Several researchers from Finland secure ERC Advanced Grants

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded Advanced Grants to seven researchers working in Finland. All of the grantees have strong links to previous research funding from the Research Council of Finland, including funding from the Finnish Flagship Programme and the Finnish Centre of Excellence Programme, Academy Professorship funding, Academy Project funding and Academy Research Fellowship funding.

ERC Advanced Grants are awarded to experienced and leading researchers to support exceptional and innovative scientific breakthroughs. Advanced Grants may be awarded up to 2.5 million euros for a period of five years.

Researchers working in Finland had considerable success in this year’s round, with a 14.6 per cent success rate. The overall applicant success rate was 13.9 per cent.

Successful ERC Advanced Grant applicants working in Finland:

• Hannu Häkkinen (University of Jyväskylä): Dynamic nanocluster – biomolecule interfaces (DYNANOINT)
• Olli Ikkala (Aalto University): Life-Inspired Soft Matter (Dyna-Mat)
• Johanna Ivaska (University of Turku): Regaining control of cancer at biological borders (BorderControl)
• Lauri Nummenmaa (University of Turku): Multisystem imaging of whole-body emotion circuits with total-body positron emission tomography (TOTALBODY)
• Antti Oulasvirta (Aalto University): Artificial User (Artificial User)
• Kari Rummukainen (University of Helsinki): Computational Cosmology and Gravitational Waves (CoCoS)
• Jason Silverman (University of Helsinki): Work without End: Informal Taxation and Forced Labor within Persian Southern Levantine Temple Economy and Society (WORK-IT).

Ikkala, Ivaska, Nummenmaa and Oulasvirta have secured ERC funding before. This is the third time that Professor Ikkala, Professor of Physics, has received Advanced Grant funding. Ikkala is the first researcher at Aalto University, the second in Finland and part of a small group of researchers across Europe who have received an ERC Advanced Grant three times. In 2023, the Finnish Ministry of Education, Science and Culture granted Ikkala the Finnish Science Award for his merits as a researcher. In 2015, the Research Council of Finland (then the Academy of Finland) granted Lauri Nummenmaa an award for societal impact.