Project acronym 15CBOOKTRADE
Project The 15th-century Book Trade: An Evidence-based Assessment and Visualization of the Distribution, Sale, and Reception of Books in the Renaissance
Researcher (PI) Cristina Dondi
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH6, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary The idea that underpins this project is to use the material evidence from thousands of surviving 15th-c. books, as well as unique documentary evidence — the unpublished ledger of a Venetian bookseller in the 1480s which records the sale of 25,000 printed books with their prices — to address four fundamental questions relating to the introduction of printing in the West which have so far eluded scholarship, partly because of lack of evidence, partly because of the lack of effective tools to deal with existing evidence. The book trade differs from other trades operating in the medieval and early modern periods in that the goods traded survive in considerable numbers. Not only do they survive, but many of them bear stratified evidence of their history in the form of marks of ownership, prices, manuscript annotations, binding and decoration styles. A British Academy pilot project conceived by the PI produced a now internationally-used database which gathers together this kind of evidence for thousands of surviving 15th-c. printed books. For the first time, this makes it possible to track the circulation of books, their trade routes and later collecting, across Europe and the USA, and throughout the centuries. The objectives of this project are to examine (1) the distribution and trade-routes, national and international, of 15th-c. printed books, along with the identity of the buyers and users (private, institutional, religious, lay, female, male, and by profession) and their reading practices; (2) the books' contemporary market value; (3) the transmission and dissemination of the texts they contain, their survival and their loss (rebalancing potentially skewed scholarship); and (4) the circulation and re-use of the illustrations they contain. Finally, the project will experiment with the application of scientific visualization techniques to represent, geographically and chronologically, the movement of 15th-c. printed books and of the texts they contain.
Summary
The idea that underpins this project is to use the material evidence from thousands of surviving 15th-c. books, as well as unique documentary evidence — the unpublished ledger of a Venetian bookseller in the 1480s which records the sale of 25,000 printed books with their prices — to address four fundamental questions relating to the introduction of printing in the West which have so far eluded scholarship, partly because of lack of evidence, partly because of the lack of effective tools to deal with existing evidence. The book trade differs from other trades operating in the medieval and early modern periods in that the goods traded survive in considerable numbers. Not only do they survive, but many of them bear stratified evidence of their history in the form of marks of ownership, prices, manuscript annotations, binding and decoration styles. A British Academy pilot project conceived by the PI produced a now internationally-used database which gathers together this kind of evidence for thousands of surviving 15th-c. printed books. For the first time, this makes it possible to track the circulation of books, their trade routes and later collecting, across Europe and the USA, and throughout the centuries. The objectives of this project are to examine (1) the distribution and trade-routes, national and international, of 15th-c. printed books, along with the identity of the buyers and users (private, institutional, religious, lay, female, male, and by profession) and their reading practices; (2) the books' contemporary market value; (3) the transmission and dissemination of the texts they contain, their survival and their loss (rebalancing potentially skewed scholarship); and (4) the circulation and re-use of the illustrations they contain. Finally, the project will experiment with the application of scientific visualization techniques to represent, geographically and chronologically, the movement of 15th-c. printed books and of the texts they contain.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 172 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
Project acronym 3DAddChip
Project Additive manufacturing of 2D nanomaterials for on-chip technologies
Researcher (PI) Cecilia Mattevi
Host Institution (HI) IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE8, ERC-2018-COG
Summary The realization of “the internet of things” is inevitably constrained at the level of miniaturization that can be achieved in the electronic devices. A variety of technologies are now going through a process of miniaturization from micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) to biomedical sensors, and actuators. The ultimate goal is to combine several components in an individual multifunctional platform, realizing on-chip technology. Devices have to be constrained to small footprints and exhibit high performance. Thus, the miniaturization process requires the introduction of new manufacturing processes to fabricate devices in the 3D space over small areas. 3D printing via robocasting is emerging as a new manufacturing technique, which allows shaping virtually any materials from polymers to ceramic and metals into complex architectures.
