On 28 November, the European Research Council (ERC) awarded Consolidator Grants to over 300 researchers across Europe.
The new grantees will receive the chance to have far-reaching impact on timely scientific questions as for instance antibiotic resistant bacteria, mechanisms of collective decision-making in a society or forensic practices across Europe.
The projects are supposed to be carried out at universities and research centres in 22 different countries across Europe, with as leading locations the United Kingdom (60 grants), Germany (56), France (38) and the Netherlands (25). In this competition, researchers of 39 nationalities received funding, amongst them are notably Germans (55 grants), Italians (33), French (32) and Britons (31). The research projects proposed by the new grantees cover a wide range of topics in physical sciences and engineering, life sciences, as well as social sciences and humanities.
The ERC has evaluated 2,538 research proposals this time, out of which 13% will be funded. Thirty-two percent of grants were awarded to female applicants. The grants will also create an estimated 2,000 jobs for postdocs, PhD students and other staff working in the grantees' research teams.
The ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to outstanding researchers of any nationality and age, with at least seven and up to 12 years of experience after their PhDs, and a scientific track record showing great promise. The ERC, set up by the EU in 2007, is the first European funding organisation for excellent frontier research.
More information is available here: examples of research projects and statistics.
