New ERC grants taking projects from research table to market
A series of European Research Council (ERC) 'top up' grants worth up to EUR 150,000 each have been awarded to 30 leading researchers across Europe. Part of the ERC's new 'Proof of Concept' funding initiative, these grants are being awarded to researchers who already hold ERC grants, in order to help them transform their ideas into marketable innovative solutions. Following a call for proposals in June that received a total of 78 applications, the best 30 were selected to receive the additional support that will help them tackle the often costly hurdles of intellectual property rights, technical validation, market research and investigating commercial and business opportunities. The idea is to help researchers package their idea and demonstrate its commercial potential so that it will appeal to potential investors. Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, hopes these grants will speed up the rate of research outcomes reaching the marketplace: 'In this time of economic crisis, investing in excellence and innovation in Europe is vital. This targeted backing can help high potential ERC projects capture the maximum value from frontier research. We need to stimulate innovation and bring more ideas to market.' The projects themselves cover a wide range of topics. For example, the 'Physics of liquid-vapor phase transition' (PHYSBOIL) project aims to develop needle-free injections for patients. Carried out by researcher Detlef Lohse from Twente Universiteit in the Netherlands, the project was given a funding boost from an ERC Advanced Grant. Vaccines and injections are often associated with fear and with risk of infection: Detlef Lohse set out to change how we perceive them. This project is based on the discovery that when a laser pulse is precisely directed into a liquid-filled capillary, a vapour bubble is instantaneously produced. It emits a shock wave, which then creates a thin, ultra-fast micro-jet that can be 10 times smaller than the diameter of the micro-capillary. This project could make needle-free injections and drugs for human and animals a reality in the future. Another project aims to develop safer mobile communications for consumers by ensuring they are safe from cyber attacks and wiretapping. Jeremy O'Brien from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom received an ERC Advanced Grant for his project 'Quantum secure communication for mobile networks' (QNET). Although there have been several efforts from corporations and governments to put in place systems to ensure quantum secure communication networks, such systems are not yet available to consumers. This project aims to enable quantum key distribution to secure transmission of a secret key by encoding information in single photons, so that any 'eavesdropping' can be detected. By focusing on mobile devices used by consumers, this research would allow users to generate a secure key on their mobile phone, smartphone or tablet. The ERC is the first European funding body set up to support investigator-driven frontier research. Its main aim is to stimulate scientific excellence by supporting and encouraging the very best, truly creative scientists, scholars and engineers to be adventurous and take risks in their research. The scientists are encouraged to go beyond established frontiers of knowledge and the boundaries of disciplines by taking an innovative approach. The ERC acts as a complementary body and exists alongside national research funding agencies as well as being a flagship component of the 'Ideas Programme' of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). ERC President Professor Helga Nowotny comments on the Proof of Concept scheme: 'The "proof-of-concept" scheme has been set up to provide a bridge for ideas emerging from frontier research that might be attractive for markets. Innovation takes place in companies. We offer to ERC grantees the possibility to probe and proof the innovative potential of their ideas and we trust that many of them will find their way to be transformed into productive outcomes.' A second call for applications under the Proof of Concept programme closes on 8 November 2011.For more information, please visit:European Research Council (ERC):http://erc.europa.eu/