The goal of this research is to establish a 3D printing paradigm to produce miniaturized complex shape devices with diversified functions for on-chip technologies adaptable to “smart environment” such as flexible substrates, smart textiles and biomedical sensors. The elementary building blocks of the devices will be two-dimensional nanomaterials, which present unique optical, electrical, chemical and mechanical properties. The synergistic combination of the intrinsic characteristics of the 2D nanomaterials and the specific 3D architecture will enable advanced performance of the 3D printed objects. This research programme will demonstrate 3D miniaturized energy storage and energy conversion units fabricated with inks produced using a pilot plant. These units are essential components of any on-chip platform as they ensure energy autonomy via self-powering. Ultimately, this research will initiate new technologies based on miniaturized 3D devices.
Summary
The realization of “the internet of things” is inevitably constrained at the level of miniaturization that can be achieved in the electronic devices. A variety of technologies are now going through a process of miniaturization from micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) to biomedical sensors, and actuators. The ultimate goal is to combine several components in an individual multifunctional platform, realizing on-chip technology. Devices have to be constrained to small footprints and exhibit high performance. Thus, the miniaturization process requires the introduction of new manufacturing processes to fabricate devices in the 3D space over small areas. 3D printing via robocasting is emerging as a new manufacturing technique, which allows shaping virtually any materials from polymers to ceramic and metals into complex architectures.
The goal of this research is to establish a 3D printing paradigm to produce miniaturized complex shape devices with diversified functions for on-chip technologies adaptable to “smart environment” such as flexible substrates, smart textiles and biomedical sensors. The elementary building blocks of the devices will be two-dimensional nanomaterials, which present unique optical, electrical, chemical and mechanical properties. The synergistic combination of the intrinsic characteristics of the 2D nanomaterials and the specific 3D architecture will enable advanced performance of the 3D printed objects. This research programme will demonstrate 3D miniaturized energy storage and energy conversion units fabricated with inks produced using a pilot plant. These units are essential components of any on-chip platform as they ensure energy autonomy via self-powering. Ultimately, this research will initiate new technologies based on miniaturized 3D devices.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 968 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-09-01, End date: 2024-08-31
Project acronym AFIRMATIVE
Project Acoustic-Flow Interaction Models for Advancing Thermoacoustic Instability prediction in Very low Emission combustors
Researcher (PI) Aimee MORGANS
Host Institution (HI) IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE8, ERC-2017-COG
Summary Gas turbines are an essential ingredient in the long-term energy and aviation mix. They are flexible, offer fast start-up and the ability to burn renewable-generated fuels. However, they generate NOx emissions, which cause air pollution and damage human health, and reducing these is an air quality imperative. A major hurdle to this is that lean premixed combustion, essential for further NOx emission reductions, is highly susceptible to thermoacoustic instability. This is caused by a two-way coupling between unsteady combustion and acoustic waves, and the resulting large pressure oscillations can cause severe mechanical damage. Computational methods for predicting thermoacoustic instability, fast and accurate enough to be used as part of the industrial design process, are urgently needed.
The only computational methods with the prospect of being fast enough are those based on coupled treatment of the acoustic waves and unsteady combustion. These exploit the amenity of the acoustic waves to analytical modelling, allowing costly simulations to be directed only at the more complex flame. They show real promise: my group recently demonstrated the first accurate coupled predictions for lab-scale combustors. The method does not yet extend to industrial combustors, the more complex flow-fields in these rendering current acoustic models overly-simplistic. I propose to comprehensively overhaul acoustic models across the entirety of the combustor, accounting for real and important acoustic-flow interactions. These new models will offer the breakthrough prospect of extending efficient, accurate predictive capability to industrial combustors, which has a real chance of facilitating future, instability free, very low NOx gas turbines.
