Edinburgh and Strathclyde engineers scores two Advance Grants
The European Research Council (ERC) has released details of the first round of recipients of its Advanced Grants in the physical sciences and engineering fields. Some 105 of the almost 1,000 applicants from these disciplines have been allocated funding. The physical sciences and engineering grant recipients will be carrying out research in a diverse range of fields, the host institutions are located in 19 countries in the EU and countries which have signed up to the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Of the 19 UK winners, both Edinburgh and Strathclyde Universities scooped a funding award, in molecular and space engineering respectively.
The grants are aimed at experienced researchers with a strong record in groundbreaking research, and the sole criterion on which they are judged is scientific excellence. The ERC received a total of 2,167 applications. Details of the successful in the life sciences, social sciences and humanities fields will be published in the coming months.
Scotland from space to molecular machines
For Professor Colin McInnes, (right) at Unversity of Strathclyde, group current research interests centre on the orbital mechanics and mission applications of solar sail spacecraft. This work includes the development of families of highly non-Keplerian orbits for solar sails which can enable novel applications. Other research interests centre on autonomous spacecraft control, principally through the application of artificial potential field methods. This work has been developed for automated rendezvous and docking and for the distributed control of multiple spacecraft for formation-flying missions.
In Edinburgh, research by Professor David Leigh's team is in the design and synthesis of new types of molecular level architecture's to control and influence function and propertiesFollowing the discovery of a simple hydrogen bond-directed route to catenanes (mechanically-interlocked rings) in our laboratories a few years ago, we are currently exploring several areas of application including catalysis (reagents that function through hydrogen bonding), smart materials and "molecular machines" (catenane and rotaxane-based molecular devices), biological chemistry (peptide and protein rotaxanes, novel prodrug systems) and macromolecules (mechanically-linked polymers).
The ERC recently published its second call for proposals for its Starting Grants, which are targeted at researchers in the early stages of their career. The second call for proposals for the Advanced Grants is due to be launched in November of this year.
The UK Awards
226037 Prof. Stephen Alec Billings, University of Sheffield UK NSYS Nonlinear System Identification and Analysis
227781 Prof. Anthony Kevin Cheetham, Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge UK NEWMATS New Directions in Hybrid Inorganic-Organic Framework Materials PE5
228035 Prof. Alexander Giles Davies, University of Leeds UK NOTES New Opportunities in Terahertz Engineering and Science
228169 Prof. Savas Dimopoulos Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford UK BSMOXFORD Physics Beyond the Standard Model at the LHC and with Atom Interferometers.
226528 Prof. William Gaver, Goldsmiths' College UK ThirdWaveHCI Third Wave HCI: Methods, Domains and Concepts
226470 Prof. Kevin Peter Homewood University of Surrey UK SILAMPS Silicon integrated lasers and optical amplifiers PE7
227950 Prof. Serge iKazarian Imperial College of Science,Technology and MedicineUK MicroChemical Imaging Enhancing microfabricated devices with chemical imaging for novel chemical
227947 Prof. Michael Kramer University of Manchester UK LEAP Large European Array for Pulsars
227943 Prof. David Alan Leigh University of Edinburgh UK WalkingMols Synthetic Molecules that that Walk Down Tracks: The First Small-Molecule Linear Motors
227571 Prof. Colin Robert McInnes University of Strathclyde UK VISIONSPACE Visionary Space Systems: Orbital Dynamics at Extremes of Spacecraft Length-Scale
227711 Prof. Ian Robinson, University College London UK nanosculpture Exploration of strains in synthetic nanocrystals PE7
227987 Prof. Matthew Rosseinsky University of Liverpool UK RLUCIM Resilient large unit cell inorganic materials
226593 Prof. Martin Schroder University of Nottingham UK COORDSPACE Chemistry of Coordination Space: Extraction, Storage,Activation and Catalysis
228064 Prof. Robert Stephen John Sparks, University of Bristol UK VOLDIES Dynamics of volcanoes and their impact on the environment and society
227987 Prof. Matthew Rosseinsky University of Liverpool UK RLUCIM Resilient large unit cell inorganic materials PE5
226488 Prof. Andrew Stuart, University of Warwick UK amstat Problems at the Applied Mathematics-Statistics Interface
226438 Prof. Thomas Welton, Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine UK MIL Mixing Ionic Liquids
228180 Prof. Andrew Zisserman, Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of OxfordUK VisRec Visual Recognition
228149 Prof. Steve J. Rowland, University of Plymouth UK OUTREACH Overlooked Unresolved Toxic Organic Pollutants: Resolution, Identification, Measurement and Toxicity:OUTREACH
Source: http://erc.europa.eu/
All successful candidates: http://erc.europa.eu/pdf/AdG1_ListPE_2008-07-31final.pdf
Webs ://www.mecheng.strath.ac.uk/staffprofile.asp?id=97
http://www.mecheng.strath.ac.uk/space/home.html
http://www.chem.ed.ac.uk/staff/academic/leigh.html
http://www.catenane.net/