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What is Horizon? UK rejoins EU science scheme

The Government has confirmed that the UK is set to rejoin the EU science research scheme known as Horizon .

Starting from today, scientists and research institutions operating from the UK will be able to apply for funding from the flagship EU scheme.

The UK will also be granted access to the Copernicus project, which uses EU satellites to observe and monitor our planet.

The news has come as a “huge relief” to organisations that relied on funding in order to conduct crucial research and innovation.

Michelle Mitchell, the chief executive of Cancer Research, said: “There will be relief throughout the research community that the uncertainty of the last two-and-a-half years has come to an end.

“Nearly three-quarters of respondents to our survey of cancer researchers cited funding from the EU as important for their work, showing how crucial Horizon Europe association is for the future of cancer research.”

So what does the UK’s membership to Horizon mean and why did we leave in the first place?

What is Horizon?

Horizon is the European Union’s £85bn flagship science and research programme. It’s the world’s biggest research project, and it’s designed to help EU member states spearhead innovation in regard to health, climate change, technology, and industry.

As well as supporting research initiatives, Horizon also funds fellowships and the movement of researchers. The programme has also helped Ukrainian researchers gain access to European research infrastructures, and encourages international co-operation in the wider mission of innovation.

More than 14,000 organisations participated in Horizon between 2021 and 2022, and 12 Nobel Prize winners also received support from the project.

Why is the UK rejoining?

When the UK narrowly voted for Brexit , the country stopped being an EU member. This technically meant that they wouldn’t be eligible to take part in Horizon.

At the time, the UK remained in talks with the EU in an attempt to keep its spot in the programme. However, discussions stalled over a disagreement in relation to the Northern Ireland protocol. The UK was excluded from the Horizon project in 2021 and has missed out on two years of scientific funding and collaboration during this time.

Today, it was announced that the UK has secured a “bespoke deal with improved financial terms for the UK’s participation”.

As a result, the UK will become an associate of the programme from January 1, 2024, and be able to use the funding to drive further scientific research.

According to the EU , the UK will contribute almost €2.6 billion (£2.2 bn) per year to maintain access to Horizon Europe and the Copernicus section of the Space programme.

PM Rishi Sunak said: “With a wealth of expertise and experience to bring to the global stage, we have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the world’s largest research collaboration programme — Horizon Europe.”

The move has also been welcomed by the scientific community in the UK and overseas.

Professor Paul Stewart, VP of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said: “Today marks a pivotal moment for UK science. After a hiatus, the scientific community is celebrating the tremendous news that we are once more part of the EU’s flagship funding programme.”

What is Horizon Europe?

UK ‘could be world leader in alternative protein but ministers must act’

Tiny particle’s ‘wobble’ could be start of a major discovery – scientists

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UK to rejoin EU Horizon research programme

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Britain rejoins EU's Horizon science programme in further boost for ties

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• PM Sunak hails improved financial terms of deal
• Britain to associate with Copernicus but not Euratom
• Deal reflects improved British-EU relations since Brexit

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Reporting by Alistair Smout and Muvija M; additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan, editing by Elizabeth Piper, John Stonestreet and Mark Heinrich

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Horizon 2020 funds 35 new projects to bring science and society closer

35 new projects are set to receive €55.7 million from Horizon 2020 to build effective cooperation between science and society in areas such as Citizen Science, Responsible Research and Innovation, Open Science, Ethics and Gender equality.

These new projects have been selected for funding from the 262 proposals submitted in 12 topics to the latest Science with and for Society (SwafS) single-stage call , the last one under Horizon 2020. Of these 262 proposals, 253 were eligible and have been evaluated by independent experts.

The topics with the most funded proposals are: ‘Research Innovation Needs & Skills Training in PhD Programmes’ with nine research projects selected; ‘Bottom-up Approach to Build SwafS Knowledge Base’, with five projects; and, ‘Hands-on Citizen Science and Frugal Innovation’, with four.

With the largest budget (€9 million), the topic to support the implementation of gender equality plans in research organisations will fund three research projects.

The grant agreements are now in preparation and are expected to be signed by the beneficiaries in the autumn. The projects should begin their research between December 2020 and February 2021.

