D E S C A R T E SP R I Z E 2 0 0 12 7 N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 1

BIBLIOTHÈQUE SOLVAYP A R C L É O P O L DBRUSSELS - BELGIUM

René Descartes E U R O P E A N

C O M M I S S I O N

A large debt of gratitude is owed to all the men and women who served onthe six Descartes Prize evaluation panels. Principally thanks is due to thePresidents of the six panels, namely to:

Professor Sergio Barabaschi (represented by Professor Fernando Briones),Professor Pierre Coullet, Professor Ugo Farinelli, Dr. Helmut Mangold,Professor Sonja Puntscher-Reikman and Professor Manfred Schwab whorespectively led the Engineering, Basic Science, Environmental Science,Information Science, Socio-Economic and Life Science panels

For the assistance of: Ezio Andreta, Hardo Bruhns, Tim Hall, Bruno Hansen,Peter Kind, Jean-Francois Marchipont, Jack Metthey and Christian Patermann,Directors at DG Research and Frans de Bruine, Director at DG InformationSociety who ensured that their staff could assist with the work of the PanelPresidents.

The scientific officers who helped to convene the panels and who supportedthe work of the panel Presidents collectively became known as the “CartesianGroup”. They were: Angelos Agalianos, Philippe Quevauviller, Henning RitterVon Maravic, Luis Samaniego, Jean-Luc Sanne, Giorgio Sonnino, RenzoTomellini, Alessio Vassarotti and Marco Weydert from DG Research andKarl-Heinz Robrock, Ian Pigott and Jakub Wejchert from DG Information Society.

For organizing the press and publicity arrangements for this year's DescartesPrize, Jürgen Rosenbaum and Michel Claessens of DG Research's Informationand Communication unit must also be recognised.

For the contribution of Pieter Desmet, Research Counsellor of the PermanentRepresentation of Belgium at the European Union.

N.B.

• The Basic Science and Environmental Science panels were separately divided.The Basic Science panel between Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics and theEnvironmental Science panel between Sustainable Development, Non-NuclearEnergy and Fission.

• In 2001 no projects were selected to go forward for the examination of theGrand Jury by the Socio-Economic panel.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Photographs kindly supplied by:La Présidence du Gouvernement de la Région Bruxelles-CapitaleCERN – European Organisation for Nuclear Research – GenevaInstituto de Astrofisica de CanariasThe Norwegian Foundation for Youth and ScienceThe Norwegian Polar InstituteThe Shoals of Capricorn Programme. RGS-IBG London

Acknowledgements

* The BibliothèqueSolvay is one ofBelgium's out-standing examples of Art Noveau. Built acentury ago by thepioneering chemicalsindustrialist ErnestSolvay, it stands inBrussels' ParcLeopold.

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LEGAL NOTICEA great deal of additional information on the EuropeanUnion is available on the Internet. It can be accessedthrough the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2001

ISBN 92-828-6717-X

© European Communities, 2001Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Printed in Belgium

PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER

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THE FINALS OF THE 2nd DESCARTES PRIZEBRUSSELS, BELGIUM - 2001

THE REUNION & JUDGMENT OF THE DESCARTES GRAND JURY

Sunday 25 November 2001Grand Jury Members arrive

Monday 26 November 2001Grand Jury interviews with the finalists of the 2001 Descartes PrizeCharlemagne Building

Tuesday 27 November 2001Discussion and final decision of the Descartes Grand Jury

Grand Jury DinnerFinalists Dinner

THE DESCARTES PRIZE AWARD CEREMONY & GALA LUNCH

Tuesday 27 November 2001 at 13.00La Bibliothèque SolvayParc Leopold – BrusselsIn the presence of Philippe Busquin, Member of the European Commission and Francois-Xavier de Donnea, President of the European Research Council

WelcomeAchilleas Mitsos,Director-General, DG Research

François-Xavier de Donnea,President of the European Research Council

Film presentation of the work of the finalists

Assessment of the 2001 Descartes PrizeYves Michot,President of the Grand Jury

The final choice of project(s).Introduced by a member(s) of the Grand Jury

Announcement of the winner(s) of the 2001 Descartes PrizeCommissioner Philippe Busquin

Conclusion

The Cartesians Cocktail

T imetab le

Being responsible for the setting up a truly EuropeanResearch Area is, of course, an enormous privilege. Butthis stimulating task comes at a cost. In formulatingpolicy, meetings and debating with groups of scientists,engineers and other decision-makers, it is too easy tobecome rather fixed on Europe’s future scientific andtechnical needs, overlooking the enormous strides thatEurope’s scientists and engineers are currentlyaccomplishing.

How satisfying, then, to be so clearly reminded of justhow rich Europe’s scientific base is today when I seesomething of the achievements of this year’s DescartesPrize finalists. The seven projects short-listed for thisDescartes Prize are not products of some remotescientific ivory tower. Nor are they seven schemes ofscientific and academic interest designed to excite onlythe most learned in our society for a fleeting moment.They are much more than that.

The topics to which our scientists and engineers haveapplied their expertise are matters of concern to us all.Contained within each project are workable solutions tosome of the world’s major health, safety, environmentaland energy issues: reining back the scourge of AIDS;conserving our precious ecosystems; maximising trainsafety; combating the misery of emphysema; harnessingthe power of the sun; channelling brain waves toenhance the lives of disabled people and increasing theavailability and affordability of life-saving drugs andagrochemical products.

This spectacular range of achievement demonstrated bythe Descartes Prize would simply never have beenrealised if it were not for the exchange of expertise andaccess to specialised equipment across nationalfrontiers. I should say that, in this, the second year ofthe Descartes Prize, I am particularly pleased to see thatsuch a pool of talent extends not only right acrossEurope but from around the globe as well. I lookforward to seeing even more of these European/globalscientific partnerships in the future.

Commissioner Philippe Busquin

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Philippe Busquin on board a DC8

with ozone monitoringequipment.

Philippe Busquinlaunching the SAGEIII Ozone LossExperiment.

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Since the dawn of civilisation, science has made manygiant strides forward thanks to the brilliance of someremarkable individuals. It will continue do so in the thirdmillennium. However what the Descartes Prize celebratesis that when the power of a multitude of the most ableminds and resources are brought together to address thepressing scientific problems of our day, breakthroughsare not just hoped for, they have come to be expected.

These scientific advances are all built on effectiveteamwork and close cooperation. I am delighted thatnow, through the Descartes Prize, we can publiclyrecognise each year the success of the best of theseinternational scientific ventures. This is what is going todo so much to enrich all our lives in Europe andthroughout the world.

Philippe BusquinMember of the European CommissionCommissioner for Research

Physics on stage: Philippe Busquin, Commissioner for Research, The European Commission, visits the fair - 9 November 2000

Physics on stage: Philippe Busquin, Commissioner forResearch, The European Commission,and Professor Luciano Maiani, CERNDirector general, visiting the fair

Physics on stage: Mr. Philippe Busquin, Commissioner for Research, visits thefair - 09 Nov 2000

Director General Barry McSweeney, President Romano ProdiCommissioner Philippe Busquin at theJRC ISPRA

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The originality of the DESCARTES Prize emphasises theinternational dimension of science. It can only and trulydevelop within the circulation of knowledge. From timeimmemorial, scientific research has paved one of thenumerous ways to progress thanks to the convergenceof different ways of thinking as well as to internationalexchanges.

“As President of the European Research Council ofMinisters, I am very pleased to see the DESCARTES Prizeenter its second year of existence.

It is essential to highlight the work research teams carryout in efficient collaboration at European scale. Theseteams show the way to an outstanding Europeanresearch, full of intellectual and cultural exchanges. TheDESCARTES Prize rewards the joint efforts of resear-chers well integrated in trans-European teams.

At the moment, the Belgian Presidency of the EuropeanResearch Council is widely emphasising the concepts ofexcellence, mobility of researchers within Europe as wellas exchanges within the scientific community. Thesethree key concepts give the pace and guide the inter-national teams of researchers everyday life. It is theEuropean decision makers duty to actively contribute tothe lifting of all the remaining obstacles to excellence,mobility and international exchanges. It is in this per-spective that the European Research Area will trulydevelop to the benefit of the scientific community.

I am personally convinced that the future of EuropeanResearch is closely and unfailingly linked to the capacityof our scientific community to decompartmentalise, toopen up to the world and to favour internationalexchanges. In this context, the DESCARTES Prize is ofmajor importance. It emphasises the success resultingfrom a close collaboration between the researchers fromthe European Union.

On top of the individual qualities of men and women,however bright they might be, the DESCARTES Prizepositions their communicative capacity as well as thescientific performance resulting from it. As such, itdeserves the attention of the European scientific com-munity, of the political world and especially of theEuropean citizens.”

François-Xavier de DONNEAPresident of the European Research Council of MinistersMinister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region

François-Xavier de DONNEAPresident of the European Research Council of Ministers

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Foreword by Commissioner Philippe Busquin p 4-5

Descartes Prize 2000 by François-Xavier de DONNEAPresident of the European Research Council of Ministers p 6

Belgium-President of the European Union July – December 2001, the host of the 2001 Descartes Prize p 8-9

Descartes Prize 2000 by Achilleas Mitsos, Director-General for Research p 10

Who was René Descartes? p 11

Team Leaders and Project Partners – the Descartes Prize Finalists 2001 p 12-13

The ‘Chemistry’ of Conical Intersection (Professor Massimo Olivucci) p 14-15

Development of New Asymmetric Catalysts for Chemical Manufacturing (Dr. M. North) p 16-17

Adaptive Brain Interface – ABI (Dr. José del R. Millán ) p 18-19

Safetrain – Train Crashworthiness for Europe (Mr. Vacas de Carvalho) p 20-21

Loss of biodiversity alters the functioning of ecosystems – the BIODEPTH project (Professor John Lawton) p 22-23

Development of novel drugs against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Professor Jan Balzarini) p 24-25

Molecular Mousetraps and Lung Disease – a treatment for emphysema (Professor Robin Carrell) p 26-27

Winners of last year: the 2000 Cartesians p 28-29

Framework Programme: A New Look for European Research p 30-31

The Descartes 2001 Grand Jury Members p 32-33

Helena Illnerová p 34

Pantelis Kyriakides p 35

John Maddox p 36

Ulf Merbold p 37

Nikolai Platé p 38

Anna C. Roosevelt p 39

Margarita Salas p 40

Rudi Thomaes p 41

Science and society in the European Research Area and the new Framework Programme (2002-2006) by Rainer Gerold, Director Science and Society p 42-43

The European Science and Technology Week p 44-45

The Archimedes Prize p 46-47

13th EU Contest for Young Scientists – Bergen,Norway 18-21 September 2001 p 48-49

Contact details of all the project partners p 50

Descartes Prize National Contact Points p 51-53

Contents

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Notice: For those wishing to learn moreabout the Descartes finalists projects, DGResearch, the Commission’s organizing body,requests that all such enquiries should beaddressed in the first instance to the leaderof the project concerned. Their names andaddresses appear next to their project descriptions.

