ERC at Euroscience Open Forum 2014
For the fourth time and with its strongest ever delegation, the European Research Council attended the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
On the eve of the event, ERC President Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, who spoke in a plenary session, said: “ESOF is a wonderful platform to bring science to a wider audience. I am glad that this year so many ERC grant holders can contribute to this effort and feed the forum with exciting discussions on high level science. It is a privilege for the ERC to contribute to Europe’s rich scientific heritage with stimulating new ideas.”
Three ERC Scientific Council members – ESOF2014 Champion Professor Klaus Bock, Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth and Professor Isabelle Vernos – also participated in the debate.
Under the theme ‘Science Building Bridges’, over 40 ERC grant winners presented their cutting-edge research. The ERC grant winners showcased their projects in a wide array of scientific fields, from calculating the impact of environmental changes and creating ‘ecosystems accounting’, to developing new natural resources management and fighting against obesity.
The scientists also explained how the Earth became the only habitable planet in our solar system, how to handle the risk of epidemics in a global world, and how research on cities can improve our understanding of urban social systems.
Nobel laureates, including ERC grantees Professor Ada Yonath (2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry) and Professor Serge Haroche (2012 Nobel Prize for Physics), research leaders and innovators were also present, as were policy makers, such as European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.
This year’s forum put the spotlight on building bridges between science and society and, in particular, engaging young people with science and innovation topics.