The objective of SwafS projects is to achieve science education for all, gender equality in organisations, ethics and integrity embedded in research, trustworthy communication, and ultimately, to ensure that societal actors work together throughout the research process. SwafS is managed by the Research Executive Agency.

In total, SwafS has a budget of €462 million for the entire Horizon 2020 Framework Programme. The results of all funded projects so far have been gathered in this report to convey the achievements of SwafS and serve as input  to integrate science, society and citizens in Horizon Europe.

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About Horizon

Horizon brings you the latest news and features about thought-provoking science and innovative research projects funded by the EU. Our articles are written by science journalists and are designed to appeal to both scientists and non-scientists alike.

We mix stories on the latest EU-funded research with interviews with leading scientists, all written in a clear, accessible style. Each month we also take an in-depth look at a particular area of research, from 3D printing to Europe’s obesity epidemic. Our content is updated daily and access is free.

Horizon is published in English on behalf of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation and is available on both desktop and mobile devices. We’re also active on social media. For story suggestions or questions to the editor e-mail: [email protected]

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Barrier Island Habitat Mapping for the Louisiana Outer Coast Project

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The USGS is collaborating with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) to develop post-restoration barrier island habitat maps for three of the four components associated with the Louisiana Outer Coast Restoration Project

The Science Issue and Relevance:   Barrier islands provide important habitat to numerous wildlife including shorebirds, migratory birds, and sea turtles. These islands are dynamic environments due to their position at the land-sea interface. Storms, wave energy, currents, and relative sea-level rise are powerful forces that shape barrier island geomorphology and habitats. The Louisiana barrier islands were impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  The Louisiana Outer Coast Restoration Project is a Phase III Early Restoration project funded by the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment to address some of the impacts to these systems. This project includes four components: Caillou Lake Headlands (also known as Whiskey Island), Chenier Ronquille, Shell Island – West, and North Breton Island. The overall goal of this project is to offset spill-related losses of habitat and birds through the restoration of beach, dune, and back-barrier marsh habitats. The Louisiana Outer Coast Restoration Project will enhance habitats for numerous birds including brown pelicans, terns, black skimmers, and gulls. Remote sensing provides a powerful tool for mapping and tracking changes to barrier island habitats over time. Specifically, remote sensing of barrier island habitats is needed to evaluate and document restoration efficacy as outlined in a monitoring plan that has been developed by the Louisiana Outer Coast Restoration Project.

Methodology for Addressing the Issue: The U.S. Geological Survey is collaborating with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) to develop post-restoration barrier island habitat maps for three of the four components associated with the Louisiana Outer Coast Restoration Project: Caillou Lake Headlands, Chenier Ronquille, and Shell Island – West. Habitat maps will be developed for Caillou Lake Headlands for 2022 and 2026. For Chenier Ronquille, habitat maps will be developed for 2017, 2022, and 2026. Finally, habitat maps will be developed for Shell Island – West for 2022 and 2026. These maps will be produced using a semiautomated object-based image analysis approach that utilizes high-resolution aerial imagery. 

Future Steps: Habitat maps will be published as U.S. Geological Survey data releases. These maps will assist with assessing restoration efficacy and whether triggers are met regarding the need for adaptive management of the restoration sites.

Louisiana Outer Coast Restoration Project – 2022 habitat map, Whiskey Island

Louisiana outer coast restoration project – 2022 habitat map, shell island, louisiana outer coast restoration project – 2022 habitat map, chenier ronquille, louisiana outer coast restoration project – 2017 habitat map, chenier ronquille, louisiana barrier island comprehensive monitoring program: mapping habitats in beach, dune, and intertidal environments along the louisiana gulf of mexico shoreline, 2008 and 2015–16.

Event Horizon Telescope Makes Highest-Resolution Black Hole Detections from Earth

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• What do black holes look like?
• Black Holes
• Radio and Geoastronomy
• Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)
• The Submillimeter Array - Maunakea, HI
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Using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), astronomers have achieved very-long-baseline interferometry test observations at 345 GHz, the highest-resolution such observations ever obtained from the surface of Earth. Scientists estimate that the breakthrough will result in a remarkable 50% increase in detail, sharpening images and observations of black holes and their surrounding regions.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has conducted test observations achieving the highest resolution ever obtained from the surface of the Earth, by detecting light from the centers of distant galaxies at a frequency of around 345 GHz.