Summary
Gas turbines are an essential ingredient in the long-term energy and aviation mix. They are flexible, offer fast start-up and the ability to burn renewable-generated fuels. However, they generate NOx emissions, which cause air pollution and damage human health, and reducing these is an air quality imperative. A major hurdle to this is that lean premixed combustion, essential for further NOx emission reductions, is highly susceptible to thermoacoustic instability. This is caused by a two-way coupling between unsteady combustion and acoustic waves, and the resulting large pressure oscillations can cause severe mechanical damage. Computational methods for predicting thermoacoustic instability, fast and accurate enough to be used as part of the industrial design process, are urgently needed.
The only computational methods with the prospect of being fast enough are those based on coupled treatment of the acoustic waves and unsteady combustion. These exploit the amenity of the acoustic waves to analytical modelling, allowing costly simulations to be directed only at the more complex flame. They show real promise: my group recently demonstrated the first accurate coupled predictions for lab-scale combustors. The method does not yet extend to industrial combustors, the more complex flow-fields in these rendering current acoustic models overly-simplistic. I propose to comprehensively overhaul acoustic models across the entirety of the combustor, accounting for real and important acoustic-flow interactions. These new models will offer the breakthrough prospect of extending efficient, accurate predictive capability to industrial combustors, which has a real chance of facilitating future, instability free, very low NOx gas turbines.
Max ERC Funding
1 985 288 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-06-01, End date: 2023-05-31
Project acronym Asterochronometry
Project Galactic archeology with high temporal resolution
Researcher (PI) Andrea MIGLIO
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2017-COG
Summary The Milky Way is a complex system, with dynamical and chemical substructures, where several competing processes such as mergers, internal secular evolution, gas accretion and gas flows take place. To study in detail how such a giant spiral galaxy was formed and evolved, we need to reconstruct the sequence of its main formation events with high (~10%) temporal resolution.
Asterochronometry will determine accurate, precise ages for tens of thousands of stars in the Galaxy. We will take an approach distinguished by a number of key aspects including, developing novel star-dating methods that fully utilise the potential of individual pulsation modes, coupled with a careful appraisal of systematic uncertainties on age deriving from our limited understanding of stellar physics.
We will then capitalise on opportunities provided by the timely availability of astrometric, spectroscopic, and asteroseismic data to build and data-mine chrono-chemo-dynamical maps of regions of the Milky Way probed by the space missions CoRoT, Kepler, K2, and TESS. We will quantify, by comparison with predictions of chemodynamical models, the relative importance of various processes which play a role in shaping the Galaxy, for example mergers and dynamical processes. We will use chrono-chemical tagging to look for evidence of aggregates, and precise and accurate ages to reconstruct the early star formation history of the Milky Way’s main constituents.
The Asterochronometry project will also provide stringent observational tests of stellar structure and answer some of the long-standing open questions in stellar modelling (e.g. efficiency of transport processes, mass loss on the giant branch, the occurrence of products of coalescence / mass exchange). These tests will improve our ability to determine stellar ages and chemical yields, with wide impact e.g. on the characterisation and ensemble studies of exoplanets, on evolutionary population synthesis, integrated colours and thus ages of galaxies.
Summary
The Milky Way is a complex system, with dynamical and chemical substructures, where several competing processes such as mergers, internal secular evolution, gas accretion and gas flows take place. To study in detail how such a giant spiral galaxy was formed and evolved, we need to reconstruct the sequence of its main formation events with high (~10%) temporal resolution.
Asterochronometry will determine accurate, precise ages for tens of thousands of stars in the Galaxy. We will take an approach distinguished by a number of key aspects including, developing novel star-dating methods that fully utilise the potential of individual pulsation modes, coupled with a careful appraisal of systematic uncertainties on age deriving from our limited understanding of stellar physics.
We will then capitalise on opportunities provided by the timely availability of astrometric, spectroscopic, and asteroseismic data to build and data-mine chrono-chemo-dynamical maps of regions of the Milky Way probed by the space missions CoRoT, Kepler, K2, and TESS. We will quantify, by comparison with predictions of chemodynamical models, the relative importance of various processes which play a role in shaping the Galaxy, for example mergers and dynamical processes. We will use chrono-chemical tagging to look for evidence of aggregates, and precise and accurate ages to reconstruct the early star formation history of the Milky Way’s main constituents.