It should also be clear that any viewsexpressed in the abstracts should notbe taken as a statement of theEuropean Commission or DG Research.

Apologies are given for any omissions or errors.Graham Blythe, Editor – Descartes Prize catalogue, 2001

Belgium-President of the European Union July – December 2001, the host of the 2001 Descartes Prize

Breughel theElder

Mercator Ernest Solvay

Think of Belgium. It may just be pralines, quality cuisine,trappist beer, Tintin and Maigret the fictional detectiveseries of Georges Simenon that comes to mind. One, ofcourse, might think of the golden era of Breughel,Rubens, Van Dyck and Van Eyck.

Of perhaps the melodious melodies created by AdolpheSax’s saxophone. More poignantly and especially at thistime of year one might recall the horrors of the YpresSalient during the First World War. Alternatively and per-haps to too many people Belgium may now be moresynonymous with its seat of government-Brussels andits much heralded epithet as the “capital of Europe.”

None of these perspectives though does justice to anation that over the years has contributed so much toscience and engineering. From atlases to the whoopingcough vaccine, Belgium has produced some of the world’s

greatest innovations.

Andreas Vesalius who was born in Brusselsin December 1514, revolutionised the studyof biology and the practice of medicine byhis careful description of the anatomy of thehuman body. Basing his observations ondissections that he conducted, he wrote thefirst complete textbook of human anatomy.

Gerardus Mercator was a cartographer, geographer andmathematician best known for his mapping work,especially the Mercator projection, which used straightlines to indicate latitude and longitude. His map ofEurope (published in 1554) was the best of its kind formany decades.

Jean Joseph Lenior, born in 1822 in Mussy-la-Ville,devised the first commercially successful internal-combustion engine. Lenoir's engine was a converteddouble-acting steam engine with slide valves to admit theair-fuel mixture and discharge exhaust products. A two-stroke cycle engine, it used a mixture of coal gas and air.

Zénobe Gramme born only four years later in Jehay-Bodegnée, was the inventor of the Gramme dynamo, acontinuous-current electrical generator that gave somuch impetus to the development of electric power.

Ernest Solvay, born near Brussels in 1838, is best knownfor his development of a commercially viable ammonia-soda process for producing soda ash (sodium carbonate),widely used in the manufacture of such products as glassand soap. He founded the international company Solvay& Cie. He was a man of progressive social ideals, andimplemented within his factories a social security system,pensions for the workers, an 8-hour workday and paidholidays. He founded several scientific, philanthropic, andcharitable foundations, including the prestigious School ofBusiness in 1903, which still bears his name. His passion

Breughel theYounger

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for science saw him organize in 1911 a meeting inBrussels of most of the famous physicists and chemists ofhis day. Participants included Marie Curie, Albert Einstein,Max Planck, Raymond Poincaré and Ernest Rutherford.This was the birth of the Solvay international physicscouncil, which has met ever since assembling some of themost brilliant scientists in the world.

The Belgian born industrial chemist, Leo HendrikBaekeland, founded the modern plastics industry.Baekeland received his doctorate maxima cum laudefrom the University of Ghent at the age of 21 andtaught there until 1889 when he left for Yonkers, NewYork. Where in 1907 after many years of work in hischemistry lab he invented the first synthetic polymer(plastic), made by linking small molecules together tomake large ones. This first thermosetting plastic (thatdoes not soften when heated) was later called Bakelite,after its inventor.

The bacteriologist and immunologist, Jules-Jean-Baptiste-Vincent Bordet, born forty years after the state of Belgiumwas created in 1830 became the first Belgian to win theNobel Prize. In 1906, Bordet discovered the whoopingcough bacterium (subsequently named after him asBordetella pertussis) and prepared the first vaccine. In1919 he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for hisdiscovery of factors in blood serum that destroy bacteria;a work that was vital to the diagnosis and treatment ofmany dangerous contagious diseases.

While in more recent times three other Belgians havereceived the Nobel Prize for their scientific endeavours. In1974, Claude Albert and Christian de Duve was awardedthe Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of thestructure and functional organization of the cell. In 1977,Ilya Prigogine was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistryfor his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics,particularly the theory of dissipative structures.

Since Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), the Belgian basedinternational humanitarian group has achieved theultimate recognition for its medical assistance to thevictims of political violence and natural disasters, as wellas to those who lack access to such treatment with theaward of the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize.

Today Belgian scientists and engineers continue to be atthe forefront of such growth sectors as biotechnology,multimedia, information technology and microelectronics.Its health care specialists are now widely accepted to beamong the best in Europe. Patients travel to Belgiumfrom around the globe especially to seek fertilitytreatment and to secure the best orthopaedic and cardio-thoraic surgery care that Europe provides.

Certainly for one Europe’s smallest countries with acurrent population of just over 10,000,000 inhabitants,these science and engineering accomplishments all addup to no mean achievement.

B R U S S E L S•

Achilleas Mitsos

The Descar tes Pr i ze

Although the Descartes Prize is but two years old, I dowonder sometimes why it took us so long to establishit. For generations scientists and engineers havenaturally worked together to strive and attain the bestresults possible. How good it is, therefore, to be able tosee presented for this year’s Descartes Prize such aparticularly fine selection of substantial science andengineering achievement.

Seven projects of distinction, identified after a rigorousprocess of selection that preoccupied the attention ofsix different thematic panels. Unheralded but so vitalwork that wrongly never seems to draw the credit thatthe men and women who serve on these juries deserve.

Though, of course, what ultimately has resulted from thework of our pre-selection experts is nothing less than topresent the members of this year’s Descartes Grand Jurywith the most difficult challenge of all. Which projectconsortium or project consortiums are going to win thisyear’s Descartes Prize?

I certainly don’t envy the task of the Grand Jury indiscerning the “best from out of the best.” But I do lookforward to finding out.

Achilleas MitsosDirector-General for Research

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René DescartesJe pense, donc je suis.

Named in honour of one of Europe's truly great historic figures of learning.René Descartes: mathematician, natural scientist, and philosopher.

A man born ahead of his time. In the course of his fifty years he journeyedacross the continent of Europe in the pursuit of knowledge. In his early years hetravelled extensively across northern and southern Europe and later traversedfrom France to Germany to the Netherlands and finally in 1649 onto Stockholm,Sweden and his last resting place.

The prize that bears his name acknowledges that science today is not the pre-serve of a single brilliant mind in a single county. Instead the Descartes Prize istestimony to the fact of how top level research benefits from a multiplication ofbrilliant minds and access to special equipment and facilities that may not bereadily available in one particular country.

1596-1650Portrait by Franz Hals

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A very impressive computational work thatgoes from the topology of Potential Energy

surface (Conical intersections) to the understandingof photochemical reactions.

This will lead to the design of new molecules. Theresearchers and institutions involved in the project

are outstanding.

The 7 projects reached the finals of the 2001 Descartes Prize afterhaving been subjected to a thorough examination by independentexperts selected to cover the fields concerned. The Presidents of thevarious panels (Basic Science, Earth Science, Engineering, InformationScience, Life Science and Socio-Economic Science) reached agreementon the number of projects that should go forward to the DescartesGrand Jury.

The citations that appear alongside each of the finalists are the judge-ment of the Panel Presidents about their respective projects.

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A fine collaboration that involves outstandingchemists from both East and West Europe (Russia

and Armenia) that has led to new catalysts (asym-metric catalysts). These catalysts have been tested

successfully in the industrial context: a work thatgoes from fundamental chemistry to industry.

BIODEPTH studies the effects of biodiversity onecosystem processes and functions for grass-

land in various climates. Experimental ecosystemsare constructed by planting seeds of different num-

bers and combinations of herbaceous species andobserving effects on plant productivity, nutrient

cycles etc. and comparing them with models.50 scientists in 9 countries of Europe with differentclimates were involved, and this is the largest scaleterrestrial ecology study of its kind ever carried out.

Techniques employed are state-of-the-art and highlystandardised and co-ordinated. The results are

consistent and may significantly contribute to thedevelopment of EU environmental policies and land-

management practices.

Team Leaders and Pro ject Par tnersThe Descar tes Pr i ze F ina l i s ts 2001

Professor Massimo Olivucci

Dr Michael North

Professor John Lawton

The"Chemistry" of Conical Intersections

Development of a New Asymmetric Catalysts for Chemical Manufacturing

Biodepth: Biodiversity and Ecological Processes inTerrestrial Herbaceous Ecosystems

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The Grand Jury have been provided with copies of the finalists projectsto examine at their leisure. Since the Grand Jury has asked theEuropean Commission to supply them with supplementary informationfrom the finalists.

On 26 November 2001 the Grand Jury will convene to interview theleaders of the projects concerned before they make their final judge-ment and decide on who should be the Commission's Cartesians 2001.

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ABI is a proposal that paves the way intonew forms of Man-machine- interaction.

The direct brain interface is something with broadapplications, at least with broad applicationpossibilities. As the basic ideas are already ratherold and are still existing in early science fiction theresults acquired through ABI now provide for thefirst time practical results to use brain signals forsuch a natural interface.Specific advantages and results:- Robust biosensor system usable out of laboratory- Robust and adaptive signal processing of bio-

signals- In-depth analysis of psychological conditions for

interactive man-machine- systems- Capability of miniaturization of the total system for

every day usage- Wide new chances for aids for handicapped people

ABI has brought together teams with excellent ex-perience in the field. Good prospects for real-istic applications in the future can be expected.

A perfect example of the kind of engineeringresearch that needs to be carried out under an

European collaborative framework with the co-ordinated participation of universities, companiesand national railways laboratories, in order to solvea technical and socially relevant common problem:improve railways safety. State of the art methodswere used, results were significant and will beapplied by the companies to design safer trains. Co-ordination and presentation of results to the generalaudience are excellent.

This is an excellent proposal that addresses asignificant health problem, emphysema of the

lung. Approximately 1 in 2.500 people in the EU areat risk. The two partners have solved the molecularbasis for this disease by solving the interaction oftrypsin and trypsin-inhibitors serpins by crystalanalysis. This finding provides insight into a range ofother diseases now recognised as a category ofconformational diseases. Very good complementaryinteraction between the partners: the Leiden grouphas focused on the protease trypsin, the Cambridgegroup on the inhibitor. The Panel found this a nicepiece of charming “small scale science”.

This proposal addresses a significant healthproblem AIDS, which is caused by the HIV virus.

The 6 teams have joined ranks to develop antiviraldrugs that are targeted against the central enzymenecessary for virus multiplication reverse transcriptase.This is a new and innovative approach. The teamshave developed a range of drugs, some of which arein actual clinical use in combination therapy. As anice aspect this team combines strong basic scienceaspects with clinical applications. This proposal wasconsidered by the Panel as a “big science” proposal,which has no problems of attracting support from avariety of sources.