When combined with existing images of supermassive black holes at the hearts of M87 and Sgr A at the lower frequency of 230 GHz, these new results will not only make black hole photographs 50% crisper but also produce multi-color views of the region immediately outside the boundary of these cosmic beasts.

The new detections, led by scientists from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) that includes the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), were published today in The Astronomical Journal .

"With the EHT, we saw the first images of black holes by detecting radio waves at 230 GHz, but the bright ring we saw, formed by light bending in the black hole’s gravity still looked blurry because we were at the absolute limits of how sharp we could make the images," said paper co-lead Alexander Raymond, previously a postdoctoral scholar at the CfA, and now at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA-JPL). "At 345 GHz, our images will be sharper and more detailed, which in turn will likely reveal new properties, both those that were previously predicted and maybe some that weren't."

The EHT creates a virtual Earth-sized telescope by linking together multiple radio dishes across the globe, using a technique called very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI). To get higher-resolution images, astronomers have two options: increase the distance between radio dishes or observe at a higher frequency. Since the EHT was already the size of our planet, increasing the resolution of ground-based observations required expanding its frequency range, and that's what the EHT Collaboration has now done.

"To understand why this is a breakthrough, consider the burst of extra detail you get when going from black and white photos to color," said paper co-lead Sheperd "Shep" Doeleman, an astrophysicist at the CfA and SAO, and Founding Director of the EHT. "This new 'color vision' allows us to tease apart the effects of Einstein’s gravity from the hot gas and magnetic fields that feed the black holes and launch powerful jets that stream over galactic distances."

A prism splits white light into a rainbow of colors because different wavelengths of light travel at different speeds through glass. But gravity bends all light similarly, so Einstein predicts that the size of the rings seen by the EHT should be similar at both 230 GHz and 345 GHz, while the hot gas swirling around the black holes will look different at these two frequencies.

This is the first time the VLBI technique has been successfully used at a frequency of 345 GHz. While the ability to observe the night sky with single telescopes at 345 GHz existed before, using the VLBI technique at this frequency has long presented challenges that took time and technological advances to overcome. Water vapor in the atmosphere absorbs waves at 345 GHz much more than at 230 GHz weakening the signals from black holes at the higher frequency. The key was to improve the sensitivity of the EHT, which the researchers did by increasing the bandwidth of the instrumentation and waiting for good weather at all sites.

The new experiment used two small subarrays of the EHT—made up of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) in Chile, the IRAM 30-meter telescope in Spain, the NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in France, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) on Maunakea in Hawai'i, and the Greenland Telescope —to make measurements with resolution as fine as 19 microarcseconds.

"The most powerful observing locations on Earth exist at high altitudes, where atmospheric transparency and stability is optimal but weather can be more dramatic," said Nimesh Patel, an astrophysicist at the CfA and SAO, and a project engineer at SMA, adding that at the SMA, the new observations required braving icy roads at Maunakea to open the array in the stable weather after a snow storm with minutes to spare. "Now, with high-bandwidth systems that process and capture wider swaths of the radio spectrum, we are starting to overcome basic problems in sensitivity, like weather. The time is right, as the new detections prove, to advance to 345 GHz."

This achievement also provides another stepping stone on the path to creating high-fidelity movies of the event horizon environment surrounding black holes, which will rely on upgrades to the existing global array. The planned next-generation EHT (ngEHT) project will add new antennas to the EHT in optimized geographical locations and enhance existing stations by upgrading them all to work at multiple frequencies between 100 GHz and 345 GHz at the same time. As a result of these and other upgrades, the global array is expected to increase the amount of sharp, clear data EHT has for imaging by a factor of 10, enabling scientists to not only produce more detailed and sensitive images but also movies starring these violent cosmic beasts.

"The EHT's successful observation at 345 GHz is a major scientific milestone," said Lisa Kewley, Director of CfA and SAO. "By pushing the limits of resolution, we're achieving the unprecedented clarity in the imaging of black holes we promised early on, and setting new and higher standards for the capability of ground-based astrophysical research."

"First Very Long Baseline Interferometry Detections at 870 μm," A.W. Raymond, S. Doeleman, et al (2024), The Astronomical Journal , DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ad5bdb .

