30/07/2004

Dr. Nikos Tagmatarchis, a 35-year-old chemist internationally acknowledged for his scientific achievements, has been awarded one of the 25 European Young Investigators awards (EURYI 2004), to conduct cutting edge research at the Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute of the National Hellenic Research Foundation, in Athens. The awarded research proposal of the Greek scientist concerns the development of innovative materials with advanced functionality through chemical manipulation of carbon nanotubes. The project will be integrated within the Institute's activities as a Centre of Excellence in nanostructured hybrid materials.

The EURYI awards constitute an initiative of ΕUROHORCS (European Union Research Organisations Heads of Research Councils), in cooperation with ESF (European Science Foundation). In 2004, the first year of these ambitious awards of value up to 1.250.000 euro each for a 5-year period, 25 awards were granted to young distinguished researchers.

The awards aim to encourage young brilliant researchers from all over the world to work in Europe for the benefit of the development of European science and the building up of the next generation of leading European scientists. The awarded young researchers will have the opportunity to pursue the proposed innovative research and to set-up and manage their own research team, in collaboration with the European organizations which will host the awardees and their research projects.

The basic criteria for the assessment of the proposed projects are: a) the scientific achievements of the applicant and its potential to become a world class leader in the respective field of research, b) the originality and feasibility of the research proposal, as well as its potential to improve the competitiveness of European research at world level, and c) the internationally recognized level of excellence of the host institution and its capability to host the applicant and the proposed research.

The evaluation process of the EURYI applications involved two stages. In the first stage, 777 applications were considered by the 18 participating organizations and were evaluated at national level. Then, the 133 best applications were considered further by ESF. Expert committees of world class scientists were assigned by ESF for the second evaluation stage, and this process resulted in selecting the best 25 research projects.

ESF announced the winners of the EURYI 2004 awards in Brussels, on Thursday 29 July 2004. The award ceremony will take place on 26 August 2004, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Short curriculum vitae of Dr Nikos Tagmatarchis

Dr. Nikos Tagmatarchis (born in 1969) studied Chemistry in the University of Crete, where he concluded his PhD thesis (1997) in the area of Synthetic Organic Chemistry. He continued with post doctoral studies in Sussex, UK, under an EU Marie Curie fellowship. During the period 1998-2002 he was a researcher at the Nagoya University of Japan and the University of Cyprus. Since 2002, he has been working as a researcher at the University of Trieste, Italy. He has published more than 50 scientific papers in eminent international journals and has participated in many international scientific conferences.

Short description of the awarded research proposal

The Greek proposal concerns the chemical manipulation of carbon nanotube materials (hollow and nanometer thin graphite-like fibers with diameter of the order of billionths of a meter) that have attracted great interest by scientists for their unique properties. The aim of the proposed research is to develop novel one-dimensional systems, created by self-assembly of molecules inside the hollow core of carbon nanotubes. The properties of these systems will be tailored by nanoscale engineering for novel technological applications in fields ranging from nanoelectronics to nanobiotechnology.

The project is at the cutting edge of the carbon-nanotube field and its results are expected to contribute towards improving the competitiveness of research at national and European level. The project was submitted in cooperation with the Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute of the National Hellenic Research Foundation (TPCI/NHRF), and it will be performed at the Institute's laboratories. In particular, this new research project will be developed and integrated within the activities of the TPCI/NHRF as a centre of excellence in nano-structured hybrid materials with advanced functionalities.

Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute/NHRF: Excellence in nano-structures materials The Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute is one of the six research institutes of the NHRF, with activities in selected research areas of experimental physical chemistry and materials science, as well as in theoretical and computational chemistry and physics. The Institute maintains long-term research quality and productivity trends and draws wide international recognition, as testified by its significant number of scientific publications, its designation as a centre of excellence in nano-structured hybrid materials, as well as by its participation in numerous competitive basic and applied research projects funded by the European Union, the Greek General Secretariat for Research and Technology and by industrial firms.

The continuing improvement of the TPCI status as a center for scientific excellence is set as a central target, and this includes now the successful implementation of the new research project on hybrid nano-structured materials based on carbon nanotubes.

European Science Foundation (ΕSF)

Τhe Εuropean Science Foundation (ESF) is an international scientific non-governmental organization founded in 1974 in Strasbourg, France. The members of ESF consist of 76 research organizations and academies of 29 European countries. NHRF is representing Greece in ESF since 1975, and acts as national node for the cooperation of the Greek scientific community (universities, research institutes, etc) with the European scientific community.

The aim of ESF is to promote high-level scientific research at a European level. Within this framework, ESF facilitates the communication between European scientists through collaboration in projects of common interest, identifies new fields of cooperation and research through the operation of its scientific committees, and offers to its members opportunities for collaborations with third countries based on strict scientific criteria. Also, ESF investigates issues of scientific and research policy in areas of strategic importance and advises accordingly.

ΕUROHORCS (European Union Research Organisations Heads of Research Councils)

ΕUROHORCS was established in 1992 as a non governmental association of national research councils, Academies and analogous public non-university research organisations of Europe. EUROHORCS provides an independent forum and network for the heads of the above bodies with a view to strengthen the influence of national research organizations in the development of a European Research policy for the benefit of the European Research Area.

Source: National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF)