News

Aalto nabs 3 ERC Advanced Grants

Aalto University awarded €6.3 million by European Research Council to support 3 research projects over the next 5 years.
ERC grant awardees 2019
Professor Aristides Gionis, Professor Kari Astala, and Professor Zhipei Sun

Aalto university has been awarded €6.3 million from the European Research Council to support pioneering work across a range of high-impact fields. The three projects are:

  • REBOUND:
    •  Designing algorithms to reduce filter bubbles in social media lead by Professor Aristides Gionis from the Department of Computer Science
  • QUAMAP:
    • Developing new mathematical methods for currently unsolvable problems led by Professor Kari Astala from the Department of Mathematics
  • ATOP:
    • Creating novel photonic devices by stacking together atomically-thin materials led by Professor Zhipei Sun from the Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering

ERC Advanced Grants are designed to support researchers exploring high-risk and groundbreaking areas of research. Aalto University strives to identify and solve grand societal challenges, a goal that the three projects receiving ERC support aim to achieve.

‘I am very pleased and honoured to be awarded the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant. The expected outcomes will result in significant advances in fundamental physics and breakthrough technologies to enable highly-integrated, wideband and high-efficient photonic systems. I am really looking forward to starting this ambitious project,’ says Professor Sun, about his project on atomically thin photonics devices.

‘By engaging with a range of stakeholders we hope to be able to improve deliberation online,’ says Professor Gionis about his research into polarisation in online media communities. ‘We aim to develop methods that can be applied to any topic, even topics coming from different domains, e.g., politics, current events, or social debates.’

Professor Astala describes his work as 'developing mathematics and tools for analysing different mathematical models, particularly those arising in statistical physics and materials sciences. Diverse phenomena in properties of materials, fluid mechanics, medical scanning and even invisibility cloaking will be susceptible to the methods of analysis developed in this project.'

  • Updated:
  • Published:
Share
URL copied!

Read more news

A person speaking into a smartwatch with a silver mesh band, displaying a waveform on the screen.
Press releases, Research & Art Published:

Your voice gives away valuable personal information, so how do you keep that data safe?

With speech technologies becoming increasingly common, researchers want to make sure we don’t give away more information than we mean to.
Three people sitting at a bus stop with maps and signs behind them. One has a backpack on the ground.
Research & Art Published:

Aalto in 2025: Quantum leaps, creative breakthroughs and solutions for a better life

Growth, technology and industrial renewal; human-centred solutions; health and everyday wellbeing; and enjoyable daily life and thriving communities.
Children and adults gathered around a table in an office. Text reads 'Children's Day at Work' and 'PHYSics Aalto Diversity Team'.
University Published:

Bring your child to work day 2025 at the Department of Applied Physics

The Department of Applied Physics encouraged employees to bring their children to work on 21. November 2025- you can have a peak at what kids did on that day
Two people carrying a sign with 'IT Services' written on it and a magnifying glass icon.
University Published:

Aalto Mac: Network settings to be updated

Updates begin during Christmas time