About the Submillimeter Array (SMA)

The Submillimeter Array is a joint project of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics. We acknowledge the significance that Maunakea, where the SMA is located, has for the indigenous Hawaiian people.

About the Greenland Telescope

The Greenland Telescope is a joint project of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Academica Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The EHT Collaboration involves more than 400 researchers from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, with around 270 participating in this paper. The international collaboration aims to capture the most detailed black hole images ever obtained by creating a virtual Earth-sized telescope. Supported by considerable international efforts, the EHT links existing telescopes using novel techniques—creating a fundamentally new instrument with the highest angular resolving power that has yet been achieved.

The EHT consortium consists of 13 stakeholder institutes; the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the University of Arizona, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian including the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the University of Chicago, the East Asian Observatory, Goethe University Frankfurt, Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique, Large Millimeter Telescope, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, MIT Haystack Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and Radboud University.

About the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is a collaboration between Harvard and the Smithsonian designed to ask—and ultimately answer—humanity's greatest unresolved questions about the nature of the universe. The Center for Astrophysics is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with research facilities across the U.S. and around the world.

Media Contact

Amy Oliver Public Affairs Officer, Whipple Observatory Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian +1-520-879-4406  [email protected]

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Cfa celebrates 25 years with the chandra x-ray observatory, cfa astronomers help find most distant galaxy using james webb space telescope, astronomers unveil strong magnetic fields spiraling at the edge of milky way’s central black hole, black hole fashions stellar beads on a string, m87* one year later: proof of a persistent black hole shadow, unexpectedly massive black holes dominate small galaxies in the distant universe, unveiling black hole spins using polarized radio glasses, a supermassive black hole’s strong magnetic fields are revealed in a new light, nasa telescopes discover record-breaking black hole, new horizons in physics breakthrough prize awarded to cfa astrophysicist, dasch (digital access to a sky century @ harvard), sensing the dynamic universe, champ (chandra multiwavelength project) and champlane (chandra multiwavelength plane) survey.

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Horizon Scanning: A Tool for Identifying Emerging Signals of Change

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Horizon scanning is a method for identifying early signals of change and generating foresight–insight into how the future could be different from today. There are many variations of horizon scanning, but the key steps include thoroughly searching a wide range of information sources for signals of change (like new trends, countertrends, issues, and developments), collecting those signals in a database, and exploring what they might mean for the future. The goal is to find changes happening outside a field or organization (for example, in society, the economy, or technology) that decision makers might miss but that could be very disruptive. Horizon scanning helps bring attention to these kinds of changes and track their development, which helps natural resource planners, managers, and policymakers get ready for new challenges and opportunities. Other benefits include having a longer-term perspective, reacting faster to rapid changes, and thinking more broadly about the future. 

Most horizon scanning projects still rely on manual or partly automated work. However, with recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), it is likely that horizon scanning will move to fully automated methods. AI can already make some parts of horizon scanning faster, more efficient, more and thorough.  

• David N. Bengston, Tuomas Mauno, Teppo Hujala. 2024. Horizon Scanning: A Process for Identifying Emerging Signals of Change Shaping the Future of Natural Resources Management
• David Bengston, Lynne Westphal, Paul Adelson, Jason Crabtree, Michael Dockry, Andy Hines, George Kubik, Maria Romero, Zach Van Stanley, Nicole L. Zimmerman. 2024. Emerging Signals of Change that Could Shape the Future of Forestry: a Horizon Scan
• Lynne M. Westphal, Brian Sturtevant, Gordon C. Reese, Kathleen M. Quigley, Jason Crabtree, David N. Bengston, Forrest D. Fleischman, Joshua S. Plisinski. 2023. Preparing for an uncertain future: Merging the strategic foresight toolkit with landscape modeling in northeast Minnesota’s forests

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• 25 February 2021
• Correction 01 March 2021

How Europe’s €100-billion science fund will shape 7 years of research

• Quirin Schiermeier

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Horizon Europe, the world’s largest multinational research and innovation programme, has issued its first call for grant applications.

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Nature 591 , 20-21 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00496-z

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Correction 01 March 2021 : A previous version of this article stated incorrectly that posting a preprint will be enough to satisfy Horizon Europe’s open-access requirements.

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What’s on the EU research and innovation policy agenda for autumn 2024?

