The European research financier ERC has made six scientists at Radboud University very happy by granting them research funds averaging 1.5 million euros. In sum, there were 408 grants this year, of which 40 went to the Netherlands.

The so-called starting grants are intended for scientists who obtained their doctorate degrees between two and seven years ago. This time around there were almost 3000 applications; as usual only a small part those applications were approved, which this year came out to 15%.

Forty

Most of the grants went to scientists at German (81) and British (70) institutions. The Netherlands managed to obtain 40 starting grants, just ahead of France with 39.

Within Dutch borders, Radboud University and Utrecht University were tied for the most grants, with both universities obtaining six. In Nijmegen, these were granted to Dmytro Afanasiev, Graziana Ciola, Anne-Sophie Hafner, Nils, Jansen, Tessa Lansu, and Luke Miller.

According to a press release, the scientists in Nijmegen are doing research into: energy-efficient data storage, the history of impossible numbers, memory mechanisms in the brain, verification methods for AI, motivations for bullying, and GPS for the brain.

Reserved

However, the ERC warns that the list of candidates can still change drastically. Officially, the United Kingdom is ‘not associated’ with Horizon Europe, the EU financing programme for research and innovation that pays out the grants. Should that remain the case, then successful applicants at British institutions can only obtain their grant if they move to an institution in a country that is eligible for Horizon Europe support.

Translated by Jasper Pesch