Full Professor at the NOVA School of Science and Technology (FCT NOVA), Rodrigo Martins is one of the five prominent scientists appointed by the European Commission as members of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC).
The new members were selected by an independent Identification Committee, composed of six renowned scientists, appointed by the European Commission. The Independent Committee is chaired by Professor Carl-Henrik Heldin, who is also Chairman of the Board of the Nobel Foundation.
The scientific community was consulted during the selection process of the new members who will take office on January 1, 2021. In addition to the Portuguese professor, the elected members are: Alice Valkárová, from the University of Prague; Nicola Spaldin, from the ETH Zurich; Dirk Inzé, from the University of Ghent and Liselotte Højgaard, from the University of Copenhagen.
Composed of 22 scientists and distinguished scholars representing the European scientific community, the ERC Scientific Council is an independent governing body. Its main function is to define the ERC strategy and select the peer review evaluators. It is chaired by the interim president of the ERC, Jean-Pierre Bourguignon.
The ERC, created by the European Union, is the leading European organization for funding excellent frontier research. Every year, it selects and funds the best researchers, of any nationality and age, to manage projects based in Europe. It offers four grants schemes: Initial, Consolidator, Advanced and Synergy. In addition, the ERC supports researchers to establish bridges between their pioneering research and the early phases of its commercialization.
Photo: FCT