FET Flagship Projects Officially Registered
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The candidates for the FET Flagship initiative registered their projects this Tuesday, October 23. The European Union’s decision is expected in early 2013.
It is a key moment for the FET Flagship initiative. Dossiers of the six finalists were submitted on October 23. In early 2013, the EU will designate the two projects that will receive a grant of up to one billion euros to be disbursed over ten years. EPFL is at the head of the line. Indeed, among those finalists, the school has two projects: Guardian Angels for a Smarter Planet, directed by Adrian Ionescu, and Human Brain Project, the European extension of the project, Blue Brain, by Henry Markram.
For the competition, scientific committees will evaluate the finalists’ dossiers. Each project will be vetted by a dozen experts, chosen by the Research Commission on the basis of proposals from member countries. On the basis of their report, the EU will make its final decision.
With Guardian Angels, EPFL is emerging as a key player in the future of electronics. The project involves the design of self-powered devices – according to a concept called “zero-power” – and miniaturized to an extreme to ensure the wellbeing and health of the carriers. This includes work on energy consumption and the ability to draw energy from the immediate environment, for example with solar or piezoelectric technologies. Surrounding Adrian Ionescu are not only leading European universities, but also big names in industry such as IBM, Infineon and PSA Peugeot Citroën.
Human Brain Project conceives of a design for a model that integrates all of our knowledge about the human brain. Ultimately, it develops a model of the human brain which will serve as a research tool for neuroscientists all over the world. The European researchers gathered around this project want to provide a solution to help us better understand the extremely complex mechanisms and pathologies of the human brain. It will also allow to develop technologies inspired by the functioning of neurons, for example in the fields of robotics and supercomputers. Among the partnering universities in Europe are the Karolinska Institute, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, and the Jülich Supercomputing Center.
During the first thirty months and their launch phase, the two selected projects will be funded to the tune of 54 million euros each. 2014 starts what is called the operational phase. Project funding will be integrated into the 8th Framework Programme of the European Commission for Research, “Horizon 2020.”
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References
European Commission:
Guardian Angels:
Human Brain Project