The European Research Council has awarded 480 researchers in the early stages of their careers grants worth up to €2 million each over five years.
In this fourth ERC Starting Grant competition, just over €670 million has been allocated to a wide variety of topics including the biological properties of nanomaterials, the health impact of exposure to traffic noise and the role of economic media in financial crises.
Research Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said ERC grants are now highly coveted in the research community, not least among younger researchers who often struggle to find funding. “I am committed to ensuring that the ERC can continue funding the cream of the crop. This will help to make Europe more competitive on the world stage and contributes to making the Innovation Union a reality."
The marked increase in applications does not come as a surprise, according to ERC President Helga Nowotny. “It confirms that demand for ERC funding continues unabatedly and I can confirm that the scientific quality remains extremely high,” she said. The ERc now intends to turn its attention to attracting more researchers from outside the EU.
Along with the increase in applications, from 2,873 last year to 4,080 this year, the estimated total budget for the call is an increase of almost 15 over 2010. The success rate of 12 per cent was a slight decrease compared to the last years.
The average age of grant winners is about 37 years and 21 per cent are women. In total 38 different nationalities are represented this year, with German, British and Italian researchers taking the lead. The UK, Germany and France host the greatest number of successful applicants. The selected candidates will be based in universities or research institutions situated in 21 countries throughout Europe.
This year, 17 researchers are moving from the US to Europe with their grant, out of which 14 are returning Europeans, while two are American and one is Canadian. As the ERC seeks to increase the share of researchers coming from overseas, an international strategy is currently under preparation.
In this call, 46 per cent of applicants were selected in Physical Sciences and Engineering, 35 per cent in Life Sciences and 19 per cent in 'Social Sciences and Humanities
List of all selected researchers by country of host institution (in alphabetical order within each country group): http://erc.europa.eu/pdf/erc_2011_stg_results_all_domains.pdf
Lists of selected researchers by domain (in alphabetical order):
- Social Sciences and Humanities: http://erc.europa.eu/pdf/erc_2011_stg_results_sh.PDF
- Life Sciences: http://erc.europa.eu/pdf/erc_2011_stg_results_ls.PDF
- Physical Sciences and Engineering: http://erc.europa.eu/pdf/erc_2011_stg_results_pe.PDF
- Statistics – Starting Grant call 2011: http://erc.europa.eu/pdf/erc_2011_stg_statistics.pdf
Receive the Funding Newswire [full access requires a subscription] each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.
