The European Research Council (ERC) supports with a budget of €660 million 294 senior top researchers in Europe. These established scientists will perform ground-breaking 'blue sky' research over the coming five years across Europe. The projects selected cover a wide array of topics.

294 top researchers are funding in the fourth competition for its coveted Advanced Grants with a budget of just over €660 million. The European Research Council (ERC) supports the researchers that will perform ground-breaking 'blue sky' research over the coming five years across Europe, and informed that the number of applications increased by 13% compared to the last Advanced Grant call. New call for proposals to Advanced Investigators in 2012 is opened in Social Sciences & Humanities domain, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Life Sciences.

The projects selected cover a wide array of topics, for instance new treatments of visual impairment (presbyopia), and a better use of sustainable fuels for automotive and aeronautic engines. Regarding the profile of these senior researchers, the average age is about 53 years. On the other hand, the number of female researchers selected (12%) slightly increased in this call.

The ERC also reported that the projects will be carried out in universities or research institutions in 20 countries across Europe. The greatest number of grant winners will be based in the United Kingdom, Germany and France. In this call, 26 different nationalities are represented, with British, German and French researchers being the most numerous. Furthermore, of the awarded grants, around 46% are in the domain 'Physical Sciences and Engineering', 36% in 'Life Sciences' and 18% in 'Social Sciences and Humanities'.