Professor JanBalzarini

Mr. Vacasde Carvalho

Professor Robin Carrell

Dr. José del R. Millán

NB: Contact details of the project partners appear on page 50

Development of Novel Drugs Against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

Safetrain – Train, Crashworthiness

Mechanism of Protease Inhibition in the Protection of Lungs

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Adaptive Brain Interfaces (ABI)

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Professor Massimo Olivucci

Figure 3. Molecularstructures are points onan energy landscapewhere valleys,mountain passes andpeaks represent thevalue of the potentialenergy of the molecule.A reaction is

represented with a path connecting the valleys associatedwith the reactant and product structures. In the photo-induced isomerization of octatetraene (a short model ofvitamin A) the path starts on the energy surface of theexcited molecule. This path enters a conical intersectionand continues along the ground state surface where itfinally enters the product valley.

Figure 2. Photon absorption transfersone of the 44 electrons of cyclohexadiene(the nucleus of pro-vitamin D3) into ahigher energy orbital. This process leadsto an instantaneous change in thedistribution of the electrons.

Figure 1. A photon of ultraviolet lighttransforms benzene, a flat hexagonalhydrocarbon produced during incompletefuel combustion, into a cage-like structurecalled benzvalene.

The Quest for the Photochemical «Funnel»

Almost all the energy received by Earth comesfrom the Sun in the form of electromagneticradiation. It is thus not surprising that vitalchemical reactions occurring in the environmentand in the biosphere are triggered by theultraviolet and visible components of the solar«light». The production of vitamin D in thehuman skin, the detection of light and colors bythe eye or the growth and seasonal develop-ment of plants involve photochemical reactions.In the 1960s chemists uncovered a myriad offascinating photochemical organic reactions andthe photochemistry of organic compoundsrapidly become a branch of chemical synthesisand technology. Despite this progress, untilrecently the mechanism of basic photochemicalprocesses was unclear. The present projectrepresents a contribution to this fundamentaltheoretical issue.

A chemical reaction is, essentially, a change in the molecularstructure of a compound (Figure 1). A photochemical reac-tion begins with the absorption of a photon of light thatproduces a change in the distribution of the electrons of themolecule (Figure 2). As a result of this excitation the initialmolecular structure becomes unstable and begins to distorttowards a more stable shape. At some point during thischange, the excited molecule returns to a stable (groundstate) electron distribution prompting the production of adifferent chemically species. Thus a critical event in photo-chemistry is the decay from the excited to the ground state.The (distorted) structure where the probability of decay isthe largest is called the photochemical «funnel» to suggestthat the excited reactant must be «funneled» through thispoint to initiate product formation.The nature of the photochemical funnel has been a subjectof research for at least three decades. A funnel correspondsto a molecular structure that lives for only few femto-seconds (10-15 seconds). For this reason computer simula-tions based on modern quantum chemical methods appearto be the only practical source of information. Between1966 and 1972 Zimmerman, Michl and Salem were the firstto propose, independently, that for a broad class of organicreactions the structure of the funnel could be determined bylocating a «cone shaped» crossing of the excited andground state (potential) energy surfaces (Figure 3), known as conical intersection.At the end of the1980s improved quantum chemical methods and fastercomputers became available which were suitable for com-

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Figure 6. Structure of the conical intersection that mediatesthe photo-induced exchange of a hydrogen atom (centre).This funnel accounts for the quenching of the fluorescence ofazoalkanes (left structure): a novel class of luminescent proberecently applied in ophthalmology. The hydrogen donor is acommon solvent close to chloroform (right structure).

Figure 5. The conical intersectionstructure of benzene clearly shows afolded shape that precedes theformation of a envelope-like precursor(the primary product) of fulvene(bottom) and benzvalene (top).

Figure 4. A small“fragment” of the Fortrancode of the MCSCFmethod. Quantum chemicalsoftware can now beefficiently used to studyphotochemical reactions. Amajor bottleneck forchemical applications

regards the performance of computers. In thepresent projects different generations ofcomputers have been employed over the years.Recently high performance parallel machinesof the type shown have become available inthe Consortium labs.

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:Professor Massimo Olivucci Dipartimento di Chimica,Università di SienaVia Aldo MoroI-53100, Siena – ItalyTel: +39 0577 234274olivucci@unisi.it

PARTNERS:King’s College LondonProfessor Michael A. Robb

Università di BolognaProfessor Fernando Bernardi

puting excited state energy surfaces. In 1990 Olivucci,Bernardi and Robb used these methodologies to explain thephotochemistry of ethylene: both a vital material for the che-mical industry and a plant hormone. It was shown that: Aconical intersection exists right at the bottom of the excitedstate energy surface of two interacting ethylene molecules.The molecular structure of the conical intersection wasintimately related to the observed production of cyclo-butane, a hydrocarbon which is square in shape. These initialresults suggested that conical intersections could indeed actas photochemical funnels. A Long-Term ComputationalProject: Search for Conical Intersections in OrganicMolecules. Since there is no general theorem supporting theexistence of low-lying conical intersections in organic mole-cules, the only way to prove the general validity of the hypo-thesis above was a painstaking systematic search for prop-erties i-ii in different classes of organic molecules. Thus, in1992 Olivucci and Bernardi in Bologna and Robb in Londonstarted a long-term computational project. The project invol-ved the intensive use of the MC-SCF quantum chemicalmethod previously developed by Robb (Figure 4).A systematic investigation could not be carried out withoutthe development of more efficient and novel computationaltools. The first tool developed made possible to search forconical intersections between any pairs of energy surfaces.Other tools were designed to determine the “path” that amolecular structure follows to access the intersection (Figure3) and to compute “photochemical” trajectories that providea “measure” of the reaction timescale. Between 1992 and2000 the energy surfaces of ca. 25 different organic chro-mophores (i.e. molecules capable of absorbing light) weremapped to search for conical intersections.The compounds belong to one of the following classes:• Chromophores with one double-bond (or two isolated

double bonds)• Chromophores with conjugated double-bonds• Aromatic Chromophores and Related Compounds• Azo-Chromophores• Chromophores with a Carbonyl group or a Conjugated

Carbonyl group• Polysilanes• Models of the Retinal Chromophore (Schiff Bases)• Model Photochromic Compounds and DyesConical intersections were located for all systems. A gene-ral result was that the computed molecular structure of theintersection is related to the structure of the experimentallyobserved photoproducts (see Figure 5). This relationshipwas shown to hold for 18 different types of photochemicalreactions: Ring-opening and Ring-closure reactions, [1,2],[1,3] Sigmatropic Shifts, Di-p-methane Rearrangement,Oxadi-di-p-methane Rearrangement, Valence Isomerization

of Aromatics, [2+2], [4+2] and [4+4] Cycloadditions,Bicyclization of dienes, Cis-trans isomerization,Deazetization, Hydrogen Transfer, Charge Transfer, Paterno-Buchi Addition and Polysilane Fragmentation.The examination of a large set of computed data allowsfor the formulation of a few general results that lie atthe basis of the “chemistry” of conical intersections:• similar organic chromophores (e.g. conjugated hydro-

carbons) have similar conical intersection structures.• all basic chemical events such as breaking, making

and exchange of bonds between atoms can bemediated by conical intersections.

An outstanding result achieved during the project, is thedemonstration that conical intersections drive thephotochemical reaction that constitutes the primaryevent in vision. Using a realistic model of the chromo-phore of the human retina visual receptor theConsortium demonstrated that a conical intersectioncontrols the decay to the ground state and, as a conse-quence, the efficient production of the chromophorestructure that initiate the receptor photocycle.

Perspectives

The developments of tools for constructing photochemicalreaction paths, their availability in commercial quantumchemical packages and the computational strategies nowreported in different review articles provide a solid basis fora widespread use of computational chemistry in tacklingphotochemical problems. Our work shows that the emerg-ing field of computational photochemistry may successfullybe applied to the computer-aided design of novel photo-reactive materials and to the assignment of modern time-resolved spectroscopic data. Needless to say that the fullimplementation of these demanding methods will beboosted in future years by the continuous increase incomputer performance and availability of more efficientsoftware technology.

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The Motivation

Many chemicals can be considered as if they had‘hands’. Some molecules of a chemical may pos-sess a left hand, whilst others will possess aright hand. Furthermore, just as your hands havedifferent properties (try putting your right handinto a left glove), so the two ‘hands’ of a chemi-cal may have different properties. These diffe-rent properties often cause the two ‘hands’ of achemical to exhibit different biological effects.For example, one ‘hand’ of a pesticide may beeffective whilst the other has no effect at all.One ‘hand’ of a pharmaceutical may have abeneficial effect, whilst the other has no effector worse, has a severely detrimental effect.

The two ‘hands’ of a chemical are very similar to oneanother, they are related in exactly the same way asyour hands are: one is the reflection of the other. Thissimilarity makes it very difficult for chemists to preparejust one ‘hand’ of a chemical; yet in view of the dif-ferent biological properties of the two ‘hands’, it isessential to do so. One way in which chemists havetraditionally solved this problem is to prepare a 1:1 mix-

ture of the two ‘hands’ and then physically separatethem. This is a tedious process and of course, 50% ofthe chemical (the ‘wrong hand’) is discarded as waste.More recently, chemists have developed methods whichallow the preparation of just one ‘hand’ of a desiredchemical, but again the processes involve the use oflarge amounts of other often expensive chemicals whichare discarded at the end of the process.

The Requirement

Ideally, what is needed is a chemical machine which iscapable of taking simple chemicals and converting theminto just one ‘hand’ of the desired product. Consider ananalogy with a machine for making screws from asimple rod of metal. Screws have ‘hands’ as well sincethe thread of the screw can turn in a clockwise or ananti-clockwise direction and these are mirror images ofone another. One machine can make many thousands ofscrews, and will make just one ‘hand’ of each screw.Likewise, in the chemical environment it would be veryuseful to construct a ‘machine’ capable of producingmany copies of a target chemical, all with the required‘hand’. In fact, such chemical ‘machines’ do exist andare called catalysts. Only a very small amount of a catal-yst is required to produce large amounts of a targetchemical. This is a very cost effective process since itproduces little or no waste. (Picture 3 and picture 4 )

Dr. M. North

‘Objects and their reflections’. Picture 2 here ‘Is this a picture of two diffe-rent hands or of just one hand and its reflec-tion in a mirror placed vertically at thearrow?’NB The arrow below should point exactlybetween the two hands.

The threads of these twoscrews turn in oppositedirections; so they are‘hands’ of one another.

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Two examples of catalysts preparedduring the project.

In recent years, chemists have designed and preparedmany different catalysts, however, few of these haveproperties which make them suitable for industrial use.The properties that a good catalyst should have include:

• Ease of preparation: To minimize costs• High reliability: Each catalyst should work at least

1000 times before it breaks down. This is to minimizecosts and waste.

• Activity at room temperature: Heating or cooling che-mical reactions requires a lot of energy which isexpensive.

• Rapid action: The catalyst should be capable ofconverting all of the starting material into product asquickly as possible (ideally with an hour) so that thechemical plant can then be used for another reaction.This is also to minimize costs.

• High selectivity: The catalyst must produce the desired‘hand’ of the product in large excess of the undesired‘hand’. Ideally, only the desired ‘hand’ should be prod-uced but this is never achieved. The higher the amountof the desired ‘hand’, the less waste will be produced.

The Achievements

As part of an EU-funded project, a network of chemistsbased in London, Oxford, Paris, Rostock, Moscow andArmenia was established to develop new catalysts which

possessed properties suitable for industrial exploitation.This project has been highly successful resulting in thediscovery of over fifty new catalysts and over 40 public-ations so far. A few of our catalysts are shown below. Ourwork has resulted in the development of catalysts for anumber of chemical reactions for which there was no pre-viously known catalyst. The most successful of these cata-lysts has been patented and is being licensed to Avecia (amajor fine-chemicals manufacturer) who will market thesingle ‘handed’ chemicals prepared with our catalyst.These chemicals will be the starting materials for the syn-thesis of a wide range of pharmaceutical products.

The FutureThis project has significantly advanced human knowled-ge of an area of current importance, and has producedresults which will create wealth for and improve thehealth of EU citizens during the 21st century. The part-ners of this project are still actively collaborating in thisarea and are continuing to discover and develop newcatalysts for use by the European chemical industry. Inaddition, we have trained 27 young scientists to work inthis exciting and important area, thus helping to ensurethat Europe is well placed to make further progress inthis globally competitive field of science.

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:Dr. M. North Department of Chemistry King’s College, Strand London, WC2R 2LS – UKTel: +44 20 7848 1164Fax: +44 870 131 3783 michael.north@kcl.ac.uk

PARTNERS:A.N. Nesmayanov Instituteof OrganoelementCompounds,Moscow Professor Y.N. Belokon

University of OxfordDr. J.M. Brown,

Université Paris-SudProfessor H. Kagan,E-mail kagan@icmo.u-psud.fr

Universität RostockDr. A. Börner,

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The Motivation

In today’s fast paced world, information andcommunication technologies are dramaticallytransforming our society. Access to new emer-ging technologies can be taken for granted.Unfortunately, not everyone can enjoy theirbenefits on equal terms. People with severephysical disabilities are practically excluded. But,what if they could communicate their wishes orcontrol electronic appliances merely by think-ing? This is promise of the ABI project(http://sta.jrc.it/abi) that aims at augmentinghuman capabilities by enabling people to inter-act with computers through conscious control oftheir thoughts after a short training period.

Over the last years evidence has accumulated to show thepossibility to analyse brainwaves on-line to derive informa-tion about the subjects’ mental state that could then bemapped into some external action such as selecting a let-ter from a virtual keyboard or driving a robotics device.Both invasive procedures (that implant electrodes in thebrain) and sophisticated brain imaging technologies (thatrequire huge and expensive equipments) yield detailed

information on the brain activity. An alternative is to meas-ure electroencephalogram (EEG) signals from scalp elect-rodes that do not require invasive techniques. EEG signals,however, are hard to analyse on-line as the phenomena ofinterest are hidden in the background brain activity. This isparticularly the case with spontaneous mental activity,where subjects make self-paced decisions (what mentaltask to concentrate on, how to accomplish it, and when toswitch to the next) without having to wait for, or respondto, external cues. The challenge is to recognise, using aportable system, what the subject’s mental state from on-line spontaneous EEG signals.

The Achievements

The core of ABI is a particular neural network classifierthat analyses continuous variations of EEG rhythms overseveral cortical areas of the brain. The ABI project seeksto develop individual brain interfaces. The same systemis not suitable for everybody, as no two people are iden-tical, either physically or psychologically. The approach isbased on a mutual learning process where the user andthe brain interface are coupled together and adapt toeach other. The neural network learns user-specific EEGpatterns that describe the mental tasks desired, whilethe subject learns to think in a manner that enables thepersonal interface to better understand them. As aconsequence, subjects master their personal ABI rapidly:

Dr. José del R. Millán

Figure 1. ABI can be used to select letters from a virtual keyboard ona computer screen and write a message. As the user concentrates ondifferent mental tasks, the keyboard is successively split in smaller partsuntil a letter is selected. This letter goes to the message and the wholeprocess starts over again. For our trained subjects, it takes 22.0 secondsin average to select a letter. Of course, the incorporation of aids such asautomatic word suggestions will speed up writing.

Figure 2. ABI provides new forms of education and entertainment. Herethe user interacts with a video game, the classical Pacman, but other educa-tional software could have been selected instead. For the control of Pacman,it suffices two mental tasks that make it turn left of right. In the absence ofcommands, Pacman moves forward until it hits a wall, where it stops andwait for instructions.

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they only need a few hours of training. Analysis of lear-ned EEG patterns confirms that for a subject to operatesatisfactorily his/her personal ABI, the latter must fit theindividual features of the former. The user can concen-trate on a wide range of mental states, from motor-rela-ted (e.g., imagination of limb movements) to cognitivetasks (e.g., completing mental operations involving awa-reness and judgement). Each mental state is associatedto a simple command such as “select right item”. Thisenables people to communicate using their brain activi-ty, as the interface only requires users to be consciousof their thoughts and to concentrate sufficiently on themental expression of the commands required to carryout the desired task. So, by composing commandsequences (thoughts), the user can write messages(Figure 1), interact with games (Figure 2), turn onappliances, or even guide a wheelchair (Figure 3). Thebrain-operated virtual keyboard and computer gamehave been shown publicly on different workshops andIT exhibitions. In the case of the virtual keyboard, duringthe live demonstrations the subject writes words or sen-tences suggested by the public. In some cases, severalvisitors have tried ABI and achieved good performancesin less than 1 hour of training. This confirms the adapti-ve capabilities of ABI. These experiences demonstratethe excellent performance of our technology in ratherextreme conditions as found in an exhibition area – thatincludes electromagnetic fields, ambient noise andpeople moving and talking in the vicinity.

The Application

The above-mentioned demonstrators (Figures 1-3) illus-trate the wide range of systems ABI can be linked to.Although the immediate application of ABI is to helpphysically impaired people by increasing their indepen-dence and facilitating access to the Information Society,the benefits of such a kind of interface are extensiveeven for able-bodied people. Independently of theconcrete applications of brain interfaces (e.g., safety,health, education, virtual reality, etc.), ultimately theywill lead to the development of truly adaptive interacti-ve systems that, on the one side, augment human capa-bilities by giving the brain the possibility to develop newskills and, on the other side, make computer systems fitthe pace and individual features of their owners ratherthan people conform to technology.

Figure 3. ABI also enables the operation of physical devices, such as a mobile robotsimilar to a wheelchair with on-board sensors. The user’s mental states are associatedwith high-level commands (e.g., move forward, stop, turn left, turn right) that areexecuted automatically and make the wheelchair move safely and smoothly. A keyelement is that subjects can issue commands at any moment as they do not need towait for external cues. Having demonstrated the control of this complex device, theoperation of home appliances (e.g., lights, TV, doors) is straightforward.

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:Dr. José del R. MillánInst. for Systems, Informatics and SafetyJoint Research Centre of theEuropean Commission – Isprajose.millan@jrc.it& The Swiss Federal Institute ofTechnologyCH-1015 LausanneTel: +41 21 693 5592Fax: +41 21 693 5263jose.millan@epfl.chhttp://sta.jrc.it/sba/staff/jose.htm

PARTNERS:Joint Research Centre IspraMr. Josep MourinoMr. Marco Franzé

Fase Sistemi Srl – RomaMr. Fabio TopaniMr. Fabrizio Grassi

Fondazione Santa Lucia – RomaProfessor Maria Grazia MarcianiDr. Fabio BabiloneMr. Febo Cincotti

University of Technology –Helsinki Professor Kimmo KaskiDr. Jukka HeikkonenMr. Markus VarstaMr. Tommi Nykopp

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Motivation

As a form of transport, rail has always maintai-ned lower accident levels than its counterpartsthe car and the aeroplane. The railway industryhowever strives for still better safety measuresto be implemented – a task which intensifieswith each accident that occurs. In the last yearsthe continuous developments in technology, soft-ware and know-how have opened up the possib-ility of research into an unmapped area, into pas-sive safety, also known as crashworthiness.

Whereas the objective of active safety systems (such assignalling or automatic train protection systems) is toavoid accidents, passive safety only comes into effect inthe event of a collision and its objective is to significant-ly reduce the severity of accidents. Rail vehicles can bedesigned to behave in ways that minimise the injuries ofpassengers and crew during collisions. Crashworthyvehicles contain in-built design features, which are notevident in normal rail operation but protect the trainoccupants should a collision occur.

Achievements

The take-off point for the project was a collision accidentinquiry and further statistical analysis of data concerning500 accidents collected among 12 railway companies inEurope between 1991 and 1995, known as the ERRI/UICB205 report. From this database, Safetrain extracted themost frequently occurred accidents and broke them downinto three design collision scenarios, which were consid-ered to cover a wide range of train operations e.g. highspeed, intercity, mainline and regional trains and trainconfigurations e.g. loco hauled, motor coach trains andmultiple units. Vehicle override and train set collisions wereanalysed to provide information on the design specific-ation and consequent definition of the test protocols. InSafetrain two different types of energy-absorption struc-tural arrangements were identified and designed to meetthe design collision scenarios, namely High Energy (at thetrain front) and Low Energy (at the inter-trailer area). Forthe driver’s safety, a drivers’ desk and seat mounted on asliding structure was designed to enable it to slide back-wards during the crash and avoid crushing. A prototype ofthe HE end underwent a quasi-static crush test to providethe force, deformation and energy absorption informationthat could be compared with the similar data from boththe theoretical modelling studies and the dynamic tests.In the final year of the project, three dynamic tests werecarried out in the Zmigrod test ring in Poland. Each testwas based on one of the chosen representative scenarios.

Mr. Vacas de Carvalho

Safetra in – Tra in Crashwor th iness for Europe

Figure 4. Bay with breakingtable – single occupant. Mathematical modelling ofcrew collisions and simulationsof passenger secondary collisionswith analysis of results basedon existent injury criteria wascarried out as part of a reviewof vehicel interior.

Figure 2. Site of component testing, 5th Oct. 1999. Health and SafetyLaboratory, Buxton,UK.

Figure 1. Safetrain design collisionscenarios:Scenario 1: Collision between identicaltrains at 55km/hrScenario 2: Collision of a train with an80 ton buffered vehicle at 36 km/hrScenario 3: Collision of a train with aroad vehicle (simulated by a 16.5 tonrigid block) at level crossings at 100 km/hr.

