ERC’s 50th grant to ICFO

The European Research Council, founded in 2007 by the European Commission with the mission of encouraging excellence in frontier research across Europe through competitive funding, has succeeded over the past 17 years in supporting top researchers across all fields and at different career levels, helping to strengthen the European scientific community and in turn, providing the building blocks for a strong and innovation driven economy.

With this week’s ERC announcement of new Proof of Concept grants, ICFO researchers have reached the 50th grant milestone, an important moment for reflection on the impact that ERC funding has had on ICFO’s frontier research program as well as the role that it has had in facilitating the innovation journey of frontier advances from our labs to society.

ICFO has proactively sought out ERC funding for research and to advance the TRL of new technologies developed in our labs through the different modalities that support the needs of researchers at different moments in their career trajectories.  The institute’s researchers have been remarkably successful in their applications, reaching the 50^th milestone this week – an outstanding figure for an institution of ICFO’s size. And counting.

Reflecting on this milestone, ICFO’s founder and director Prof Lluís Torner expressed his deep gratitude to both the bright ICFOnians who have joined the institute since 2002 and to ERC for the visionary funding scheme the agency operates.  “Advancing the very frontiers of knowledge is a fascinating and challenging endeavour. It is championed by motivated and talented people that have proper resources and support.  The ERC has made it possible for top researchers from anywhere in the world to do the very best science in Europe, a vision that ICFOnians fully support.”