As EU policymakers return from the summer break, we look at key decisions that will affect the R&I community in the months ahead

European Commission, Berlaymont building, Brussels, Belgium. Photo credits: Fred Romero / Flickr

After several crisis-filled years characterised by wars, pandemic and economic challenges, the recent European elections and subsequent summer break offer an opportunity to pause and take stock.

Now, as Europeans filter back to their desks, it’s a good time to look at what the research and innovation community can expect this autumn. The current geopolitical environment has placed R&I topics firmly in the mainstream debate, and that is not likely to change any time soon. Here are some of the stories we expect to be covering in the months ahead.

New commissioner

The first question is, Who will be the next commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth? Bulgaria’s Iliana Ivanova has held the post since 2023 after compatriot Mariya Gabriel left to return to national politics , but the country has yet to put forward a commissioner candidate for the upcoming mandate.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has given member states until 30 August to nominate candidates for the College of Commissioners, after which she will assign portfolios. Bulgaria is one of several countries currently dragging its feet.

Whoever is nominated as the new research commissioner will then be quizzed by MEPs in the Parliament committee for industry, research and energy ITRE, and culture and education committee, with hearings expected to take place in September or October.

Defence funding

For the first time, von der Leyen’s team will include a Commissioner for Defence . During her bid for re-election, she pledged to build a “veritable defence union”, and to present a white paper on the future of European defence.

The white paper, which should be published in the first 100 days of her new mandate, will identify investment needs. Research and innovation may not be at the top of the list, considering the urgent need to provide Ukraine with ammunition, but von der Leyen has promised to reinforce the European Defence Fund which supports R&D projects.

Competitiveness agenda

Speaking to MEPs ahead of her re-election vote, von der Leyen said prosperity and competitiveness would be her top priority. But perhaps the flagship policy of this new strategy, to propose a European competitiveness fund, will have to wait until the EU’s next long-term budget for 2028-2034. The Commission should publish its proposal for this budget by mid-2025.

However, there are several proposals in von der Leyen’s political guidelines that may be put forward before the end of the year and could have an R&D component. For example, she plans to propose a Clean Industrial Deal in her first 100 days to “help create lead markets in everything from clean steel to clean tech” and “speed up planning, tendering, and permitting”.

Further proposals are likely to be influenced by former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi’s highly-anticipated report on EU competitiveness. He was expected to submit his findings to the Commission over the summer, but publication was delayed and should now happen some time this autumn.

FP10 expert group

All eyes will be on the independent group set up to advise the Commission on the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe and its successor, Framework Programme 10. The group’s feedback should be influential in shaping the next framework programme.

The group of 15 experts , led by former Portuguese research minister Manuel Heitor, is meeting monthly between January and October 2024, and is due to deliver its report to the Commission on 16 October.

After taking the advice on board, the Commission should publish its interim evaluation of Horizon Europe early next year, and then present its proposal for FP10 mid-way through 2025.

2025 work programmes

The post-election transition will mean delays to the publication of the Horizon Europe work programmes for 2025 . These are set to be adopted in March or April 2025. We already have some idea of what will feature because the Commission has published its strategic plan for the final years of Horizon Europe, including nine proposed new public-private partnerships.

We are waiting on the work programmes under Pillar II for large collaborative research projects, research infrastructures and the Widening programme for cohesion in research. For other parts of Horizon Europe, such as the European Research Council and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the Commission has extended the current work programmes to cover 2025.

Research lobbies

As well as awaiting the conclusions of the Draghi report, the R&I community will be expecting progress towards implementing Enrico Letta’s recommendations to create a ‘fifth freedom’ of a single market dedicated to the free movement of research, innovation, knowledge and education.

Research lobbies expect the composition of the new Commission to set the tone.

“R&I has never been so central in the political guidelines of the Commission president before the start of a new European Commission,” said Kurt Deketelaere, secretary general of the League of European Research Universities. “Hopefully this will be reflected in the R&I portfolio and its holder.”

Deketelaere is hoping research, innovation and education will remain a standalone portfolio, rather than being integrated into a larger competitiveness, internal market or economy portfolio. That is the case in “a number of member states”, he noted, saying much will depend on who is picked for the role. “Let's hope we get someone with experience and expertise on or in Europe, research, innovation and education.”