Figure 3. Static crush testingof a prototype of the HE end,absorbing 4.6 MJ of energyin 1800 mm total stroke.AEA Test Facilities –Derby, UK.

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Safetrain developed a methodology for improved passivesafety that includes the specification, design, testing andvalidation procedures for crashworthy rail vehicles.

A three-step approach should be used in the develop-ment of passive safety:a) Definition of design collision scenarios.b) Development of design requirements.c) Validation of the design requirements.

The design requirements for crashworthiness have beendeveloped in the project Safetrain to enable trains towithstand the collision conditions as identified in theselected design collision scenarios and to avoid occur-rence of aggravating factors, such as overriding andderailment resulting from collisions.

For a new crashworthy train design, a suitable risk assess-ment should be undertaken considering parameters suchas active safety systems, type of traffic, operating speed,brake system requirements, level crossings and level ofprevention of track obstruction.Safetrain recommended that, in the absence of suitableaccident data, the following scenarios be consideredadequate for design purposes for general mixed trafficlines carrying a wide variety of train types:1. Head-on collision between two identical trains (sym-

metric collision).2. Collision at buffer stop or with a buffered vehicle.3. Collision with a road vehicle at level crossing.

Safetrain identified that two of the principal causes ofoccupant injuries in train accidents are 1) loss of sur-vival space through crushing and 2) secondary impacts.The objective of any crashworthy requirement thereforeis to minimise injuries due to these two causes. Theavoidance of aggravating factors, such as overriding andderailment, should also be targeted.

First Objective: Loss of survival space is a major cause ofcasualties in accidents. Minimising loss of survival spaceis best achieved by ensuring that crushing does notoccur in areas occupied by passengers or crew for thedesign collision scenarios and fitting appropriate anti-climbing devices.

Second Objective: For the purpose of determining passen-ger secondary impact injuries when contacting interiorfixtures and fittings, a longitudinal acceleration pulse was

defined which should lie within the upper and lowerlimits shown in Figure 7. The vehicle speed change asso-ciated with the pulse should be 30 km/h.Safetrain followed current practices within other transportindustries to specify an acceleration pulse, which charac-terises the occupant acceleration environment during acollision, as a generic requirement for interior design.

During the secondary collision, the passengers and caboccupants will impact their surroundings when subject tothe acceleration pulse. Where appropriate, the severity ofthe impact can be measured either by test or mathemati-cal modelling. Under such conditions, injury criteria havebeen proposed which should not be exceeded.

Safetrain also presented recommendations for thevehicle design for all train vehicles, which included theprogressiveness of energy absorption crush and theintegrity of the occupants’ areas even in the presence ofsignificant peak forces.

Applications

Safetrain went beyond its scope in deciding to supplyresults to European entities such as the Committee ofEuropean Standardisation (CEN), TSI and the UIC for theproduction of standards and regulations for the futuretrains of Europe. The consortium partners agreed to deli-ver the research results as basis of the EuropeanStandard on crashworthiness. Following a proposal inthat sense to CEN the Work Group 2 was given the taskof drawing up the standard. WG2 worked alongsideSafetrain and put into draft the crashworthiness require-ments, as Part II of the prEN 12663 standard on structu-ral requirements of railway vehicle bodies.

In the meantime, the responsibility of implementing theInteroperability Directive for the High Speed EuropeanRail System was placed on the European Association forInteroperability in the Rail Sector (AEIF). Safetrain hasbeen in contact with AEIF providing up to date conclu-sions and recommendations in order to conform the TSIregulation to the CEN standard and to guarantee thatthe same level of passive safety is applied to both highspeed and conventional trains.In this way, Safetrain guarantees the implementation ofcrashworthiness in future trains. An important outcomeof the project is to provide the same optimized level ofsafety level for all EU citizens whenever they travel byrail in the EU.

Figure 7. Acceleration pulse recommended limits• Acceleration (g)• Time (ms).

Figure 6. Low Energyintertrailer simulating bothDesign Collision Scenarios 1and 3. (each extremity: 1.4 MJtotal energy absorption, stroke660 mm, energy absorbingcoupler, shear-off mechanism andcoupler trap, obstacle deflector, anticlimber withstanding 150kN vertical forces and 100 mmoffset).

Figure 5. High Energy trainfront simulating Design CollisionScenario 3 (4.6 MJ total energyabsorption, stroke 1.8 m, energyabsorbing coupler, shear-off mechanism and coupler trap, obstacle deflector, anticlimberwithstanding 150 kN verticalforces and 100 mm offset.)CNTK Zmigród Test Ring – 2nd August 2000.

Safe Train is aconsortium of 16 partners underthe leadership ofBombardierTransportation(Portugal).The Consortiumincluded RailwayOperators,Manufacturers,Research Centresand Universities.

PROJECT TEAMLEADER:Vacas de Carvalho BT Portugal

PARTNERS:Humberto Cunha (BT Portugal)Joana Freitas (BT Portugal)George Barbu (ERRI)Louis-Marie Cleon(SNCF)Regis Lecussan(SNCF)Didier Leveque(SNCF)Wilfried Wolter (DB)Peter Schmiedeck(DB)Marek Czarnecki(CNTK)Manuel Pereira (IST)Kello da Silva (FMH)Francisco Rebelo(FMH)Roger Hardy (CIC)Nigel Randall (CIC)John Lewis (AEA)Christian Boneill(AlstomValenciennes)Christoph Moreau(AlstomValenciennes)Eric Weyenbergh(UVHC)Pierre Huss (Alstom DDF)Patrick Sicot (ALstom DDF)Steffen Scharf (BT Berlin)Thomas Neufert(TUD)Harald Waldeck(Duewag)Gerhard Schmidt(Duewag)

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Sweet vernal grass

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The Challenge

The Earth is currently undergoing its sixth massextinction event, caused by the expansion ofhuman activities. This dramatic loss of bio-diversity comes at a time when human actionsare also causing other major global changesthrough climate alteration, pollution, nutrientenrichment and habitat destruction and distur-bance. How will these changes in biodiversityaffect the workings of our ecosystems? Thisquestion is not only of major scientific interestbut also socially important because ecosystemsultimately provide the ecological services that weall depend on, including the provision of food andmaterials, clean air and water to name just a few.

The main aim of the BIODEPTH project was to simulatethis loss of biodiversity and examine changes to eco-system services and processes. Grasslands cover largeareas of Europe and about half of its farmland and sowe took these as our model systems. As well as gaininga better fundamental understanding of how ecosystemswork, we focused on how changes in biodiversityaffected the production of biomass by these systems,how well they retained rather than lost nutrients, howresistant they were to invasive species and how otherassociated organisms (e.g. insects) responded tochange, particularly potentially beneficial species thatmay control pests. We used replicated experiments in 8countries across Europe – one of the biggestexperiments ever attempted by ecologists.

Achievements

The key finding of BIODEPTH was that despite somedifferences at particular locations we identified ageneral pattern across European grasslands for biomassproduction, which declined by 100 g/m2 (about 10-20%) every time the number of species was halved. Thisresults comes in part because more diverse communitiesof species function as complementary teams which arebetter able to retain nutrients such as nitrogencompounds, rather than leaching them into groundwater and streams.

We also found that more diverse communities weremore resistant to invasion by weedy species, probablybecause a diverse set of species is better able to fill theavailable ecological niches and lock up resources. Morediverse sets of plant species also supported a richer setof associated organisms such as insects and soil fauna.

BIODEPTH project members have also been at theforefront in advancing the understanding of howecosystems work, both through experimentation andtheory. The project has produced numerous scientificpublications including several high-profile papers inNature and Science which were widely covered by themedia worldwide.

Professor John Lawton

BIODEPTH fieldsite atSilwood Park

Andy Hector (r) and MichaelScherer-Lorenzen (l) at the SwissBIODEPTH site

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Loss o f b iod i vers i t y a l ters the funct ion ing o f ecosystems – the B IODEPTH pro jec t

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A European biodiversity network

To achieve results of general relevance at the Europeanlevel it was essential to establish a replicated network ofbiodiversity experiments with standardised methods. Thenetwork comprised 500 experimental plant communities,or ‘mini-meadows’, distributed across fieldsites in eightdifferent countries to span a range of European climatesand conditions. We carefully controlled the numbers andtypes of species in each experimental community togenerate gradients of plant diversity.The network was also used to run additional experiments,examining the importance of local adaptation andgenetic diversity of widespread pasture plants forexample. BIODEPTH has also fostered scientific exchangebetween European nations and contributed to trainingthe next generation of ecologists, two of our PhDstudents receiving national awards for their research.

Policy Relevance

One of the key achievements of BIODEPTH is in con-ducting large-scale scientific research which is generalenough to influence and support policy at the Europeanlevel. Our findings are generating interest in theconservation and agricultural worlds and inspiring newresearch to improve current agriculturally recommendedseed mixtures for grasslands. BIODEPTH results and

scientists have also been key in developing a betterfundamental understanding of how ecosystems workand in forging a new consensus on how this can beaffected by changes in biodiversity.

Future prospects

Important new results and a database of the BIODEPTHinformation are currently being prepared for publication.The network has also served as a scientific resource andinfrastructure for several new experiments, including col-laborations within Europe and internationally. One ofour key theoretical predictions is that one value of bio-diversity may be as an insurance for maintaining eco-system functioning during extreme events caused byglobal change. The BIODEPTH network will be some ofthe first researchers to conduct experimental tests ofthis Insurance Hypothesis.

Grassland productivity declineswith the loss of plant diversity

Grasses and herbsGrasses and Lady’s bedstraw

Creating an experimental drought

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:Professor John LawtonChief ExecutiveNERCPolaris House – North Star AvenueSwindon SN2 1EU – UKHQPO@nerc.ac.uk

Contact: Dr. Andy HectorNERC Centre for Population Biology,Imperial College, Silwood Park, Ascot, UKTel: +44 (0)20 75942494 e-mail: a.hector01@ic.ac.uk)

PARTNERSSwedish University ofAgricultural Sciences, UmeåProfessor Kerstin Huss-DanellProfessor Peter Högberg

University of CorkProfessor Paul Giller

University of BaselProfessor Christian Körner

Ecole Normale Supérieure, ParisProfessor Michel Loreau

Universidade Tecnica de LisbonProfessor Joao Pereira

University of SheffieldProfessor David ReadProfessor Ian Woodward

University of ZurichProfessor Bernhard SchmidProfessor Christan Körner

Max Planck Institute ofBiogeochgemistry, JenaProfessor Ernst-Detlef Schulze

University of the Aegean, LesbosProfessor Andreas Troumbis

Figure 2.Automatedtetrazolium dye-based evaluationof the anti-HIVactivity of test

compounds in human lymphocyte cell cultures. The blue-coloured wells of the microtiter plates represent viable cellcultures protected against the cytopathic effect of HIV bythe test compounds. The yellow-coloured wells representcell cultures destroyed by the virus in the presence ofsuboptimal drug concentrations (upper three rows on theright side) or cell cultures destroyed by the toxicity of thedrug in the presence of high drug concentrations (lowerthree rows on the left side). (Courtesy of C. Pannecouqueand M. Van Ranst, Rega Institute, Leuven, Belgium).

