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.'

  • Published:
  • Updated:

Read more news

Picture by Mikko Huotari.
University Published:

Grief support group for those who have lost a loved one

In spring 2025, a support group will be organized for Aalto students and employees who have lost a loved one.
A group of people walking past large windows in a modern building with vertical wooden slats and indoor lights.
Research & Art Published:

Funding for a democratic transition to sustainability

Three projects from Aalto University are among the recipients. The Nessling Foundation's grants aim to advance the implementation of sustainability transitions in the context of democracy, the EU, and nature conservation areas.
Siavash Khajavi wearing glasses and a light blue shirt, standing indoors with a window in the background.
Research & Art Published:

A community where personal connections and career paths intertwine

Assistant professor of operations management Siavash Khajavi explains how studying Industrial Engineering and Management helps students develop hard skills through rigorous studies and soft skills through countless interactions and collaboration.
Charging a white electric car
Research & Art Published:

Revolution in EV battery recycling: New approach sees skyrocketing gains in lithium recovery

Energy researchers have developed a safe and environmentally friendly way to recycle the batteries used in electric vehicles