Researchers to investigate solitude and the physics of the Universe

Research investigating the effects of being alone on well-being is one of two Cardiff University projects to benefit from €3.38m funding from the European Research Council (ERC). Dr Netta Weinstein, from the School of Psychology, will receive €1.48m to investigate how people respond to solitude, at a time when more people are living alone. In a separate project, Dr Erminia Calabrese, of the School of Physics and Astronomy, will receive €1.9m to consider fundamental questions about the Universe. They are among hundreds of early career researchers from around the EU to secure a total of €603m for their work under the EU's Research and Innovation programme, Horizon 2020. Part of Dr Weinstein's research seeks to explain why some people find solitude lonely and isolating while others use it positively for creativity and self-reflection. She said: "More people now live alone than ever before. Around one-third of households within Europe comprise a single person, numbers which are in part increasing as people work more from home, live longer in retirement, and are less likely to live with extended family members or adult children.