Four ERC Starting Grants 2022 awarded to Politecnico di Milano

Milan, 22 November 2022 – The Politecnico di Milano obtains a full four ERC Starting Grants 2022in support of highly advanced scientific research The European Research Council (ERC), the European Union organisation that rewards talented scholars engaged in cutting-edge research, is funding four projects with Principal Investigators from the Politecnico di Milano: Fabio Ferrari with project TRACES, Margherita Maiuri with Ulysses, Paola Occhetta with EvOoC and Gianvito Vilé with the project SAC_2.0.

Starting Grants are awarded to early-career researchers with highly promising scientific records and two to seven years of experience since completion of their doctorate. Each project receives 1.5 million euros over five years.

The four research projects were selected from almost 3000 proposals submitted to ERC. This is a great result for Politecnico, considering that this year only 13.9% of the projects submitted have obtained funding.

With these four new projects, Politecnico di Milano has now received a total of 56 ERC grants, or eight Starting Grants. Under Horizon Europe, the European Union 20221-2027 framework programme for research and innovation, the Politecnico di Milano has achieved the outstanding result of 114 winning projects, or 13 with ERC, for a total value of over 60 million euros. The current application success rate for Polimi is 19.90%, compared to about 15% at the European level. Politecnico is seventh among European universities for the number of winning projects (Cordi's data as of 31/10/2022).

TRACES (Transitions in Rubble-pile Asteroid Chaotic Environment and granular Structures), principal investigator Fabio Ferrari

With the TRACES project, Fabio Ferrari, senior researcher at Politecnico di Milano, Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, studies the physical and dynamic properties of asteroids, in particular the evolutionary behaviour of these bodies, in an approach likening their internal and surface structure to a loosely cohesive granular medium. The project involves the development of a new methodology for studying the granular mechanics of asteroids in microgravity and space conditions. TRACES provides new theoretical and numerical tools for the study of asteroids, validated by experiments in microgravity and on the ground, using data from the NASA DART and European Space Agency Hera missions.

ULYSSES (ManipULation of photoinduced processes bY reshaping tranSition StatEs via transient Strong coupling), principal investigator Margherita Maiuri

With the ULYSSES project, Margherita Maiuri, professor and researcher with the Department of Physics of the Politecnico di Milano, and currently visiting professor at Princeton University in the USA, proposes a new control model for improved efficiency in light-activated physical and chemical processes. ULYSSES is developing a new platform, exploiting optical nanostructures and ultra-short laser light pulses for real-time manipulation of molecular reactions. Possible applications range from photovoltaics to photocatalysis, especially in sustainable energy uses.

EvOoC (Evolving Organs-on-Chip), principal investigator Paola Occhetta

The EvOoC project, led by Paola Occhetta, researcher and assistant professor in the Department of Electronics Information and Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano, is aimed at the development of intelligent and mechanically active "organs-on-chip". These will be used as platforms for identifying the base mechanisms involved in the regeneration and degeneration of cardiac and musculoskeletal tissue. To achieve this goal, EvOoC is developing a miniaturised cell culture technology platform. Combining the principles of micro-fabrication, developmental biology, mechano-biology and artificial intelligence, EvOoC introduces revolutionary methods in tissue engineering and disease modelling, facilitating the development of innovative translational strategies for tissue repair that are suited to numerous therapeutic applications.

SAC_2.0 (Single-Atom Catalysis for a new generation of chemical processes), principal researcher Gianvito Vilé

The SAC_2.0 project led by Gianvito Vilé, professor and researcher with the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta" of the Politecnico di Milano, engages in researching “single atom” catalysers: innovative materials with great potential for sustainable chemical transformations. The SAC_2.0 project aims to bring light to important scientific unknowns, including the reactive structure of single atom materials, in particular developing methodologies for micro-fabrication in synthesising and functionalisation. Possible applications for these catalysts include use in the conversion of CO2 as value-added products and the development of “green” pharmaceutical synthesis methods.

Topics

Politecnico di Milano is a scientific-technological university which trains engineers, architects and industrial designers.

The University has always focused on the quality and innovation of its teaching and research, developing a fruitful relationship with business and productive world by means of experimental research and technological transfer.

Research has always been linked to didactics and it is a priority commitment which has allowed Politecnico Milano to achieve high quality results at an international level as to join the university to the business world. Research constitutes a parallel path to that formed by cooperation and alliances with the industrial system.

Knowing the world in which you are going to work is a vital requirement for training students. By referring back to the needs of the industrial world and public administration, research is facilitated in following new paths and dealing with the need for constant and rapid innovation. The alliance with the industrial world, in many cases favored by Fondazione Politecnico and by consortiums to which Politecnico belong, allows the university to follow the vocation of the territories in which it operates and to be a stimulus for their development.

The challenge which is being met today projects this tradition which is strongly rooted in the territory beyond the borders of the country, in a relationship which is developing first of all at the European level with the objective of contributing to the creation of a single professional training market. Politecnico takes part in several research, sites and training projects collaborating with the most qualified European universities. Politecnico's contribution is increasingly being extended to other countries: from North America to Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe. Today the drive to internationalization sees Politecnico Milano taking part into the European and world network of leading technical universities and it offers several courses beside many which are entirely taught in English.