The Irish Research Council has welcomed today’s announcement that six Irish research projects have been granted a total of €12m by the European Research Council (ERC).
The funding announced today is part of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The announcement of the 2018 ERC ‘consolidator’ research awards is worth €573 million and has been granted to a total of 291 awardees across 20 countries.
ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to outstanding researchers of any nationality and age, with seven to 12 years of postdoctoral experience and a strong track record in their field. The funding – €2 million per grant, on average – is provided for up to five years and covers the employment of researchers and other staff.
The six Irish research projects supported through the programme announced yesterday are:
• Katherine Browne, National University of Ireland Maynooth for her research on ‘Opposing Sexual and Gender Rights and Equalities: Transforming Everyday Spaces’;
• Eoin Carolan, University College Dublin for his research on ‘The Foundations of Institutional AuThoirty: a multi-dimensional model of the separation of powers’;
• Laura Cleaver, Trinity College Dublin for her research on ‘Cultural Values and the International Trade in Medieval European Manuscripts, c. 1900-1945’;
• Adina Preda, University of Limerick, for her research on ‘Rights and Egalitarianism’;
• J. Griffith Rollefson, University College Cork for his research project: ‘CIPHER: Hip Hop Interpellation (The International Council for Hip Hop Studies)’;
• Aline Vidotto, Trinity College Dublin for her research on ‘The influence of stellar outflows on exoplanetary mass loss’.
Commenting on yesterday’s announcement, Director of the Irish Research Council, Peter Brown said, "This is a very good day for Irish research, which has secured €12m in funding for cutting-edge projects in what is an extremely competitive programme. The European Research Council is the gold standard for frontier basic research, not just in Europe, but globally."
Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan added, "These awards will not only fund some excellent research projects but will allow these mid-career researchers to expand their research teams, further enhancing a pipeline of talent, which is crucial for Ireland to continue to contribute and collaborate on an international level."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
