Since 2008, the European Research Council (ERC) has been awarding long-term grants to researchers of any age and nationality, from anywhere in the world and in any field who wish to carry out their cutting-edge research in a host organisation based in Europe. The ERC puts particular emphasis on funding for projects which cross disciplinary boundaries, address new and emerging fields and introduce unconventional and innovative approaches. Selection is solely on the basis of scientific excellence.
There are 3 core funding schemes according to the career development of the researcher:
These grants are generally awarded for a period of 5 years. The ERC grantees can apply for additional funding, the Proof of Concept Grant, which is devoted to researchers wanting to explore the commercial or societal potential of their results.
In Rennes, the European projects plateform of the Université Bretagne Loire (UBL) provides potential applicants with information about the ERC call for proposals procedure and provides support for the lecturer-researchers employed by the universities or schools which make up the UBL. Researchers employed by research bodies such as the CNRS, Inria and INRA are supported by structures and services devoted to these organisations.
ERC grant awardees from Université de Rennes 1
Isabelle Cantat, physicist
Damien Coudreuse, biologist
Stéphanie Delaune, computer scientist and cryptologist
Guillaume Dupont-Nivet, geologist
Erwan Faou, mathematician
Rémi Gribonval, computer scientist
Christine Guillemot, computer scientist
Hervé Jégou, computer scientist
Anne-Marie kermarrec, computer scientist
Tanguy Le Borgne, hydrogeologist
Fabrice Pointillart, chemist
Tanguy Rouxel, researcher in mechanics
André Seznec, computer scientist
Ian Sims, astrochemist
Interviews with the ERC grant awardees in French can be found on the french version of Université de Rennes 1 website.