ERC grants help three UG scientists head to the top

Three University of Groningen researchers have been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant. They are Catarina Dutilh Novaes, Ming Cao and Syuzanna R. Harutyunyan. The European Research Council (ERC) awards these personal grants, each worth € 2 million, to outstanding scientists thus stimulating ground-breaking research in Europe.

Ming Cao

Professor Cao of the Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG, Faculty of Science and Engineering) is professor of Networks and Robotics. Cao trained as an electrotechnical engineer and is an expert in building mathematical models for complex systems. He conducts ground-breaking research in the field of control systems that allow groups of autonomous robots to work together. Cao grew up in China and studied in the United States.
In order to have autonomous cars and robots function effectively and safely, they must be able to take each other’s actions into account. Cao works on this development with colleagues from sociology, mathematics and biology. The resulting algorithms he develops for robots are partly inspired by the movements of animals, particularly fish and birds, who also act in formation.

• Video: Robots learn to cooperate
• Contact: Ming Cao

Syuzanna R. Harutyunyan

Syuzanna Harutyunyan (Stratingh Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering) is currently an associate professor in the field of Synthetic Organic Chemistry. She gained her chemistry degrees in Armenia and Russia. Before she came to Groningen for a tenure track position, she conducted research in Poland and Belgium. Syuzanna joined Professor Feringa’s research group in 2003 as a postdoctoral research fellow. Professor Harutyunyan now concentrates her research on the development of new and more efficient chemical processes that can be used in the pharmaceutical, fine chemical or agrochemical industries.

• News article about her scientific publication: ‘Cool’ combination connects carbon atoms
• Contact: Syuzanna Harutyunyan

Catarina Dutilh Novaes

More about ERC

ERC supports talented young researchers in setting up a research team and starting up an independent research project. The Consolidator Grants are open to established academics of all nationalities and all ages. A total of 329 researchers from across Europe received a Consolidator Grant in this round. The grant pot, part of the EU Horizon 2020 programme, contains a total of € 630 million. An ERC grant enables researchers to start up daring, ground-breaking research projects and open up new avenues in their field.