ERC Consolidator Grant 2024: seven EUTOPIA researchers awarded

As is tradition each year, EUTOPIA is delighted to commend the exceptional researchers from EUTOPIA who have been awarded ERC Consolidator Grants by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme. In 2024, researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Warwick, and the ESSEC Business School, part of the CY alliance, proudly represented EUTOPIA‘s research.

The recipients are as follows:

• Nikos DELIGIANNIS, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, for his project "Reinventing Multiterminal Coding for Intelligent Machines."
• Pieter-Paul VERHAEGHE, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, for his project "A Multidimensional Analysis of Racism and Social Immobility at the Societal Level."
• Pierre JACOB, ESSEC Business School, for his project "Markov Chain Monte Carlo using Couplings towards Scalable Statistical Inference."
• George BIRCHENOUGH, University of Gothenburg, for his project "The Molecular Foundation of Cervical Mucus Plug Protection from Intrauterine Infection during Pregnancy."
• Jesper BJÖRKLUND, University of Gothenburg, for his project "Resolving Troubling Discord in Boreal versus Austral Late Holocene Temperature History."
• Bart KLEM, University of Gothenburg, for his project "The Politics of Aspiring Sovereignty: Understanding Separatist Politics from a Performative Perspective."
• Sayan BHATTACHARYA, University of Warwick, for his project "Towards a Dynamic Algorithms Centric Theory of Linear Programming."

The ERC Consolidator Grants are intended to support outstanding Principal Investigators at a stage in their careers where they may still be establishing their own independent research team or programme. Principal Investigators must demonstrate the innovative nature, ambition, and feasibility of their scientific proposal.

They are designed to support the finest exploratory research in three primary areas: humanities and social sciences, physics and engineering, and life sciences. These grants are awarded to European research project leaders who received their PhD between 7 and 12 years ago. Recipients may receive up to €2 million for a period of 5 years (pro rata for projects of shorter duration). Furthermore, an additional €1 million may be allocated to cover eligible “start-up” costs for researchers relocating from a third country to the EU or an associated country and/or for the purchase of major equipment and/or access to large facilities and/or other significant experimental and fieldwork expenses.