•Notícia

Researchers Niek van Hulst of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) and Sergio Idelsohn of the International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) are two of six researchers working at Catalan centers to have been awarded prestigious Advanced Grants by the European Research Council (ERC) in its second call for proposals from established researchers. Each grant provides up to €3.5 million in funding, and the program is aimed at research leaders in the European Union. This year a total of 236 EU research leaders were selected as grant recipients.

Niek van Hulst of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) is an expert on molecular physics, optics, the chemistry and physics of molecules, and instrumental techniques. Sergio Idelsohn of the International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) is a specialist on numerical simulation of mechanical engineering problems, particularly the computational dynamics of fluids. He developed the “finite elementary particles method,” which is used to solve fluid mechanics problems and is a very useful tool for designing ships and quays.

Both grant recipients are ICREA researchers. ICREA (the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies) is a program supported by the Government of Catalonia that provides considerable resources for the hiring of international scientific talent.

The Advanced Grants support outstanding established research leaders and provide funding for frontier research in all areas, while also encouraging an interdisciplinary approach. The total called budget is €515 million.

The ERC awarded grants to a total of ten researchers in Spain, more than half of whom work at Catalan research centers. This is the second consecutive year that research based in Catalonia has achieved impressive results. Last year six of the ten grants awarded in Spain also went to Catalan projects. 

The ERC, whose main aim is to promote frontier research in all fields of knowledge through the distribution of European funds, also recognized the quality of research conducted in Catalonia last October. A total of ten promising young scientists working in the region were among the 240 recipients of Starting Grants awarded by the funding body.