Political scientist Juliana Chueri and physicist Laura Dreissen of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam have each received a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC).
The impact of AI on the welfare state
With her ERC Starting Grant, Juliana Chueri will investigate how artificial intelligence (AI) puts pressure on the foundations of the welfare state. She focuses on how automation affects citizens’ support for social protection, what kinds of security workers demand in the AI era, and how political parties, trade unions, and social movements respond. This is the first systematic study of the politics of the welfare state in the age of AI.
Read more here.
Weak interaction in atoms
Laura Dreissen will study how a tiny effect in atoms can shed light on the weak interaction, one of the fundamental forces of nature. She focuses on so-called parity violation: the laws of nature behave just slightly differently in a mirror. Measuring this effect with high precision offers a unique opportunity to test the Standard Model of particle physics and perhaps uncover hints of new physics, such as dark matter. Dreissen and her team aim to detect this effect for the first time in the barium atom, using cutting-edge quantum technology. By cooling ions to near absolute zero and placing them in a special entangled state, they can reliably measure an extremely faint signal.
Read more here.
ERC Starting Grant
The ERC uses the Starting Grants to support talented early-career researchers in carrying out groundbreaking projects for a period of five years. Dreissen and Chueri have been awarded a grant of about €1.5 million. In total, 478 early-stage researchers have received ERC Starting Grants.