Eddy Current Testing (ECT) is an industrial procedure used to assess the reliability of the most critical facilities of nuclear power plants. Prior to practical usage, ECT requires a delicate phase of calibration and validation via numerical simulations. However, in the current state-of-the-art, they are limited by two critical issues: the poor precision of the results, and the limited geometrical modeling flexibility. This project will use the recently introduced Discrete de Rham (DDR) simulation method to overcome at once both these issues, focusing on three specific aims: laying the mathematical foundations of DDR methods for ECT simulation, building the practical computational tools to implement this method in a simulator, and using the simulator on real-life ECT scenarios. The project has a strong multidisciplinary nature, involving a combination of numerical analysis and engineering, and its originality and innovation lie on this interdisciplinary approach. The mathematical analysis of DDR methods for ECT is a complete novelty and represents a mine of mathematical problems in numerical analysis. The development of the EffECT simulation (open-source) will require both the transfer of the candidate’s engineering knowledge to the host institution and the training of the candidate on the very specific DDR mathematical methods. The project will thus make the candidate able to speak to different communities, improving his career prospects as an independent researcher. The planned communication activities of the project will target people both inside and outside academia, helping the latter to appreciate the effectiveness of the interaction between fundamental mathematical research and engineering in solving real-life problems. The arising results have the potential to increase the safety and efficiency of nuclear power plants and open new horizons in fundamental and applied level of numerical analysis of DDR methods, as well as other cutting-edge simulation methods.

Repair or replacement of tissue and organ functions lost due to age, disease or damage represents one of the most urgent medical needs of our aging society. The NanoReMedi Consortium will contribute to addressing this fundamentally important issue by using a new and efficient scientific approach relying on the design, preparation, characterization and validation of conceptually innovative peptide-based functional nanomaterials for regenerative medicine applications. Specifically, NanoReMedi will tackle three highly relevant case studies: “Tissue engineered vascular grafts to replace damaged peripheral arteries”, “Stem-cell based regenerative medicine for bone and cartilage repair” and “Facing with implantation failure” this last addressed to overcome bacterial severe infections. As an equally important goal, the NanoReMedi Consortium aims to build a world-class doctoral educational model in the field of nanomaterials applied to regenerative nanomedicine, through a strategically designed Academia-Industry interplay. To this end, 6 Beneficiaries, one Associated Partner linked to a beneficiary and 12 non-academic associated partners will join their forces to: i)create a highly innovative research network for training a new generation of 13 Doctoral Candidates (DCs) with strong employment potential, aimed at studying and developing “Functional Nano-Scaffolds for Regenerative Medicine”; ii)establish a robust structure for long-term research cooperation between a pool of leading Universities and Enterprises, for broadening and strengthening the knowledge and skills of DCs accessing the nanoscience-area from adjacent disciplines (such as chemistry, material sciences and bioinformatics); iii)building a solid foundation for long-term European excellence in medical nanotechnology via dissemination of research/training outcomes - through cross-network secondments, Summer Schools workshops and transferable skills modules, and of the best practice generated by NanoReMedi.

The biodiversity, health and services of European marine ecosystems is severely threatened as cumulative human pressures and impacts continue to spread and increase throughout our seas and along our coasts. In order to put biodiversity on the path to recovery and thus achieve the ambitious policy goals set out by the EU Green Deal and the Biodiversity Strategy 2030, we need well informed science advice and operational decision-support tools allowing end-users to decide on conservation actions for biodiversity protection (e.g., MPAs), while at the same time seek to minimize trade-offs with other human use of ocean space (e.g., fishing, off shore energy and shipping). B-USEFUL will develop and deliver user-oriented solutions fit for uptake and implementation in decision making by effectively building upon existing European data infrastructures and governance frameworks for ecosystem-based management advice and marine spatial planning. This will be achieved by delivering upon the following objectives (here presented in short form) addressing the expected outcomes and impacts of the call and destination, namely to: (i) identify end-user needs; (ii) co-develop biodiversity indicators, targets and scenarios; (iii) create a standardized biodiversity and pressure data base; (iv) assess the status and cumulative impacts on biodiversity; (v) quantify risk and vulnerability to biodiversity loss; (vi) perform model forecasts of changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services; (vii) co-develop an interactive, online decision-support tool fit for management strategy evaluation of actions ensuring biodiversity protection. The project will embrace a process of co-creation where all outputs are iteratively co-developed, validated and approved by end-users. This serves not only to build mutual trust and credibility, but also facilitate direct uptake and implementation of the user-oriented tools and knowledge within operational decision-making for marine management and conservation.

Upon external mechanical loading, amorphous solids initially deform elastically, but for large enough applied stress they may fracture or flow as a plastic fluid. This transition, known as yielding, is one of the most fascinating open problems in condensed matter statistical physics. In fact, the exact nature of the transition is still unclear: some systems show abrupt (brittle) yielding (e.g., in oxide glasses) while others, such soft gels or foams, display ductility with a smooth and gradual increase of plastic deformation. A unique picture of the processes at play is yet missing and recent models and theories claim experimental support. Here I will use a use a novel colloidal glass to explore the yielding transition and its properties. Colloidal glasses are controlled through their volume fraction: it plays the same role of temperature in molecular ones, but it is much more difficult to precisely tune. I will overcome this difficulty exploiting a mixture of nanoparticles and non-colloidal polymer mesogels. The mesogels swell/shrink as a function of temperature, controlling the available ‘free’ volume for the (temperature-insensitive) nanoparticles. This approach allows for an unprecedented precise control of the volume fraction in a colloidal glass without changing particle-particle interaction or their size (e.g., in microgels). The versatility of the system will be exploited to investigate plastic activity for different level of glass equilibration and external applied stresses thanks to cutting-edge experiments involving rheology, time- and space- resolved visible scattering and synchrotron-based X-ray photon correlation. These approaches will be combined to obtain a comprehensive picture of the processes at play, allowing for a ground-breaking study from inter-particle distances up to macroscopic sizes. The yielding transition will then be tackled from a new point of view, potentially elucidating its nature and confronting emerging theories.

ACTNOW advances the state-of-the-art in understanding and forecasting of the cumulative impacts of climate change and interacting drivers on marine systems. The program provides solutions options to halt the loss of biodiversity, to restore and protect habitats and ecosystem processes, and to safeguard the contributions of marine areas to human well-being. ACTNOW is co-developed with EU policy stakeholders to deliver: 1) Mechanistic (cause-and-effect) understanding of the impacts of multiple interacting drivers on organisms, communities, habitats and ecosystems from individual-level performance to ecosystem-level stability, resistance, resilience and tipping-points; 2) Improved monitoring and new indicators of marine biodiversity based on state-of-the-art biologging technology, molecular methods and advanced numerical modeling; 3) Enhanced forecasts of European marine biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and services using scenarios (co-created and regionalized with practitioners) of multiple drivers and management settings, as well as integrated impact assessment methods; 4) Fit-for-purpose decision-support tools enabling regulators to deliver regionally-appropriate assessments and actions to restore and maintain Good Environmental Status; 5) Next-generation training for early-career scientists working on solutions to the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change and capacity building to enhance public literacy on the One Health concept. ACTNOW builds predictive capacity of multiple driver effects and performs integrated indicators assessments of biodiversity across 20 Case Studies capturing all European climate zones and regional seas, including pan-European research on key groups in marine food webs. dies capturing all European climate zones and regional seas, including pan-European research on key groups in marine food webs.