The Asterochronometry project will also provide stringent observational tests of stellar structure and answer some of the long-standing open questions in stellar modelling (e.g. efficiency of transport processes, mass loss on the giant branch, the occurrence of products of coalescence / mass exchange). These tests will improve our ability to determine stellar ages and chemical yields, with wide impact e.g. on the characterisation and ensemble studies of exoplanets, on evolutionary population synthesis, integrated colours and thus ages of galaxies.
Max ERC Funding
1 958 863 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-04-01, End date: 2023-03-31
Project acronym AveTransRisk
Project Average - Transaction Costs and Risk Management during the First Globalization (Sixteenth-Eighteenth Centuries)
Researcher (PI) Maria FUSARO
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH6, ERC-2016-COG
Summary This project focuses on the historical analysis of institutions and their impact on economic development through the investigation of a legal instrument – general average (GA) – which underpins maritime trade by redistributing damages’ costs across all interested parties. This will be pursued through the comparative investigation of GA in those European countries where substantial data exists: Italy, Spain, England, France and the Low Countries (1500-1800). Average and insurance were both created in the Middle Ages to facilitate trade through the redistribution of risk. Insurance has been widely studied, average – the expenses which can befall ships and cargoes from the time of their loading aboard until their unloading (due to accidents, jettison, and unexpected costs) – has been neglected. GA still plays an essential role in the redistribution of transaction costs, and being a form of strictly mutual self-protection, never evolved into a speculative financial instrument as insurance did; it therefore represents an excellent case of long-term effectiveness of a non-market economic phenomenon. Although the principle behind GA was very similar across Europe, in practice there were substantial differences in declaring and adjudicating claims. GA reports provide unparalleled evidence on maritime trade which, analysed quantitatively and quantitatively through a novel interdisciplinary approach, will contribute to the reassessment of the role played by the maritime sector in fostering economic growth during the early modern first globalization, when GA was the object of fierce debates on state jurisdiction and standardization of practice. Today they are regulated by the York-Antwerp Rules (YAR), currently under revision. This timely conjuncture provides plenty of opportunities for active engagement with practitioners, thereby fostering a creative dialogue on GA historical study and its future development to better face the challenges of mature globalization.
Summary
This project focuses on the historical analysis of institutions and their impact on economic development through the investigation of a legal instrument – general average (GA) – which underpins maritime trade by redistributing damages’ costs across all interested parties. This will be pursued through the comparative investigation of GA in those European countries where substantial data exists: Italy, Spain, England, France and the Low Countries (1500-1800). Average and insurance were both created in the Middle Ages to facilitate trade through the redistribution of risk. Insurance has been widely studied, average – the expenses which can befall ships and cargoes from the time of their loading aboard until their unloading (due to accidents, jettison, and unexpected costs) – has been neglected. GA still plays an essential role in the redistribution of transaction costs, and being a form of strictly mutual self-protection, never evolved into a speculative financial instrument as insurance did; it therefore represents an excellent case of long-term effectiveness of a non-market economic phenomenon. Although the principle behind GA was very similar across Europe, in practice there were substantial differences in declaring and adjudicating claims. GA reports provide unparalleled evidence on maritime trade which, analysed quantitatively and quantitatively through a novel interdisciplinary approach, will contribute to the reassessment of the role played by the maritime sector in fostering economic growth during the early modern first globalization, when GA was the object of fierce debates on state jurisdiction and standardization of practice. Today they are regulated by the York-Antwerp Rules (YAR), currently under revision. This timely conjuncture provides plenty of opportunities for active engagement with practitioners, thereby fostering a creative dialogue on GA historical study and its future development to better face the challenges of mature globalization.