Figure 1. Panel A:View of uninfectedhuman lymphocytes(red) under thefluorescence microscope.Lymphocytes representone of the mostimportant target cellsfor HIV infection.(Courtesy of R.

Pauwels when at Rega Institute, Leuven,Belgium). Panel B: View of HIV-infected humanlymphocytes under the fluorescence microscope. HIV-infected lymphocytes express virus-specificglycoproteins (yellow) and tend to fuse to non-functional giant cells. (Courtesy of R. Pauwelswhen at Rega Institute, Leuven, Belgium)

Figure 3. Representation of the HIV-encoded reversetranscriptase (RT) which represents an ideal targetfor drug design. It is composed of two subunits (p66and p51). Within the p66 subunit, several domainscan be discriminated and are designated as fingers(blue), palm (red), thumb (green) and RNAse H(white). The known RT inhibitors interact eitherwith the nucleotide substrate active site (white dot)or with the non-nucleoside binding site (orangeasterix). (Courtesy of R. Esnouf, Oxford, UK)

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The motivation and objectives

The AIDS pandemic caused a widespread healthproblem in the entire world and has far-reachingimplications with an enormous medical, social,economic and cultural dimension. Therefore, it iscurrently one of the top-priorities in the broadfield of infectious diseases to find an efficienttreatment of AIDS. As soon as the causativeagent of AIDS had been identified in 1983/1984as a lentivirus designated HIV or humanimmunodeficiency virus, our Research Group ofVirology and Chemotherapy at the RegaInstitute has initiated a targeted search for (i)the discovery of new lead drugs that inhibit HIVreplication, (ii) the identification of novel tar-gets in the HIV replication cycle that are suitablefor drug inhibition, (iii) a rational optimisationof existing HIV treatments that emerged duringthe past decade, and (iv) the development ofnovel concepts and modalities to delay, suppressor circumvent the emergence of drug resistanceagainst HIV.

The partners

Our ambitious tools were performed by creating aEuropean Centralized Facility supported by the EuropeanCommission for drug screening against HIV. For thispurpose, a high through-put semi-automated HIV drugscreening system was developed in our Facilities at theRega Institute to enable rapid screening of severalthousand substances per year. Numerous laboratories,Institutes and pharmaceutical companies have takenadvantage of our Facility to send us their compounds forevaluation against HIV. In addition and concomitantlywith the development of the HIV screeninginfrastructure, we established a European CollaborativeNetwork consisting of Laboratories having expertise in avariety of complementary disciplines to reach our goalsin the most efficient way. In particular, three medicinal/organic chemistry groups (headed by Dr. A. Holy, Prague,Czech Republic; Dr. M.-J. Camarasa, CSIC, Madrid, Spainand Prof. C. McGuigan, Cardiff, U.K.), a molecularbiology/enzymology group (headed by Prof. A. Karlsson,Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden), and avirology/cellular biology group (headed by Prof. C.-F.Perno, Rome, Italy) joined efforts with our ResearchGroup. They were of indispensable value andsignificantly contributed to reach the therapeutic aims.

Professor Jan Balzarini

Deve lopment o f nove l drugs aga inst human immunode f i c i ency v i rus (H IV )

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Figure 6. Visualisation of the amino acids thatare susceptible to mutation after exposure of HIV-1to nucleoside analogues (blue), non-nucleosideanalogues (yellow) and foscarnet (magenta). Theblue colored dots represent amino acids that resultin multi(nucleoside) drug resistance. (Courtesy ofR. Esnouf, Oxford, UK).

Figure 5. Panel A. Binding of the non-nucleoside RTinhibitor (NNRTI) UC-781 in the viral HIV-1 RTenzyme. (Courtesy of R. Esnouf, Oxford, UK). Panel B.Molecular interaction of UC-781 with selected amino acidsof the NNRTI pocket of HIV-1 RT. (Courtesy of R. Esnouf,Oxford, UK).

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The achievements

We have discovered several new targets in the HIV replica-tion cycle and designed and developed several novel drugsactive against HIV. In the research project presented forconsideration for the Descartes Prize, we only focussed onour achievements related to HIV reverse transcriptase asthe target enzyme. (i) Within our European Consortium, theacyclic nucleoside phosphonates (ANP) were synthesizedand developed as an entirely novel class of antiviral agents.The ANPs were designed to be independent from the first(often critical and rate-limiting) activation step by cellularenzymes. We demonstrated that they interact with the sub-strate active site of HIV [and hepatitis B virus (HBV)] rever-se transcriptase and act as viral DNA chain terminators. TheANPs adefovir and tenofovir are currently in phase III clini-cal trials for the treatment of hepatitis B virus (adefovir)and HIV (tenofovir). A New Drug Application (NDA) at theU.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a MarketingAuthorisation Application (MAA) at the European Agencyfor the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) have beenfiled for tenofovir in May 2001, and it is expected thattenofovir will be officially approved before the end of 2001in the E.U. and the U.S. for treatment of HIV infections. (ii)We discovered the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptaseinhibitors (NNRTIs) as highly specific and extremely potentanti-HIV-1 agents. At the time of our discovery, the NNRTIsacted at a previously unrecognised binding site at HIV-1 RTthat is distinct from the substrate-active site, and thus,represented an entirely new lead strategy for anti-HIV ther-apy. We succeeded to molecularly characterize the bindingsite of the NNRTIs in the HIV-1 RT. Soon after our firstreports on the discovery of the NNRTIs, both Academic andPharmaceutical Organisations tried to develop a variety ofsuch new type of NNRTIs against HIV. Several of ourNNRTIs have been or are currently subject of phase I, IIand/or III clinical trials. (iii) We developed within our Euro-pean Consortium new prodrug technologies to increase thetherapeutic efficacy of existing and new nucleoside RT inhi-bitors (NRTIs). This technology (called aryloxyphosphorami-date prodrugs or APA prodrugs) allow the circumvention ofthe first often poor activation (phosphorylation) step ofNRTIs. These technologies enabled us to enhance the anti-viral (HBV, HIV) efficacy of several NRTIs by more than 2 to3 orders of magnitude and are currently out-licensed andsubject of intensive preclinical evaluation by a Europeanpharmaceutical company (GlaxoSmithKline). This tech-nology can be broadly applied to other biomedical domains(i.e. herpesvirus infections, cancer) and has now recentlybeen used for the efficient delivery of ANP analogues(Gilead Sciences Ltd.) and of an anticancer compound

(NewBiotics) in the USA. (iv) Since drug resistance turnedout to become one of the most important hurdles to achie-ve an efficient long-term therapy of HIV, much attentionand efforts were devoted to this problem by our EuropeanConsortium. We provided new insights in drug resistancedevelopment of HIV and developed new concepts to delayor attenuate HIV drug resistance. Based on these data,and our computer-assisted molecular modeling of drug/RTcomplexes, we designed modifications of existing drugleads to optimize their antiviral activity and in particulartheir ability to suppress drug-resistant (mutated) virusstrains. The NNRTI thiocarboxanilide UC-781 is oneexample that emerged from these efforts, and is now out-licensed for development as a virucidal anti-HIV agent inthe clinic. Also, we recently developed a novel strategy toforce the virus to change its mutational pathways to othermutational flows in the RT that may result in the emerg-ence of attenuated virus strains.

The future prospects

It became now more possible to rationally develop novelanti-HIV drugs with an improved resistance profile. OurEuropean Consortium will focus on the further optimisationof currently existing compounds and will continue efforts todiscover new antiviral targets and substances to efficientlydeal with HIV drug resistance. The novel drugs, drug targetsand new therapeutic concepts that have been discoveredby our European Consortium has already led to the benefi-cial treatment of several thousands of HIV- and HBV-infec-ted individuals and markedly changed the landscape ofavailable drugs for antiviral (i.e. HIV) treatment.

Figure 4. Mechanism of anti-HIVaction of nucleoside and acyclic nucleosidephosphonate RT inhibitors. Aftermetabolic conversion to the 5’-triphosphate analogue, the drugs competewith the natural nucleotide substratesand, after incorporation into the viralDNA chain, they prematurely terminatethe viral DNA synthesis. This results inan antiviral effect.

Acknowledgements

Besides of nationalfinancing sources from theindividual Networkpartners, ourcollaborative research hasbeen supported by severalcontracts under theHuman Capital andMobility, Biomed I,Peco, Biomed II and the5th Frame WorkProgramme of theEuropean Commission,lead to the filing of atleast 10 different patentsrelated to the above-mentioned research area,and has been publishedin more than 200reputated internationalpeer-reviewed journals.

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:Professor Jan BalzariniRega Institute for Medical ResearchK.U. LeuvenMinderbroedersstraat 10B-3000 Leuven – BelgiumTel: +32 16 33 73 41Fax: +32 16 33 73 40jan.balzarini@rega.kuleuven.ac.be

PARTNERSAcademy of Sciences of the CzechRepublic – PragueDr. Antonin Holy

Instituto de Química Médica – MadridDr. Maria-José Camarasa

University of Wales CardiffProfessor Chris McGuigan

University of Rome “Tor Vergata”Professor Carlo-Federico Perno

Karolinska Institute – StockholmProfessor Anna Karlsson

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The Challenge

For reasons that are lost in prehistory, people ofEuropean descent are uniquely liable to inherit adeficiency of a blood protein called antitrypsin.This protein helps protect the body by trappingand removing destructive proteases that attackthe elastic tissue of the lungs. As a result of thedeficiency of antitrypsin, 1 in 2500 Europeans islikely to develop the suffocating lung diseaseemphysema, particularly if they are also tobaccosmokers.

Just how antitrypsin traps proteases and why themutations in the European disrupt this process has beena puzzle. The trapping mechanism was known to involvea change in shape of the antitrypsin molecule butnumerous attempts failed to show how this change inshape took place. To answer this required an accuratevideo picture of molecular changes taking place infractions of thousandths of a second. X-ray crystal-lography showed in detail the structure of the moleculartrap but not how it caught the protease. So the solvingof the missing structure, of the molecular trap withentrapped protease, became the elusive Holy Grail in thesearch to understand this disease.