Deketelaere also wants to see member states step up. “They can start with stopping the annual circus of opposing the annual Horizon Europe budget as proposed by the European Commission and supported by the European Parliament,” he said. The Council has proposed cutting €400 million from the Horizon budget for 2025.

Muriel Attané, secretary general of the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations, said she is looking forward to working with the new research commissioner in the coming months, including on preparations for FP10 and the next long-term budget, with competitiveness set to have a central role in the discussions.

“Luckily, about 70% of the current FP Horizon Europe budget thanks to its Pillar II is geared towards pan-EU collaborative R&D&I with key industrial partnerships,” she told Science|Business.

“We believe this will be the main asset the new commissioner will have in their pocket, to actually ensure a strong FP10 as well as avoid the FP budget being cannibalised by the announced new competitiveness fund and to avoid that we would be exchanging R&D&I grants for loans.

“We do not need a new Juncker Plan, which did not foster R&D&I,” she added, referencing the 2015 programme that used loan guarantees to secure financing for infrastructure and other projects that were otherwise too risky to invest in. There have been calls to replicate that plan to decarbonise Europe’s industry.

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NSF announces 4 new Engineering Research Centers focused on biotechnology, manufacturing, robotics and sustainability

Engineering innovations transform our lives and energize the economy.  The U.S. National Science Foundation announces a five-year investment of $104 million, with a potential 10-year investment of up to $208 million, in four new NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) to create technology-powered solutions that benefit the nation for decades to come.   

"NSF's Engineering Research Centers ask big questions in order to catalyze solutions with far-reaching impacts," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. "NSF Engineering Research Centers are powerhouses of discovery and innovation, bringing America's great engineering minds to bear on our toughest challenges. By collaborating with industry and training the workforce of the future, ERCs create an innovation ecosystem that can accelerate engineering innovations, producing tremendous economic and societal benefits for the nation."  

The new centers will develop technologies to tackle the carbon challenge, expand physical capabilities, make heating and cooling more sustainable and enable the U.S. supply and manufacturing of natural rubber.  

The 2024 ERCs are:  

• NSF ERC for Carbon Utilization Redesign through Biomanufacturing-Empowered Decarbonization (CURB) — Washington University in St. Louis in partnership with the University of Delaware, Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M University.   CURB will create manufacturing systems that convert CO2 to a broad range of products much more efficiently than current state-of-the-art engineered and natural systems.    
• NSF ERC for Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub (EARTH) — University of Kansas in partnership with Lehigh University, University of Hawaii, University of Maryland, University of Notre Dame and University of South Dakota.   EARTH will create a transformative, sustainable refrigerant lifecycle to reduce global warming from refrigerants while increasing the energy efficiency of heating, ventilation and cooling.    
• NSF ERC for Human AugmentatioN via Dexterity (HAND) — Northwestern University in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, Florida A&M University, and Texas A&M University, and with engagement of MIT.  HAND will revolutionize the ability of robots to augment human labor by transforming dexterous robot hands into versatile, easy-to-integrate tools.     
• NSF ERC for Transformation of American Rubber through Domestic Innovation for Supply Security (TARDISS) — The Ohio State University in partnership with Caltech, North Carolina State University, Texas Tech University and the University of California, Merced.   TARDISS will create bridges between engineering, biology, and agriculture to revolutionize and on-shore alternative natural rubber production from U.S. crops.  

Since its founding in 1985, NSF's ERC program has funded 83 centers (including the four announced today) that receive support for up to 10 years. The centers build partnerships with educational institutions, government agencies and industry stakeholders to support innovation and inclusion in established and emerging engineering research.  

Visit NSF's website and read about NSF Engineering Research Centers .  

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August 23, 2024

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Citizen science project identifies 20 new astronomical discoveries

by University of Portsmouth

A citizen science project, which invites members of the public to take part in identifying cosmic explosions, has already identified 20 new astronomical discoveries.

More than 2,000 volunteers across 105 different countries have worked on 600,000 classifications over a six-month period.

The project Kilonova Seekers aims to find kilonovae—the cosmic explosions of neutron stars and black holes colliding in distant galaxies.

Volunteers are asked to play "spot the difference" using data from the two Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) telescopes, which are located on opposite sides of the planet—on La Palma, in Spain's Canary Islands, and Australia's Siding Spring Observatory.