Max ERC Funding
1 854 256 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-07-01, End date: 2022-12-31
Project acronym AWESoMeStars
Project Accretion, Winds, and Evolution of Spins and Magnetism of Stars
Researcher (PI) Sean Patrick Matt
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary This project focuses on Sun-like stars, which possess convective envelopes and universally exhibit magnetic activity (in the mass range 0.1 to 1.3 MSun). The rotation of these stars influences their internal structure, energy and chemical transport, and magnetic field generation, as well as their external magnetic activity and environmental interactions. Due to the huge range of timescales, spatial scales, and physics involved, understanding how each of these processes relate to each other and to the long-term evolution remains an enormous challenge in astrophysics. To face this challenge, the AWESoMeStars project will develop a comprehensive, physical picture of the evolution of stellar rotation, magnetic activity, mass loss, and accretion.
In doing so, we will
(1) Discover how stars lose the vast majority of their angular momentum, which happens in the accretion phase
(2) Explain the observed rotation-activity relationship and saturation in terms of the evolution of magnetic properties & coronal physics
(3) Characterize coronal heating and mass loss across the full range of mass & age
(4) Explain the Skumanich (1972) relationship and distributions of spin rates observed in young clusters & old field stars
(5) Develop physics-based gyrochronology as a tool for using rotation rates to constrain stellar ages.
We will accomplish these goals using a fundamentally new and multi-faceted approach, which combines the power of multi-dimensional MHD simulations with long-timescale rotational-evolution models. Specifically, we will develop a next generation of MHD simulations of both star-disk interactions and stellar winds, to model stars over the full range of mass & age, and to characterize how magnetically active stars impact their environments. Simultaneously, we will create a new class of rotational-evolution models that include external torques derived from our simulations, compute the evolution of spin rates of entire star clusters, & compare with observations.
Summary
This project focuses on Sun-like stars, which possess convective envelopes and universally exhibit magnetic activity (in the mass range 0.1 to 1.3 MSun). The rotation of these stars influences their internal structure, energy and chemical transport, and magnetic field generation, as well as their external magnetic activity and environmental interactions. Due to the huge range of timescales, spatial scales, and physics involved, understanding how each of these processes relate to each other and to the long-term evolution remains an enormous challenge in astrophysics. To face this challenge, the AWESoMeStars project will develop a comprehensive, physical picture of the evolution of stellar rotation, magnetic activity, mass loss, and accretion.
In doing so, we will
(1) Discover how stars lose the vast majority of their angular momentum, which happens in the accretion phase
(2) Explain the observed rotation-activity relationship and saturation in terms of the evolution of magnetic properties & coronal physics
(3) Characterize coronal heating and mass loss across the full range of mass & age
(4) Explain the Skumanich (1972) relationship and distributions of spin rates observed in young clusters & old field stars
(5) Develop physics-based gyrochronology as a tool for using rotation rates to constrain stellar ages.
We will accomplish these goals using a fundamentally new and multi-faceted approach, which combines the power of multi-dimensional MHD simulations with long-timescale rotational-evolution models. Specifically, we will develop a next generation of MHD simulations of both star-disk interactions and stellar winds, to model stars over the full range of mass & age, and to characterize how magnetically active stars impact their environments. Simultaneously, we will create a new class of rotational-evolution models that include external torques derived from our simulations, compute the evolution of spin rates of entire star clusters, & compare with observations.
Max ERC Funding
2 206 205 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-07-01, End date: 2021-06-30
Project acronym BAHAMAS
Project A holistic approach to large-scale structure cosmology
Researcher (PI) Ian MCCARTHY
Host Institution (HI) LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2017-COG
Summary The standard model of cosmology, the ɅCDM model, is remarkably successful at explaining a wide range of observations of our Universe. However, it is now being subjected to much more stringent tests than ever before, and recent large-scale structure (LSS) measurements appear to be in tension with its predictions. Is this tension signalling that new physics is required? For example, time-varying dark energy, or perhaps a modified theory of gravity? A contribution from massive neutrinos? Before coming to such bold conclusions we must be certain that all of the important systematic errors in the LSS tests have been accounted for.