The Mousetrap

The solving of the problem revealed that antitrypsintruly is a molecular mousetrap! The answer came from ajoint effort between groups in Leiden and Cambridge.The Leiden laboratory focused on the destructive pro-tease and used NMR analysis and the Cambridge labo-ratory focused on the antitrypsin and used X-ray crystal-lography. The final frame needed to make the videocame from the crystal structure. The addition of thisframe completes a moving picture revealing in detailhow antitrypsin traps and destroys destructive pro-teases. It is an extraordinary mechanism. The antitrypsinexposes a bait, which when taken by the protease, trig-gers the springing of the trap. The protease is thenthrown a distance of twice its length to the other end ofthe antitrypsin molecule in a way that distorts anddestroys the structure of the protease. So the antitrypsinmolecule is seen to change its shape and entice andthen entrap the offending protease. The movements areintricate and precisely co-ordinated. Now it can be seenin molecular detail how the mutations causing the defi-ciency of antitrypsin disrupt this mechanism. The resultis a premature triggering of the spring-mechanism ofthe trap at the site of synthesis of antitrypsin in the liver.Instead of linking to the protease the newly formed anti-trypsin molecules become linked one to another, aspolymeric aggregates, within the liver cells. This explainsthe occurrence of liver disease as well as lung disease in

Professor Robin Carrell

Antitrypsin, like a mousetrap, captures its target proteasewith a sudden springing movement. The protease [blue]first takes the bait [yellow] and is then flung twice itslength to smash at the other end of the molecule.

Sequential X-ray crystal-lographic pictures providea video depiction of themechanism of the trap.

Mutations, causing the deficiency of antitrypsinallow the premature triggering of the molecularmousetrap, with the linking of the molecules oneto another in an aggregated and inactive form.The deficiency of antitrypsin in the blood leavesthe lungs unprotected and susceptible to gradualdestruction.

Molecu lar Mousetraps and Lung D isease .(A Treatment for Emphysema) .

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individuals with antitrypsin deficiency. The accumulationof the polymerised antitrypsin in the liver cells results inthe eventual development of liver cirrhosis and theaccompanying deficiency of antitrypsin in the bloodexplains the predisposition to lung destruction.

Insights and Prospects

The solving of problems in biology is like the completionof a large jigsaw puzzle. Piece by piece, patterns appear,but the overall picture often only becomes clear withthe fitting of the final pieces. The solving of this newstructure is an example of this. The picture revealed haswide implications in both biology and medicine.Antitrypsin is just one member of a closely relatedfamily of proteins sharing the same overall molecularstructure. Other members of the family control bloodclotting and yet another directs the growth of braincells. So a bonus from the new findings is that we cannow see, again in video detail, how the body controlsthe clotting of blood and how dysfunctions of thismechanism lead to thrombosis. Similarly, the molecularmechanism responsible for liver cirrhosis with antitrypsin,can now also be seen to result in an Alzheimer-likedementia, when the same mutations occur in the relatedprotein in the brain. This last finding in itself opens muchwider understandings. It shows in detail the way otherproteins can alter their shape and link together to give

the slow destruction of brain cells that underlies manycommon dementias. The good news is that the researchon antitrypsin is identifying small molecules able tospecifically block and even reverse the polymerisationcausing the lung and liver disease. This providesencouragement for efforts that are underway to developa similar approach to prevent the protein aggregation inthe brain responsible for the dementias. This applies notonly to the brain degeneration due to the antitrypsin-related protein but also to other more common dementiassuch as Alzheimer’s and the spongiform encephalopathies,which cause so much distress in our communities forboth sufferers and their carers.

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:Professor Robin CarrellDepartment of HaematologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridge Institute for Medical ResearchCambridge CB2 2XY – UKTel: +44 1223 336828E-mail: rwc1000@cam.ac.uk

PARTNERS:University of CambridgeProfessor David LomasDr James HuntingtonProfessor Randy Read

University of LeidenProfessor Jan AbrahamsDr Maurice Mannesse

Antitrypsin deficiencyresults in the disease emphy-sema – a balloon-like dis-tention of the lungs evidenton chest X-ray..

The polymers formed by the abnormal antitrypsinaggregate in the liver with likely development ofcirrhosis. They can also give highly complexaggregation as sseen here with X-ray crystallography..Aggregates of this type with a variety of other proteinsare now known to cause the brain degeneration ofAlzheimers and other common dementias.

Professor Robin Carrell,project team leader.

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The Descar tes Pr i ze W inners o f l as t year : the 2000 Car tes ians

Chemistry Close to Absolute Zero

Led by Professor Ian Smith from the School ofChemistry at the University of Birmingham (withDr. Delphine Chastaing and Dr. Ian Sims) inassociation with Dr. Bertrand Rowe and Dr.André Canosa of the Université de Rennes.

The motivation for the prize to the scientists atthe Universities of Birmingham and Rennes reads:

for the development and use of new methods for study-ing chemical reaction kinetics at very low temperature.In order to study reactions in gas within a few degreesof absolute zero required ingenious innovation in theexperimental arrangement. Solving this problem openedthe way for the scientists to study reactions underconditions never before explored in the laboratory.

It was found that many reactions between simple mole-cules and ions proceed at unexpectedly fast rates. It isstill too early to assess fully the significance of thesediscoveries for our general view of chemical reactions.But already this work is proving to be of great import-ance for the understanding of processes taking place inthegiant clouds of gas and dust that are formed in ourgalaxy and in distant galaxies throughout the universe.These clouds are known to be the sites at which newstars are being formed.

Thus these discoveries are a very important contribution tothe understanding of the rich chemistry of these cloudsand thus in turn to the understanding of star form-ation and inevitably also to the formation of planets.

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THE CITATIONS OF THE DESCARTES PRIZE GRAND JURY 2000

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Yves Michot, President of theGrand Jury and Philippe Busquin,Member of the Commission with Ian Sims and Bertrand Rowe,winners of the 2000 DescartesPrize.

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Plastic Transistors Operating at 50 KHZ for Low-End High-VolumeElectronic Circuits

Led by Dr Dago de Leeuw of Philips ResearchLaboratories in Eindhoven (with Dr B. Huismanand Dr P Herwig) in association with Dr P.J. Brown and Dr. H Sirringhaus of theUniversity of Cambridge, Dr R. Janssen,Dr Langeveld-Voss and Ms. A Spiering ofEindhoven University of Technology, ProfessorBechgaard and Dr M.M. Nielsen of Riso NationalLaboratory and Professor P. Bäuerle, Dr G. Gotzand Dr. E Mena-Osteritz of the Universität Ulm.

The award is given for the synthesis and application of a new family of polymeric self-

oriented transistors for electronic circuits. This issomehow new disposable electronics. The authors havefound a new family of organic thiophene containingpolymers which is due to their capacity of selfassembling turned out to be able to serve as semi-conductive transistors.

Strong but flexible polymeric devices can be producedand used as barcodes for very many applications suchas identifying tags that are much cheaper than thosebased on silicon. Good science and good technologyand good cooperation: teams from the Netherlands,Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom combingacademic and industrial strengths.

The XPD Gene:One Gene, Two Functions,Three Diseases

Led by Professor Alan R. Lehmann of the MRCCell Mutation Unit of the University of Sussex inassociation with Dr. Miria Stefanini of CNR inPavia, Professor Jan H.J. Hoeijmakers of theErasmus University Rotterdam and ProfessorJean-Marc Egly of CNRS in Strasbourg.

For the discovery of genetic link between two crucial processes in all living cells – the processes

that repair DNA and by means of which DNA is transcribed to make proteins.

Although the original discovery goes back a decade, aflourishing collaboration involving several European universities has built on this foundation to deepenunderstanding of normal and diseased tissues.

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The Commission's proposals for the 2002-2006framework programme embody an innovativeapproach which gives substance to the EuropeanResearch Area, following the positive reactionsto the concept in political, scientific andindustrial circles.

On 21 February, the Commission adopted proposals tobe submitted to the European Parliament and Councilfor the next framework programme for research andinnovation. In contrast to that of its predecessors, thecontext in which the European Union must today imple-ment its traditional research activities is fundamentallynew and innovative – that of the European ResearchArea (ERA), of which the framework programme isbecoming the financing arm.

This initiative, instigated by Philippe Busquin,Commissioner responsible for research, aims to providethe Union with a genuinely common strategy –comparable to that of the single market and currency –designed to strengthen Europe's scientific andtechnological dynamism on an increasingly global stage.The concept of the ERA was extremely well received byEurope's politicians who have given the Commission avery clear mandate to implement it. The projected globalbudget (including Euratom activities) is 17.5 billion, a17% increase on the previous framework programme.The framework programme consists of three main areasof action which reflect the main thrusts of the ERA.

Integrating Research

The framework programmes to date have been instru-ments for stimulating and supporting collaboration bet-ween European researchers. Without actually disappea-ring, this mission must now be adapted to deliver thenew strategy of the ERA by incorporating actions thatwill catalyse the integration of European research. Inspecific terms, this means two key changes in the pro-gramme concept:

• concentration on a limited number of priority fields ofresearch to which activities at the Union level can addreal value (see Budgetary proposal for the new frame-work programme 2002-2006);

• strengthening of links between the Communityresearch effort and national and regional researchpolicies.

In the priority areas, the new framework programme willwork mainly by supporting the development of cooper-ation within networks of centres of excellence. Thesenetworks will bring together the best researchcapabilities in Europe's regions to conduct commonresearch programmes, enabling the emergence of'virtual platforms of excellence' on a European scale.

Substantial resources might also be allocated to supportintegrated projects involving public and private partners,with clearly stated scientific and technological objectivesand with a view to generating new knowledge and/orapplications in the priority fields.

In this respect – and as authorised by the EuropeanTreaties – the new framework programme will innovateby using its powers of intervention to encourage activeparticipation in research programmes jointlyimplemented by a limited number of Member States.

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Structuring the European Research Area

The ERA aims to correct structural weaknesses or defi-ciencies which could be described as 'transverse'. Themost notable of these, already widely covered by pre-vious programmes, concern: the strengthening ofbridges between research and innovation; the renewalof the human potential for research and mobility ofresearchers. There must be an active policy to make theERA a more attractive area for scientific and techno-logical research, not just to stop the traditional deficitcaused by the 'brain drain', but also so that it attractsthe best foreign researchers.

However, there are two specifically innovative aspects ofthe programme which are destined to play a particularlyimportant role.

Support for the development of research infrastructures.Until now the Union has mainly tried to attractEuropean researchers to the existing infrastructures ofthe Member States. In addition to this support for themobility of researchers, the new framework programmeinitiates a policy for the coherent development of infra-structures, in the form of integrated actions facilitatingtheir networking and ability to deliver scientific servicesat a European level.

The attention given to questions of 'science andsociety'. To achieve the necessary deepening of theUnion's democratic foundations, better relationsbetween 'science' and 'governance' and an improve-ment in the scientific and technological culture of theaverage European are seen as priorities by policy-makers, researchers and the general public.

Strengthening the foundations of the European Research Area

The new framework programme will also aim tostrengthen one of its fundamental missions, which is tomeet scientific and technological needs which arise in theimplementation of Union policies in all fields whereCommunity responsibilities are constantly growing – suchas agriculture, fisheries, health and consumer protection,the environment, transport and the information society.The tasks assigned to the Joint Research Centre will comeunder this key programme activity.

