastuzumab is secreted into the surrounding tumor tissue for an effective “bystander effect”, ie. killing of neighboring tumor cells. In summary, we hypothesize that this approach will result in tumor cell killing through viral oncolysis, the anti-tumor activity of trastuzumab, and the potential synergy between the approaches. Further, high local concentrations might result in anti-tumor efficacy superior to efficacy seen with intravenous trastuzumab. These developments might eventually result in increased treatment options for patients with currently incurable Her2+ cancers.
Summary
Metastatic breast, ovarian, gastric and esophageal cancer are currently incurable and therefore require new and innovative treatment approaches. The objective of this project is to construct oncolytic adenoviruses that code for trastuzumab (HerceptinR), a monoclonal antibody against tumor associated receptor Her2. Intravenous trastuzumab is already widely used for treatment of Her2+ breast cancer, and is being actively studied for other tumor types that frequently feature Her2 amplification, including ovarian, gastric and esophageal cancer. We hypothesize that expression of the antibody from a virus will result in production of high, sustained concentrations of functional trastuzumab in situ. In comparison to conventional intravenous delivery, this might results in enhanced anti-tumor activity but reduced systemic exposure and side-effects. Further, a single injection of the virus might result in prolonged production of trastuzumab which might be cost-effective as intravenous trastuzumab is expensive. The viruses will be targeted for effective delivery to tumor cells through viral capsid modifications, and oncolytic cell killing will proceed only in p16/Rb pathway mutant tumor cells. Trastuzumab production will be coupled to virus replication. Further, trastuzumab is secreted into the surrounding tumor tissue for an effective “bystander effect”, ie. killing of neighboring tumor cells. In summary, we hypothesize that this approach will result in tumor cell killing through viral oncolysis, the anti-tumor activity of trastuzumab, and the potential synergy between the approaches. Further, high local concentrations might result in anti-tumor efficacy superior to efficacy seen with intravenous trastuzumab. These developments might eventually result in increased treatment options for patients with currently incurable Her2+ cancers.
Max ERC Funding
1 622 360 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-09-01, End date: 2014-08-31
Project acronym VNALG
Project Von Neumann algebras, group actions and discrete quantum groups
Researcher (PI) Stefaan Vaes
Host Institution (HI) KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE1, ERC-2007-StG
Summary Von Neumann algebras, and more specifically II_1 factors, arise naturally in the study of countable groups and their actions on measure spaces. A central, but extremely hard problem is the classification of these von Neumann algebras in terms of their group/action data. Breakthrough results were recently obtained by Sorin Popa. I presented a combined treatment of these in my Bourbaki lecture notes. In a joint work of Popa and myself, this gave rise to the full classification of certain generalized Bernoulli II_1 factors. In a recent article of mine, it lead for the first time to a family of II_1 factors for which the fusion algebra of finite index bimodules could be entirely computed. Popa's methods open up a wealth of research opportunities. They bring within reach the solution of several long-standing open problems, that constitute the main objectives of the first part of this research proposal: complete descriptions of the finite index subfactor structure of certain II_1 factors, constructions of II_1 factors with a unique group measure space decomposition and computations of orbit equivalence invariants for actions of the free groups. Even approaching these problems would have been completely hopeless just a few years ago. Other constructions of von Neumann algebras arise in the theory of discrete quantum groups. The first rigidity results for quantum group actions on von Neumann algebras constitute the main objective of this second part of the research proposal. Finally, we aim to deal with another connection between quantum groups and operator algebras, through the study of non-commutative random walks and their boundaries. The main originality of this research proposal lies in the interaction between two branches of mathematics: operator algebras and quantum groups. This is clear for the second part of the project and occupies a central place in the first part through subfactor theory.
Summary
Von Neumann algebras, and more specifically II_1 factors, arise naturally in the study of countable groups and their actions on measure spaces. A central, but extremely hard problem is the classification of these von Neumann algebras in terms of their group/action data. Breakthrough results were recently obtained by Sorin Popa. I presented a combined treatment of these in my Bourbaki lecture notes. In a joint work of Popa and myself, this gave rise to the full classification of certain generalized Bernoulli II_1 factors. In a recent article of mine, it lead for the first time to a family of II_1 factors for which the fusion algebra of finite index bimodules could be entirely computed. Popa's methods open up a wealth of research opportunities. They bring within reach the solution of several long-standing open problems, that constitute the main objectives of the first part of this research proposal: complete descriptions of the finite index subfactor structure of certain II_1 factors, constructions of II_1 factors with a unique group measure space decomposition and computations of orbit equivalence invariants for actions of the free groups. Even approaching these problems would have been completely hopeless just a few years ago. Other constructions of von Neumann algebras arise in the theory of discrete quantum groups. The first rigidity results for quantum group actions on von Neumann algebras constitute the main objective of this second part of the research proposal. Finally, we aim to deal with another connection between quantum groups and operator algebras, through the study of non-commutative random walks and their boundaries. The main originality of this research proposal lies in the interaction between two branches of mathematics: operator algebras and quantum groups. This is clear for the second part of the project and occupies a central place in the first part through subfactor theory.
Max ERC Funding
500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-09-01, End date: 2013-08-31
