Thomas Barends receives ERC Consolidator Grant

December 14, 2016

Six scientists from Max Planck institutes have successfully applied for Consolidator Grants from the European Research Council (ERC). They have each been awarded up to 2 million euros in funding.

The Consolidator Grants are awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) on an annual basis. Applications are open to researchers with a minimum of seven and a maximum of 12 years' experience since completion of their PhD, provided they conduct their project at a research organisation located in one of the EU member states. In the fourth call awarded under the pillar of Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation programm, the Max Planck Society, together with institutions of the Helmholtz Association (also 6 grants) received the most winning proposals in Germany, followed by the University of Heidelberg (five grants), and the Technical University of Munich (2 grants).

Of the six MPG successful researchers, four are involved in research in the life sciences and two in the field of physics and technology. These are:

• Simon Alberti, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden
• Thomas Barends, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg
• Stephan Gruber, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried
• Naoko Mizuno, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried
• Steffen Klamt, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg
• Glenn van de Ven, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg

This year, the European Research Council approved 314 Consolidator Grants of 2,300 submitted proposals. The funding is awarded solely on the basis of the criteria of scientific excellence.  On  this  occasion,  Carlos  Moedas,  European  Commissioner  for  Research,  Science  and  Innovation,  said: "The  ERC  has been  established  to  find the best  quality  in science, to cherish it and support it, making Europe a centre of international scientific excellence.  The  new  grant  winners  have  been  awarded  this  competitive  funding because they are top-notch scientists with truly ground-breaking ideas - investment in  their success will pay back."

JE

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