Presently, the largest source of systematic uncertainty is from the modelling of complicated astrophysical phenomena associated with galaxy formation. In particular, energetic feedback processes associated with star formation and black hole growth can heat and expel gas from collapsed structures and modify the large-scale distribution of matter. Furthermore, the LSS field is presently separated into many sub-fields (each using different models, that usually neglect feedback), preventing a coherent analysis.
Cosmological hydrodynamical simulations (are the only method which) can follow all the relevant matter components and self-consistently capture the effects of feedback. I have been leading the development of large-scale simulations with physically-motivated prescriptions for feedback that are unrivalled in their ability to reproduce the observed properties of massive systems. With ERC support, I will build a team to exploit these developments, to produce a suite of simulations designed specifically for LSS cosmology applications with the effects of feedback realistically accounted for and which will allow us to unite the different LSS tests. My team and I will make the first self-consistent comparisons with the full range of LSS cosmology tests, and critically assess the evidence for physics beyond the standard model.
Summary
The standard model of cosmology, the ɅCDM model, is remarkably successful at explaining a wide range of observations of our Universe. However, it is now being subjected to much more stringent tests than ever before, and recent large-scale structure (LSS) measurements appear to be in tension with its predictions. Is this tension signalling that new physics is required? For example, time-varying dark energy, or perhaps a modified theory of gravity? A contribution from massive neutrinos? Before coming to such bold conclusions we must be certain that all of the important systematic errors in the LSS tests have been accounted for.
Presently, the largest source of systematic uncertainty is from the modelling of complicated astrophysical phenomena associated with galaxy formation. In particular, energetic feedback processes associated with star formation and black hole growth can heat and expel gas from collapsed structures and modify the large-scale distribution of matter. Furthermore, the LSS field is presently separated into many sub-fields (each using different models, that usually neglect feedback), preventing a coherent analysis.
Cosmological hydrodynamical simulations (are the only method which) can follow all the relevant matter components and self-consistently capture the effects of feedback. I have been leading the development of large-scale simulations with physically-motivated prescriptions for feedback that are unrivalled in their ability to reproduce the observed properties of massive systems. With ERC support, I will build a team to exploit these developments, to produce a suite of simulations designed specifically for LSS cosmology applications with the effects of feedback realistically accounted for and which will allow us to unite the different LSS tests. My team and I will make the first self-consistent comparisons with the full range of LSS cosmology tests, and critically assess the evidence for physics beyond the standard model.
Max ERC Funding
1 725 982 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-06-01, End date: 2023-05-31
Project acronym BuildingPlanS
Project Building planetary systems: linking architectures with formation
Researcher (PI) Richard David Alexander
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE9, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary The last few years have seen an explosion in our knowledge of extra-solar planetary systems. However, most exoplanetary systems look nothing like our own: we see “hot Jupiters” which take just days to orbit their parent stars, planets which meander across entire solar systems on highly eccentric orbits, and even planets orbiting twin, binary suns. These planets formed in relatively homogenous discs of cold dust and gas around young, newly-formed stars, but we do not yet understand how this extraordinarily diverse range of planetary architectures was assembled.
BuildingPlanS will establish how the observed architectures of exoplanets link to the physics of their formation. My team will build comprehensive models of the assembly of planetary systems, in order to:
1) understand how systems of giant planets are built.
2) understand the assembly of compact, tightly-packed planetary systems.
3) determine where and when planets form around binary stars.
By focusing on the three main types of known planetary systems we will determine how key physical processes operate in a wide variety of different environments, and build up a detailed understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve. Recently I have played a key role in developing a robust theory of how young, gas-rich protoplanetary discs evolve; this project will establish how these new ideas shape the formation and evolution of planetary systems. My team will consider how forming and newly-formed planets interact with their parent discs, in order to understand the architectures of young planetary systems. We will then follow how these young systems evolve to maturity over billions of years, and test our results against both new observations of planet-forming discs and our ever-growing census of exoplanetary systems. The overall aim of BuildingPlanS is to link exoplanet architectures with their formation and establish a global picture of how planetary systems are built.
