EPFL among the top five recipients of ERC grants

Europe's generous yet ultra-competitive grant program is celebrating its ten-year anniversary this month. Over the years, EPFL researchers have been awarded more than one hundred such grants, making EPFL Switzerland's top recipient of this prestigious funding. "Thanks to the considerable amount of funding that the ERC grant provides over five years, I can study two complementary aspects of uranium isotopic fracturation at the same time," said Rizlan Bernier-Latmani, a professor in the Environmental Microbiology Laboratory. She's just received one of these ultra-competitive European research grants. "It's a real boost to my career, and it means I can work right at the interface between two fields, which is uncommon." Launched ten years ago, the European Research Council (ERC) initiative has really transformed the landscape of European research. Some 7,000 researchers of all nationalities have received funding for projects involving around 40,000 staff. Each year, the ERC pays out close to two billion Swiss francs.