EU awards 730 mln U.S. dollars to 277 senior research leaders
Xinhua, April 14, 2016 Adjust font size:
The European Research Council (ERC) announced on Thursday the awarding of its prestigious Advanced Grants to 277 senior researchers.
The funding, worth in total 647 million euros (730 million U.S. dollars), would enable them to pursue their most promising ideas and carry out frontier research with potentially ground-breaking impact on science and society beyond, said the ERC.
The grants are awarded under the "excellent science" pillar of Horizon 2020, the research and innovation program of the European Union (EU).
The research projects proposed by the new grantees covered wide range of topics from physical sciences and engineering, life sciences, and social sciences and humanities, said the ERC.
"These talented researchers are an integral part of what keeps us globally competitive. Their work will lead to new knowledge, it will fuel innovation and it can bring about market-creating innovation -- generating employment opportunities and economic growth for Europe," said Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation.
The European Research Council, set up by the EU in 2007, is an European funding organization for excellent frontier research. To date, the ERC has funded some 6,000 top researchers at various stages of their careers. Endit