Prestigious ERC grants go to Neuron Award laureates
One of the highest distinctions in the scientific world, one that makes ground-breaking projects possible, is the prestigious ERC grant. In these very days at the beginning of December 2024 it has been won by two more Neuron Award laureates, Ondřej Pejcha and Martin Setvín. They deserve great admiration and recognition.
Ondřej Pejcha: the ROGALLO project, investigating astrophysical processes
This specialist in the astrophysics of binary systems has won an ERC grant for his ROGALLO project. The aim of his work is to investigate complex astrophysical processes such as mass transfer and mass loss, turbulence and explosions in binary systems made up of stars, neutron stars and black holes. These simulations will help answer questions concerning the sources of gravitational waves, the origin of energetic particles in the universe and the evolution of supermassive black holes and galaxies.
Pejcha's inspiration comes from his previous ERC grant, which focused on the phase of binary star evolution known as the common envelope. The newly won grant will allow Pejcha to fund a team of collaborators, work trips and an expansion of the computing cluster at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University.
"I hope that thanks to the grant we will become one of the world's centres of computational astrophysics," says Pejcha. He adds that he regards the award as something of a small miracle, because he had not counted on it and was rather thinking about which other grants to apply for. Now he believes the research will gain in reputation and attract talented scientists and students.
Ondřej Pejcha received the Neuron Award for promising scientists in the field of physics in 2019.
Martin Setvín: the SPOT project, focused on semiconductors
Martin Setvín has won an ERC grant for the SPOT project, which focuses on research into what are known as polarons — the phenomenon in which an electron in a semiconductor interacts with the crystal lattice and becomes localised. Although we have known about the existence of polarons for almost a century, many of their properties remain a mystery. Setvín's method makes it possible to observe individual polarons in real time and space, which may bring fundamental insights for the semiconductor industry and other fields.
The grant will allow Setvín to acquire unique equipment and to fund a team and the running of the laboratory. "It is a lovely reward for the work done so far and a guarantee of funding for the next five years," the scientist says with relief. He will be spared the worries of applying for grants and he and his team will be able to concentrate fully on the research that interests him.
Martin Setvín received the Neuron Award for promising scientists in the field of physics in 2022.
A success for Neuron laureates
"Awarding ERC grants to Neuron Award laureates confirms the importance of supporting talented scientists and their innovative ideas. Not only does this success raise the prestige of the Czech Republic on the international stage, it also shows that our country has top-class scientists even by international comparison," says the director of the Neuron Foundation Monika Vondráková.
We warmly congratulate our laureates and wish them many more successes!
