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Five top researchers receive outstanding grants from the European Research Council

April 30, 2018
Denmark is on the receiving end of five grants from the European Research Council (ERC) that reward excellent and independent research in Denmark with DKK 88.2 million.

Two of the five top researchers are women, and this is only the second time that female researchers in Denmark have received the ERC Advanced Grant in Horizon 2020.

The five top researchers, hailing from four of Denmark's universities, have defined their own scientific projects, with each receiving about DKK 17.6 million from the ERC over a five-year period. Their excellent ideas range from parchment manuscripts to quantum mechanics to new energy consumers.

Two of the new ERC grants have been awarded to the University of Copenhagen, where Prof. Matthew Collins has received funding for research into new methods of studying parchment manuscripts. Another top researcher from the University of Copenhagen benefiting from ERC funding is Prof. Eugene Polzik, studying quantum mechanics. At the Technical University of Denmark, Prof. Dorte Juul Jensen has received funding for the study of metal microstructures. At Aalborg University, Prof. Kirsten Gram-Hanssen will study new energy consumers and smart technologies. Finally, Prof. Søren Riis Paludan at Aarhus University will study early defence of viral infections.

This is only the second time that top female researchers in Denmark have received an ERC Advanced Grant in Horizon 2020. The number of female researchers in Denmark has been on the rise across all disciplines in recent years. Today, every fifth professor is a woman. A total of 17.5 per cent of funding in this ERC round went to top female researchers across Europe.

What is the ERC?

The European Research Council (ERC) is part of the EU programme for research and innovation Horizon 2020. ERC supports independent and excellent research carried out by the best researchers in Europe. Horizon 2020 began in 2014 and runs until 2020. To receive an ERC Advanced Grant, one has to be established research leader and have documented research breakthroughs. Grants are difficult to obtain and are a clear seal of approval of one's research abilities.

Read more

  • Press release “From babies' brains to bacterial warfare: ERC invests €650 million in ground-breaking research” from the European Research Council on the ERC website [inactive link]
  • News bulletin “Aalborg University receives ERC Advanced Grant for research in energy consumption” (in Danish) on the Aalborg University website [inactive link]

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