Summary
The last few years have seen an explosion in our knowledge of extra-solar planetary systems. However, most exoplanetary systems look nothing like our own: we see “hot Jupiters” which take just days to orbit their parent stars, planets which meander across entire solar systems on highly eccentric orbits, and even planets orbiting twin, binary suns. These planets formed in relatively homogenous discs of cold dust and gas around young, newly-formed stars, but we do not yet understand how this extraordinarily diverse range of planetary architectures was assembled.
BuildingPlanS will establish how the observed architectures of exoplanets link to the physics of their formation. My team will build comprehensive models of the assembly of planetary systems, in order to:
1) understand how systems of giant planets are built.
2) understand the assembly of compact, tightly-packed planetary systems.
3) determine where and when planets form around binary stars.
By focusing on the three main types of known planetary systems we will determine how key physical processes operate in a wide variety of different environments, and build up a detailed understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve. Recently I have played a key role in developing a robust theory of how young, gas-rich protoplanetary discs evolve; this project will establish how these new ideas shape the formation and evolution of planetary systems. My team will consider how forming and newly-formed planets interact with their parent discs, in order to understand the architectures of young planetary systems. We will then follow how these young systems evolve to maturity over billions of years, and test our results against both new observations of planet-forming discs and our ever-growing census of exoplanetary systems. The overall aim of BuildingPlanS is to link exoplanet architectures with their formation and establish a global picture of how planetary systems are built.
Max ERC Funding
1 945 721 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-06-01, End date: 2021-11-30
Project acronym CELL-in-CELL
Project Understanding host cellular systems that drive an endosymbiotic interaction
Researcher (PI) Thomas RICHARDS
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS8, ERC-2018-COG
Summary Endosymbiosis is a key phenomenon that has played a critical role in shaping biological diversity, driving gene transfer and generating cellular complexity. During the process of endosymbiosis, one cell is integrated within another to become a critical component of the recipient, changing its characteristics and allowing it to chart a distinct evolutionary trajectory. Endosymbiosis was fundamentally important to the origin and evolution of eukaryotic cellular complexity, because an endosymbiotic event roots the diversification of all known eukaryotes and endosymbiosis has continually driven the diversification of huge sections of the eukaryotic tree of life. Little is known about how nascent endosymbioses are established or how they go on to form novel cellular compartments known as endosymbiotic organelles. Paramecium bursaria is a single celled protist that harbours multiple green algae within to form a phototrophic endosymbiosis. This relationship is nascent as the partners can be separated, grown separately, and the endosymbiosis reinitiated. This project will identify, for the first time, the gene functions that enable one cell to incubate another within to form a stable endosymbiotic interaction. To identify and explore which host genes control endosymbiosis in P. bursaria we have developed RNAi silencing technology. In the proposed project we will conduct genome sequencing, followed by a large-scale RNAi knockdown screening experiment, to identify host genes that when silenced perturb the endosymbiont population. Having identified candidate genes, we will investigate the localisation and function of the host encoded proteins. This project will significantly change our current understanding of the evolutionary phenomenon of endosymbiosis by identifying the cellular adaptations that drive these interactions, advancing our understanding of how these important moments in evolution occur and how core cellular systems can diversify in function.
