An ERC Consolidator Grant is one of Europe’s most sought-after accolades and a most coveted research award. Researchers at the University of Bremen have recently been awarded no less than four such grants. Over the next five years, research projects led by professors Rita Groß-Hardt (Biology), Rebbeka von Mallinckrodt (History), Andreas Fischer-Lescano (Jurisprudence) and Carsten Lutz (Computer Science are to receive more than 7.6 million euros of funding from the European Research Council (ERC). On hearing the news, the University’s Vice Rector, Professor Kurosch Rezwan, commented: “Such recognition underscores the fact that we have become a leading player among Europe’s strongest research universities. It is particularly interesting to see that four of our colleagues from such different disciplines were able to assert themselves in face of the excellent international competition”.
Rita Groß-Hardt, Professor for Molecular Plant Genetics in the University of Bremen’s Faculty of Biology / Chemistry won the grant for her research project on the topic of “polyspermy”. Fertilization is essential for the reproduction of animals and many plants. Some living organisms produce enormous amounts of sperm in order to ensure that fertilization act succeeds. This strategy, though, bears an inherent danger that more than one sperm cell penetrates the female egg. This is known as polyspermy, and for many living organisms – including us humans – it can prove fatal. The team surrounding Rita Groß-Hardt will use their ERC grant to investigate the strategies developed by plants to avoid polyspermy, and to examine what happens when such mechanisms fail.
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Rebekka von Mallinckrodt took up her professorship for History of the Early Modern Period in the University’s Faculty of Social Sciences in April 2012. Her ERC-funded project bears the title: “Trafficked People in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in the 18th Century” (History of the Early Modern Period).
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“Transnational Force of Law” is the title given to the research project led by Professor Andreas Fischer-Lescano. Professor Fuscher-Loscano has held the professorship for Public Law, European Law, and International Humanitarian Law in the University’s Law Faculty for seven years. His research interests include the transnational areas of legal policy that govern financial markets, Internet regulation, and policies with regard to food sovereignty. One aspect of the project will be to identify the relevant actors and structures in order to trace the emergence of new forms of transnational patterns of legal developments. Another line of investigation will be to develop a normative perspective on such processes. The overall aim is to find out how such autonomous state regulation can be influenced in a way that is democratic and consistent with human rights.
Contact: fischer-lescanoprotect me ?!zerp.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
Every single day, mind-boggling amounts of unstructured data are being churned out by various sources like the Internet and mobile devices. How can all this information be collected, processed and analyzed? This is the topic of the ERC-funded research project led by Professor of Computer Science, Carsten Lutz, who has held the chair “Theory of Artificial Intelligence” in the Faculty of Mathematics / Computer Science since 2008.
Contact: cluprotect me ?!informatik.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
If you would like to receive more information on this article, please contact:
University of Bremen
The Vice Rector for Research and Young Academics
Prof. Dr. Kurosch Rezwan
