Dr hab. inż. Maciej Trusiak, Faculty of Mechatronics of the Warsaw University of Technology, specialises in optical nanoscopy. He has previously won five NCN calls: PRELUDIUM, PRELUDIUM BIS, SONATA and 2x OPUS, and will now use his ERC grant to fund a new project entitled “Lensless Label-free Nanoscopy” (NaNoLens), which focuses on the advancement of lensless holographic microscopy. Lensless holographic microscopy is a technology that successfully transcends the limitations of optical nanoscopy when it comes to imaging live cells (a procedure that requires cell labelling and has a limited field of vision), but its low resolution continues to pose a challenge. Thanks to the ERC StG, Professor Trusiak and his team will be able to work on expanding the field of vision in this technology with the use of deep UV. Their 5-year project was awarded EUR 1.5 million. You can read more about it on the website of the Warsaw University of Technology.
The other Poland-based winner of this year’s ERC Starting Grants is Dr inż. Łukasz Sterczewski from the Faculty of Electronics, Photonics, and Microsystems of the Wrocław University of Technology, who has also previously completed projects funded by the NCN. In his day-to-day work, he focuses on terahertz waves, one of the least studied parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Because of their unique properties, terahertz waves have attracted the interest of researchers all over the world, but it is still often impossible to use them outside the lab due to various limitations that have to do with technology and equipment. A team headed by Dr Sterczewski will work on a project devoted to terahertz spectrometers based on integrated optical frequency combs, which are able to work at room temperature. Their plan is to develop miniature devices to allow terahertz waves to be used quickly and effectively in many situations in daily life. The budget of the TeraERC project is EUR 1.5 million. You can read more about it on the website of the Wrocław University of Technology.
In this edition, the European Research Council awarded a total of EUR 628 million to projects from 24 different countries across Europe. ERC Starting grants are available to researchers who have earned their PhD degree 2 to 7 years prior. Projects can take up to 5 years. The ERC supports innovative ideas in all disciplines of science.
To date, a total of EUR 64 million worth in grants has gone to 44 researchers working at 17 research centres throughout Poland. Polish institutions have completed or continue to work on 75 ERC grants with a total budget of EUR 126 million.