The President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences is also a member of the committee nominating the next ERC President
The European Commission has appointed the members of an independent scientific body to prepare for the election of the next President of the European Research Council (ERC). One of the seven leading international scientists of this body is neurobiologist Tamás Freund, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Here is the complete list:
Prof. Helga NOWOTNY (President), former President of the ERC
Prof. Pearl DYKSTRA, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Prof. Tamás FREUND, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Prof. Jiří FRIML, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria
Prof. Serge HAROCHE, Collège de France
Prof. Viola VOGEL, ETH Zurich
Prof. Fabio ZWIRNER, member of the ERC Scientific Council.
The seven-member panel will be responsible for judging applications for the presidency, at the end of which a list of only a few names is expected to be submitted to the ERC Scientific Council. From this, the Council will select the candidate(s) that it wishes to propose to the European Commission.
The original news item can be read here, on the European Commission’s website.
The ERC operates the EU’s most extensive grant application system for supporting exploratory research. The ERC’s mission is to provide funding to support pioneering, high-risk, high-return research. The only condition for the awarding of grants is scientific excellence.
Compared to certain countries in the region, Hungary has been exceptionally successful in tendering for European Research Council (ERC) grants. The funding won through ERC applications can be considerable – enough for a researcher with an independent research team to launch a five-year project of almost EUR 2 million.