Dr. Lisa Kelsey, from the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, said, "The success of Kilonova Seekers demonstrates the invaluable role of public participation in scientific discovery . The contribution of citizen scientists is really helping us push the boundaries of our understanding of the universe."

The first stage of Kilonova Seekers is presented in a paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society .

Although all of the 20 discoveries haven't been classified yet, the researchers have identified five as Type la Supernovae, which are powerful and bright explosions of stars.

Type la Supernovae are important in astronomy because they have a consistent peak brightness, which makes them useful as "standardizable candles" to measure distances in space. By knowing how bright these supernovae should be, astronomers can calculate how far away they are, which helps measure the accelerating expansion of the universe.

The other discovery that has been classified is a cataclysmic variable star. This is a binary star system consisting of a white dwarf star stealing matter from its companion star, which causes bright flashes of light.

Dr. Kelsey added, "The remaining 14 have not yet been classified, so we aren't sure exactly what they are."

One of the key accomplishments of the project is the speed of classification and consensus from the volunteers.

Dr. Kelsey said, "As we have volunteers from around the world, there is almost always someone online looking at the data in real-time."

Scientists monitor alerts from gravitational wave detectors LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA, which trigger GOTO telescopes within 30 seconds to begin searching the sky. Any images taken are then shared with the public via the Zooniverse, the world's largest and most popular platform for facilitating citizen science.

Kilonova Seekers launched publicly on Zooniverse on 11 July 2023 and there were 1,000 classifications within the first 30 minutes.

Based on data obtained from Google Analytics, there are participants from every continent, except Antarctica. The wide accessibility of Zooniverse projects enables researchers to reach countries that may be traditionally underrepresented in astronomical communities.

The United States is by far the largest contributor, with a total of 1,284 users. The United Kingdom has about half that, with 615 users. However, users from Portugal are the most active, with each person viewing more than 2,750 pages on average.

Dr. Kelsey added, "The project not only contributes to the discovery of transient phenomena but also enhances the development of next-generation classification algorithms. This means that with the help of the public, we can create better ways to sort and understand the information.

"This speed of human vetting is simply not sustainable without the dedication of our citizen scientists."

Dr. Tom Killestein, from the University of Turku in Finland, said, "Alongside all the discoveries the volunteers have made, they've created a list of over 20,000 gold standard examples that we've used to improve our machine learning classifiers. This powerful synergy between machine learning and citizen science will allow us to continually improve our algorithms, and directly increase the number of discoveries of supernovae and other exciting objects."

Journal information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Provided by University of Portsmouth

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High-Risk, High-Reward Research with EPA’s Pathfinder Innovation Projects

Published August 20, 2024

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could learn how chemicals affect the developing brain in a quick and cost-effective way? Or if we could gather water quality data from a boat without having to stop and collect samples at multiple locations? What about if we could predict the spread of a fungal pathogen by sampling smoke from wildfires?

EPA scientists have answered questions like these and more with Pathfinder Innovation Projects (PIPs) . Through an internal competition, PIP winners receive seed funding and additional research time to pursue their high-risk, high-reward research ideas.

The PIPs program helps EPA incubate innovative research through projects that explore new approaches to high priority topics, respond to emerging environmental issues, and build the expertise of researchers in their chosen fields of study.

The PIPs program was launched in 2011 and has funded a total of 153 research projects since its inception. EPA has incorporated several successful PIPs into its national research programs , and methods first developed through PIPs have even been used to support regulatory decisions. PIPs provide EPA scientists an important testbed to try out innovative and exciting ideas that could become transformative environmental solutions. Read about some successful PIPs below.

Brain on a Chip

EPA scientists have long been interested in the potential effects of chemicals on developing brains in embryos, infants, and children. However, traditional methods for testing these effects are expensive, time-consuming, and rely on animal models. Because of that, many chemicals have not been studied using these methods, resulting in gaps in what we know about chemicals found in the environment.

In 2013, Dr. Timothy Shafer’s team at EPA received PIP funding to develop a new, lower cost approach to quickly detect when chemicals may cause developmental neurological changes. The team grew a network of brain cells in a laboratory and measured the network’s electrical activity using an array of tiny electrodes. This lab-grown network simulates the electrical activity of a human brain; chemicals that cause changes in this “brain on a chip” are flagged as potential candidates that could impact developing brains in humans.

