• ICREA Research Professors Diego Blas (IFAE) and Kostas Kostarelos (ICN2) have been awarded 2024 European Research Council Synergy Grants, designed to support exceptional collaborative projects tackling major scientific challenges.
• Prof. Blas co-leads the project GravNet, which will be the first dedicated effort to detect high-frequency gravitational waves, opening a new observational window into previously unseen astrophysical processes.
• Prof. Kostarelos will co-develop the SKIN2DTRONICS project, which aims to integrate conformable electronic devices based on 2D materials to monitor brain cancer recurrence.
ICREA Research Professors Diego Blas at IFAE (left) and Kostas Kostarelos at ICN2 (right) have received the prestigious ERC Synergy Grants
The European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grants are among the most prestigious research awards in Europe, designed to support exceptional collaborative projects tackling major scientific challenges. Each Synergy Grant funds teams of two to four principal investigators from across disciplines, encouraging groundbreaking interdisciplinary research. The grant selection process is highly competitive, with only a small percentage of applicants awarded funding (typically between 7-10%), which emphasises the outstanding quality and innovative potential required for selection.
These grants not only provide substantial financial support but also bring significant recognition to researchers and their institutions on an international scale. Two researchers from the BIST Scientific Community have been awarded in this call: Prof. Diego Blas, who heads the Astroparticle & Cosmology Group, within IFAE’s Theory Division, and Prof. Kostas Kostarelos, who leads the Nanomedicine Lab at ICN2.
Detecting high-frequency gravitational waves and exploring the most pressing questions about the cosmos
Artist illustration of GravNet detection process. Credit: Eve Barlier
Led by scientists from four European institutions, GravNet aims to develop and deploy a novel experimental platform to detect gravitational waves (GWs) in the high-frequency range of MHz to GHz. This pioneering effort could revolutionise the study of phenomena such as primordial black hole mergers and ultra-light dark matter, offering answers to some of the most pressing questions about the cosmos.
GravNet is a six-year project in collaboration with Prof. Diego Blas, Institute for High Energy Physics, Spain, Prof. Dr. Matthias Schott, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, Bonn, Germany, Prof. Dr. Dmitry Budker, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany and Dr. Claudio Gatti, National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Italy. The project aims to develop the first dedicated network of detectors for high-frequency gravitational waves (HFGWs). These novel detectors combine the latest quantum sensing technologies with resonant cavities in strong magnetic fields.
“GravNet will open a new window to the Cosmos: we will, for the first time, have the capacity to look at high-frequency gravitational waves with unprecedented precision,” says Diego Blas. “This may allow us to unveil secrets related to the first moments of the Big Bang or to the mysteries of dark matter.”
Learn more about GravNet here.
Developing ultra-flexible electronics for real-time brain tumour monitoring
The SKIN2DTRONICS project aims to advance the large-scale integration of soft and thin electronic devices with more than 1000 transistors on ultra-flexible, skin-like substrates. These devices, based on two-dimensional materials that are one atom thick, are engineered to be readily conformable to different surfaces of aberrant architectures. They will be designed to offer superlative electronic performance, mechanical strength with full biocompatibility.
The project responds to the need to integrate electronics into applications such as health monitoring and sensing. SKIN2DTRONICS will integrate transistors directly onto ultra-flexible substrates, aiming for a fully integrated signal processing sensing circuit. The project will attempt address a clinical unmet need: real-time monitoring of growth and recurrence of brain tumours after surgery.
This recognition highlights Prof. Kostarelos’ exceptional contributions to developing advanced materials and devices that intersect cancer monitoring and diagnostics with brain implants and neurotechnology.