Summary
Endosymbiosis is a key phenomenon that has played a critical role in shaping biological diversity, driving gene transfer and generating cellular complexity. During the process of endosymbiosis, one cell is integrated within another to become a critical component of the recipient, changing its characteristics and allowing it to chart a distinct evolutionary trajectory. Endosymbiosis was fundamentally important to the origin and evolution of eukaryotic cellular complexity, because an endosymbiotic event roots the diversification of all known eukaryotes and endosymbiosis has continually driven the diversification of huge sections of the eukaryotic tree of life. Little is known about how nascent endosymbioses are established or how they go on to form novel cellular compartments known as endosymbiotic organelles. Paramecium bursaria is a single celled protist that harbours multiple green algae within to form a phototrophic endosymbiosis. This relationship is nascent as the partners can be separated, grown separately, and the endosymbiosis reinitiated. This project will identify, for the first time, the gene functions that enable one cell to incubate another within to form a stable endosymbiotic interaction. To identify and explore which host genes control endosymbiosis in P. bursaria we have developed RNAi silencing technology. In the proposed project we will conduct genome sequencing, followed by a large-scale RNAi knockdown screening experiment, to identify host genes that when silenced perturb the endosymbiont population. Having identified candidate genes, we will investigate the localisation and function of the host encoded proteins. This project will significantly change our current understanding of the evolutionary phenomenon of endosymbiosis by identifying the cellular adaptations that drive these interactions, advancing our understanding of how these important moments in evolution occur and how core cellular systems can diversify in function.
Max ERC Funding
2 602 483 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-06-01, End date: 2024-05-31
Project acronym CellFateTech
Project Biotechnology for investigating cell fate choice
Researcher (PI) Kevin CHALUT
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARSOF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), LS9, ERC-2017-COG
Summary The evolution from a stem cell to differentiated progeny underpins tissue development and homeostasis, which are driven by a multitude of cell fate choices. The transitions underlying these choices are not well understood. There are a number of challenges that must be overcome to achieve this understanding. In the proposed research we will tackle two of the challenges: first, the dynamics of fate choices, i.e. the dependence of transitions on time and inductive signals, remains cryptic; second, mechanical signalling regulates instructive cues for transitions but its role in the process is uncertain. One of the primary reasons these important aspects of cell fate choice remain a mystery is because the biology has not been coupled to the biotechnology appropriate to unravel it. This is the purpose of the proposed research: we will develop tools based in microfluidics, microfabrication and hydrogels and integrate them with our stem cell biology expertise to illuminate the process of cell fate choice. We will develop single cell microfluidic technology that possesses unprecedented temporal resolution and control over the signalling environment to study cell fate dynamics. We will also synthesize hydrogel substrates to exert complete control over the mechanical microenvironment of stem cells. Finally, we will advance tools to apply reproducible and defined forces to cells in order to study the role mechanical signalling in cell fate choice. Developing the proposed technology kit hand-in-hand with its biological applications will allow us to delve into the mechanisms of biological transitions in multiple stem cell systems, allowing us to uncover universal phenomena governing cell fate choice.
Summary
The evolution from a stem cell to differentiated progeny underpins tissue development and homeostasis, which are driven by a multitude of cell fate choices. The transitions underlying these choices are not well understood. There are a number of challenges that must be overcome to achieve this understanding. In the proposed research we will tackle two of the challenges: first, the dynamics of fate choices, i.e. the dependence of transitions on time and inductive signals, remains cryptic; second, mechanical signalling regulates instructive cues for transitions but its role in the process is uncertain. One of the primary reasons these important aspects of cell fate choice remain a mystery is because the biology has not been coupled to the biotechnology appropriate to unravel it. This is the purpose of the proposed research: we will develop tools based in microfluidics, microfabrication and hydrogels and integrate them with our stem cell biology expertise to illuminate the process of cell fate choice. We will develop single cell microfluidic technology that possesses unprecedented temporal resolution and control over the signalling environment to study cell fate dynamics. We will also synthesize hydrogel substrates to exert complete control over the mechanical microenvironment of stem cells. Finally, we will advance tools to apply reproducible and defined forces to cells in order to study the role mechanical signalling in cell fate choice. Developing the proposed technology kit hand-in-hand with its biological applications will allow us to delve into the mechanisms of biological transitions in multiple stem cell systems, allowing us to uncover universal phenomena governing cell fate choice.
Max ERC Funding
1 876 618 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-04-01, End date: 2023-03-31
