From left: Bennett Kleinberg, Yvonne Daly, Shane O’Mara, and Dave Walsh. Image: Paul Sharp/SHARPPIX

Researchers in the capital aim to disrupt wireless network emissions and interrogate justice with this major funding boost.

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced €684m in funding for the latest round of its Synergy Grants, with researchers at three Irish universities among the awardees.

Researchers at University College Dublin (UCD), Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University (DCU) are among the 239 recipients across 66 research teams to receive these competitive six-year project grants.

Only about one in ten proposals was selected for funding in this call, with each successful project receiving about €10.3m.

The aim of the Synergy Grants is to foster collaborations between outstanding researchers and to push the boundaries of scientific discovery, the ERC said.

Academics from any discipline are eligible to apply as part of teams of two to four principal investigators (PIs) and they must demonstrate that their project can’t be carried out alone. At least three of four PIs must be based in EU member states or associated countries.

With more than 40pc of funded projects involving a PI based outside the EU or associated countries, the awards are more international than ever this year, the ERC said. Women make up just 25pc of the researchers involved in winning projects.

“Collaboration is at the heart of the ERC Synergy Grants,” said ERC president Prof Maria Leptin.

“The competition was fierce, with many outstanding proposals left unfunded. With more funds, the ERC could fully capitalise on this wealth of first-class science. Such scientific endeavours are what Europe needs to be at the real forefront.”

Ireland-based researchers are involved in two projects funded in this round of grants.

Disrupting wireless emissions

UCD’s Prof Anding Zhu and Prof Bogdan Staszewski are part of the international ‘Disrupt’ project, which is led by Prof Leo de Vreede at TU Delft and includes Prof Rüdiger Quay from Fraunhofer IAF. The team wants to develop fully digital radio-frequency (RF) power architecture to cut wireless network emissions by up to 50pc.

According to the team, wireless network emissions are comparable to aviation, accounting for 2-3pc of global carbon dioxide emissions. And they expect this figure to rise sharply as 5G and 6G communications systems continue to scale.

The team aims to replace analog-dominated base stations – the most energy-intensive components of wireless infrastructure – with fully digital transmitter architecture.

From left: Anding Zhu, Rüdiger Quay, Leo de Vreede and Bogdan Staszewski. Image: Bogdan Staszewski

Zhu, who is a professor at UCD’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and head of the RF and Microwave Research Group, said that receiving the ERC grant is great recognition of the “bold and interdisciplinary vision” of Disrupt.

“This €10m grant empowers us to push the frontiers of wireless technology by combining advanced materials science, semiconductor device innovation and RF system architecture in a truly transformative way.”

Staszewski, who is also a professor at UCD’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, is a co-founder of Equal1, a start-up that is building the first Irish-made quantum computer. He sees the ERC Synergy Grant as a natural progression of his earlier ERC Starting Grant – “now taking on an even greater challenge as we advance our research to radio-frequency power levels thousands of times higher”.

Interrogating justice

DCU’s Prof Yvonne Daly and Trinity’s Prof Shane O’Mara are part of the interdisciplinary ‘Justice’ team, which will bring together experts from law, psychology, neuroscience and data science to investigate coercive and abusive interrogation practices, with the aim of developing more humane, effective interviewing techniques.

‘Justice: Joining Unique Strategies Together For Interrogative Coercion Elimination’ aims to protect rights, get reliable information and strengthen public trust, the team said.

Daly, who is professor of criminal law and evidence at DCU, said the team is “truly excited” to undertake this project. “We’ve already learned so much from one another in devising our cross-disciplinary work programme and look forward to growing a strong team to undertake this ambitious research.”

Project lead O’Mara, a professor of experimental brain research at Trinity’s School of Psychology and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, said Justice is about “moving from confession-seeking to truth-seeking”.

“By combining law, psychology, neuroscience and data science, we’ll attempt to pinpoint when and why coercion creeps into interviews, and devise practical ways to prevent it. Our project goal is humane, reliable interviewing that protects the innocent, supports victims and strengthens public trust in justice.”

The Justice team includes Prof Dave Walsh from De Montfort University and Dr Bennett Kleinberg from Tilburg University.

In commenting on the announcement today (6 November), European commissioner for start-ups, research and innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva focused on the international make-up of this year’s awardees. “Europe’s frontier research has never been so international,” she said.

“This global collaboration strengthens European science, gives our researchers access to world-class expertise and infrastructure, and brings leading scientists from around the world closer to Europe.’

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