With the help of a jump start from PIPs, the “brain on a chip” has become an integral part of EPA’s Chemical Safety for Sustainability research program .

“PIPs allowed us to really get this technology up and running,” Dr. Shafer said. “It allowed us to generate enough data to support further development and use of this approach.”

Today, EPA is using the method to test new and existing chemicals (including high priority contaminants such as PFAS), and the data are informing EPA’s regulatory decisions. For example, according to Dr. Shafer, “brain on a chip” informed a decision about a new pesticide and saved about a year and a half of EPA staff time and over $1 million compared to traditional methods.

Underway Water Quality Lab on Research Vessel

EPA’s research vessels are critical tools for studying environmental concerns like water quality, contaminants, and harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes. However, predicting the exact location of these concerns can be challenging, making it essential for the ships to be positioned in the right place to study them. To tackle this issue, EPA scientists wanted to continuously collect data on emerging environmental concerns, rather than relying on the research vessel’s scheduled sampling stops.

In 2023, EPA scientist Ryan Lepak received PIP funding to develop a new system on EPA’s Lake Explorer II, enabling it to monitor water quality while in motion. The system continuously pipes water from the lake into an array of sensors that monitor key metrics such as temperature, pH, blue green algae, chlorophyll, and, with the help of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration collaborators, dissolved carbon dioxide. It also collects larger particles using filters so that researchers can determine exactly what contaminants, like mercury and PFAS, are present in a particular area. These devices enable scientists to collect a wide range of information about the lake without stopping the ship or interrupting its planned research activities.

Additionally, the system incorporates custom software that allows EPA scientists to follow up on noteworthy findings. When the sensors detect conditions that merit further attention — such as sudden changes in water temperature or signs of a harmful algal bloom — the system automatically collects a sample of water and stores it for future analysis.

This exciting new technology is being deployed on the Lake Explorer II this summer and is already generating interest from other researchers in the Great Lakes area. According to Dr. Lepak, other research vessels, both within and outside the EPA, have expressed interest in deploying similar technologies on their ships.

Valley Fever and Wildfires

Valley fever is an infection caused by inhaling the Coccidioides fungus, which lives in soils in the western United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Valley fever is becoming increasingly common but is often misdiagnosed. The disease can be mistaken for other types of pneumonia, and, while most patients get better on their own, patients who do need treatment may remain sick for weeks before receiving the right diagnosis and care. Because of the high rate of misdiagnosis, researchers are looking for better ways to determine where and when Valley fever risk is high, so they can warn doctors to be on the lookout for symptoms.

Building on research that suggests a connection between Valley fever and wildfire, EPA scientist Jim Markwiese hypothesized that people might be inhaling Coccidioides spores from wildfire smoke. However, he needed a way to test this hypothesis, as detecting these airborne spores poses significant challenges.

In 2023, Dr. Markwiese and his collaborators received PIP funding to deploy drones to collect air samples of Coccidioides spores. As a proof-of-concept test, the team flew drones equipped with biological sampling devices over known, non-wildfire Valley fever hotspots in the San Joaquin Valley, California. This novel method was able to successfully capture airborne Coccidioides spores for the first time, demonstrating that drone sampling was an effective approach to collecting this elusive, inhalable pathogen.

Now that they know their sampling method works, Dr. Markwiese and his collaborators hope to test the method directly on wildfire smoke in the future. If this project can provide information about when and where Coccidioides spores are present in a particular area, public health officials will be able to alert doctors of Valley fever as a possible diagnosis. This early intervention could lead to earlier treatment and better outcomes for patients.

“These are literally lifesaving measures that we could put into place,” Dr. Markwiese said. “We may not cure Valley fever with this technology, but we can help people get to a cure faster.”

From the developing brain to Valley fever, these are just a few examples of how EPA researchers are pursuing their innovative ideas for solving our most pressing environmental problems. In addition to these projects, 15 new 2024 PIPs were selected in June to begin research on topics such as environmental justice, emerging contaminants, and more.

If you want to learn more about this next generation of innovative EPA research, visit the PIPs website .

This article was written by Seamus Caslin, Oak Ridge Associated Universities Research participant with EPA.

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