Trinity pair win European Research Council Consolidator Grants

Posted on: 23 November 2023

Two researchers from Trinity – Professors Kate Maguire and Michael Monaghan – have won highly prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grants. They will now use the funding of approximately €2 million and €2.6 million respectively to pursue ground-breaking research that will enable significant advances in scientific knowledge.  

Kate’s project (CosmicLeap) will explore the ‘deaths’ of white dwarfs (the remnants of burned-out stars), mapping the full diversity of ways in which these bodies explode, while Michael’s (PiezoMac) will develop a new cardiac patch that uses electric field stimulation to boost the regeneration of the heart muscle.

Project CosmicLeap

Kate, from the School of Physics, will work to provide the first complete census of the multiple ways that white dwarfs can explode by mapping observations to their explosion physics. This will be crucial for defining new precision samples for cosmology, as well as determining the rates and contributions of white-dwarf explosions to the origin of the elements. 

She said: “I was really delighted to find out that my ERC Consolidator Grant project, CosmicLeap, had been successful. My research focuses on understanding some of the most dramatic explosions in the Universe, and this award will allow me to build a diverse team of researchers that would not be possible without a grant of this scope.

“It will link state-of-the-art observations of white-dwarf explosions to detailed theoretical models via novel machine-learning techniques. I hope that it will allow us to gain the most comprehensive understanding yet of the mysterious deaths of white dwarf stars.”

Project PiezoMac

Michael, from the School of Engineering, will develop a new platform of biomaterials that, by virtue of their material chemistry and geometrical design, will treat patients with heart muscle injury after a heart attack. Extending to injuries and providing structural support to damaged tissues, the work will provide better quality of life to patients. The multidisciplinary approach where biomedical engineering, computer science, and immunology intersect, will employ novel imaging technologies for the first time in Ireland.  

He said: “I am incredibly grateful to receive this funding and the enormous opportunity it provides to pursue this project, while training talented PhD students and Post-doctoral researchers to work on a project that I have been building towards for the last few years. I’m especially thankful for the support of friends, colleagues, and collaborators who contributed during the development of the grant and to Trinity’s Research Development Office for their continued support. 

“The ERCs support of ‘blue skies’ research offers a lifeline for pursuing this frontier work, which will have a significant impact in materials chemistry and medical devices. Previous internal funding support from Trinity and from our national agencies has led to this award, underlining the significance of national endorsement in securing non-exchequer funding. I’d like to specifically acknowledge past and present lab members who inspire me with their motivation, creativity and dedication, and I’m very excited for this next chapter in our lab.” 

Dr Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity, said: “ERC Consolidator Grants come at a critical point in a researcher's career, allowing awardees to cement their reputations as leaders in their fields and freeing them to pursue truly innovative, 'blue skies' ideas and I warmly congratulate Kate and Michael in securing these prestigious and highly competitive awards.

“Winning an ERC grant is an acknowledgement that their projects are not only scientifically excellent, but will break new ground for their disciplines, illuminating the unknown. At the frontiers of physics and engineering respectively, both researchers are expanding the boundaries of scientific knowledge and what we understand about the natural world. While such projects initially deliver new knowledge, picked up and built on by our colleagues and, critically, our students, the baton is soon passed through the structures of education, research and innovation to deliver the university’s core remit: benefit for wider society.”

Professor Sinead Ryan, Dean of Research at Trinity, said: “Many congratulations to Kate and Michael on securing funding for these ambitious and exciting projects. ERC awards are becoming more and more competitive, so their success is a real indicator of the world-leading quality of their research. Both projects reflect the researchers' abilities to embrace new cutting-edge technologies and to build networks of collaborators within Ireland and far beyond. The projects will allow them to grow their teams and support even more talented early career postdoctoral and PhD researchers to launch a career at Trinity.” 

Since the ERC programme was launched in 2007, Trinity has been awarded over €100 million in funding and its researchers have won over 50 investigator grants across all three faculties. Under the latest European Commission funding programme, Horizon Europe (2021-27), Trinity has secured 24 awards under the ERC programme with a total value of nearly €30 million. Trinity currently hosts four Starting Grants; six Consolidator Grants; two Advanced Grants; and nine Proof of Concept projects.

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