Another important aspect is support in improving thecoordination and coherence of research activities, atnational and European level. This search for better co-ordination, which embodies the very spirit of the ERA, willaim to create opportunities for the mutual opening up ofnational programmes and cooperation between existingEuropean scientific and technological frameworks.

A third element of this action plan, the flexibility of whichwill be guaranteed by annual budget management, isincreased anticipation of the scientific and technologicalneeds of European policies and the often rapid responsesthese require.

Professor Helena ILLNEROVÁPresident of the Czech Academy of SciencesPrague

Mr. Pantelis KYRIAKIDESVice-President European Patent Office,Münich

Sir John MADDOXFormer editor of “Nature”London

Dr. Ulf MERBOLDAstronaut and the European Space Agency’s co-ordinator of the International Space Station,Noordwijk

Professor Nikolai PLATÉSecretary-General of the Russian Academy of Sciences,Moscow

Professor Anna C. ROOSEVELTAnthropologist and Curator of Archaeology The Field Museum,Chicago

Professor Margarita SALASPresident of the Institute of SpainMadrid

Mr. Rudi THOMAESChief Executive Officer and President of Alcatel BellBrussels

President:Mr. Yves MICHOTFormer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aerospatiale Matra Paris

The Descar tes 2001 Grand Jury Members

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I Mr. Yves Michot wasborn in 1941 inNantes (France). He is graduate ofthe ÉcolePolytechnique. He continued hisstudies at the ÉcoleNationaleSupérieure d’Aéro-nautique and thenbegan his careertotaly devoted toaeronautics andspace. First in the serviceof the FrenchGovernment then at Aérospatiale.

n 1965 he joined the Flight Test Centre of Brétigny as an engineer. He took part in the development and approval of numerous systems devoted to autopilot andauto-landing systems. The first of them being the development of the Caravelsystem.

In 1973 he was appointed by the French Government to be the project managerof the Concorde Programme. Under the leadership of the Directorate-Generalfor Civil Aviation, he was in charge of running the development contract toAérospatiale:

• he drew up in cooperation with the United Kingdom authorities theregulations and navigation requirements for supersonic commercial flight.

• he was responsible for the supervision of the most complicated tests thathave ever been required for commercial travel.

After Concorde’s flight certification was obtained in 1975 he became technicaladviser to the national director of armaments and then to Mr. Yvon Bourges,Minister for Defence. Leaving the French administration in 1984, he enteredAérospatiale as General Manager for military programmes, later becomingdirector for the Mirage 2000 Programme and holding responsibility for thedevelopment of helicopters and in particular the super Puma etc...

Successively in 1984, he was General Manager for military programmes atAérospatiale, later becoming General Manager for Aerospace programmes, andin 1987 he was appointed Vice-President of the company.As Vice-President he was responsible for a wide-range of technicalresponsibilities including the economic and financial control of the group.

In 1996 he was appointed by the French Government Chairman and ChiefExecutive Officer of Aérospatiale. His period in office was marked by a majorreorganisation of the aerospace industry both in Europe and in the UnitedStates of America. The collapse of the Berlin Wall, the fall in defenceexpenditure, the growing success of the Airbus and Ariane programmes forcedthe industry to seek ever closer integration. In France, in mid 1998, this resultedin the fusion of Aérospatiale and Matra, and the man appointed to oversee thismost complex merger was again Mr. Michot, who took over the function ofChairman of the Aérospatiale Matra. He left this function at the end of 1999.

He was appointed in October 2001 chairman and Chief Executive of ‘DefenseConseil International’, a private French company that provides training, supportand advice for the defence industry.

Yves Michot is an ‘Officier de la Légion d’Honneur’ and a ‘Commandeur del’Ordre National du Mérite’.

Mr Yves Michot was born in 1941 in Nantes (France).He is graduate of the École Polytechnique.He continued his studies at the ‘École Nationale Supérieure d’Aéronautique’ andthen began his career totaly devoted to the aeronautics and space industries.First in the service of the French Government then at ‘Aérospatiale’.

Yves MICHOT

Helena ILLNEROVÁ

Professor Helena Illnerová was born in Prague on December 28, 1937. She is President of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.She is married to Michal Illner and has a son Jakub, who was born in1966, and a daughter Libuse, born in 1967.She has five grandchildren

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Helena Illnerová graduated with distinction in Chemistryfrom Charles University in Prague (1961; RNDr, 1967)and in Biology from Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences(C.Sc., equivalent to Ph.D., 1966); in 1990, she wasawarded the Dr.Sc. degree. She joined the Departmentof Development and later worked in the Department ofNeurohumoral Regulations of the Institute of Physiologyof the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (since 1993 ofthe Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic).

At the beginning Dr. Illnerová’s main interest professio-nally was in the ontogenesis of mammalian metabolism.Later, she discovered the effect of a sudden light atnight on the rhythmic pineal gland metabolism. It wasthen that she recognized that with exposure to light shehit upon the mammalian biological clock driving thepineal rhythmicity and started studying photic and non-photic synchronization of the clock with the 24 hourday. Together with her collaborators, she was among thefirst who discovered the synchronizing effect of verybrief light pulses on the mammalian time-keeping sys-tem, the complex nature of the circadian clock an thefact that rhythmic pineal melatonin production as wellas molecular oscillatory mechanisms in the clock aremodulated by day’s length, i.e. that the daily clock isalso a seasonal clock.

During the totalitarian regime in Czechoslovakia,Dr. Illnerová’s professional advance and travel oppor-tunities were very limited. Nevertheless, she received theAnnual Award of the Czech Medical Society J.E. Purkynein 1987, was named a member of the Advisory Board ofthe Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (USA) in1988 and elected to the Council of the European PinealSociety in 1987. Seeking to provide meaningful serviceto her country, she worked for many years as a leaderof a Children Tourist Club and tried to inspire in the children the ideals of humanity. For this activity, she wasawarded the Otakar Jandera Medal by CzechoslovakAssociation for Physical Culture in 1983.

Since 1989, Dr. Illnerová has been invited to numerousinternational conferences to lecture on biologicalrhythms and pineal biology, has recently become anexternal lecturer at Charles University and was awardeda Senior Fellowship in Neuroscience by the NIH FogartyCenter, USA. She was elected to the Chamber of ElectedRepresentatives of the Czechoslovak Academy ofSciences and in 1993 she was elected to the AcademyCouncil of the Academy of Sciences of the CzechRepublic. From 1993 until March 2001, she was a Vice-President of the Academy responsible for the AcademyBiological and Chemical Institutes and took part in therestructering of the Academy into a democratic andefficient institution.

At present, Helena Illnerová is President of the Academyof Sciences of the Czech Republic, a member of theScientific Council of Charles University, of the NationalMuseum, of the National Gallery and of other Councilsand scientific societies. She is also a member ofAcademia Scientiarum et Artium Europea and a chartermember of the Learned Society of the Czech Republic.In summer 2001, Dr. Illnerová was named a member ofthe European Research Advisory Board (EURAB).

Pantelis KYRIAKIDES

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Mr Pantelis Kyriakides is aVice-President of the European Patent Office,Munich. He studied Telecommunications at theUniversity of London.

After studying telecommunications at the University ofLondon and an initial two years working as a projectteam leader with a major electronics company, hemoved into the area of patents, firstly as an examiner atthe UK Patent Office, and then at the European PatentOffice (EPO) in Munich.

In addition to a technical background in telecommun-ications and television, he has substantial experience ofassessing inventions across the entire field of electro/mechanics and physics, and an extensive knowledge ofEuropean patent law.

In past years he has held a variety of technical, trainingand managerial posts within the EPO.

Many of these posts have involved the in-house devel-opment and exploitation of IT, as a result of whichPantelis Kyriakides has a particular interest in softwareand hardware systems for workflow applications.

As Vice-President of Directorate-General 2 of the EPO, heis responsible for matters relating to the search, exam-ination, granting and opposition of European patents.

When not involved in the day to day business of PatentOffice management, he enjoys immersing himself in themore ancient arts of numismatics and philately.

John MADDOX

Sir John Maddox was born of Welsh parents near Swansea in SouthWales in 1925. He attended a local secondary school best known for thenumber of its graduates who eventually played for the Welsh Rugby Unionfootball team. He does not speak Welsh, but claims to be able to count upto ten in the language.

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He was trained as a Chemist at the University of Oxfordand at Kings College, London, but then taught TheoreticalPhysics at the University of Manchester from 1949-55.This was the time when the physics department was buil-ding the first steerable radio-telescope at Jodrell Bank,helping to run one of the world’s first electronic compu-ters and (by measurements of the magnetism of rocks ofknown age) helping to lay the foundations of the theoryof plate tectonics (or intercontinental drift).

John Maddox then switched careers, joining theManchester Guardian as science correspondent whenexcitement about the civil uses of nuclear energy was atits peak. The newspaper’s first estimation that coveringscience was only a half-time job was quickly provedmistaken. In 1964, John Maddox switched again and fortwo years was in charge of the Nuffield ScienceTeaching Project, intended to introduce a new sciencecurriculum to British schools.

In 1966, he was appointed the fourth Editor of Nature,the science journal then in its 97th year. During the fol-lowing seven years, he carried through several inno-vations, including the production of an American editionby printing in the United States; John Maddox claimsthe circulation of Nature doubled over this spell.

For reasons never explained, John Maddox resigned in1973, working as a free-lance writer and broadcasteruntil he was recruited as director of the NuffieldFoundation, where he worked until invited back toNature in 1980. During this spell (which lasted for 15years, until 1995) John Maddox launched a Japaneseedition of the journal, doubled the size of the editorialstaff, oversaw a further three-fold increase of the circu-lation and a commensurate enhancement of the reputa-tion and the influence of the journal.

John Maddox was knighted for his services to science atthe beginning of 1995 and was elected as an honoraryfellow of the Royal Society in 2000. Although Sir Johnsays he has no hobbies, he is the elected Chairman of alocal council in mid-Wales and is the member of theboard of SANE (the mental health charity) with respon-sibility for founding a research centre in Oxford to carryout basic research in schizophrenia.

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Ulf MERBOLD

Dr. Ulf Merbold was born in Greiz, Germany, on 20 June 1941. He is married and has two children. He enjoys skiing, glider flying and playing the piano.He graduated from Stuttgart University in 1968 with a diploma in Physics. In 1976 he receiveda doctorate in Sciences (Dr.rer.nat.).

Ulf Merbold has received numerous awards, including theFirst Class Order of the Federal Republic of Germany, theOrder of Merit of the States of Baden-Württemberg andNordrhein-Westfalen, the Haley Space Flight Award ofthe American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,the USSR Pilot-Cosmonaut V.M. Komarov diploma of theInternational Aeronautical Federation, and the distinctionfor scientific achievement in Air and Space Medicine fromthe Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt-medizin. He received the Flight Achievement Award ofthe American Astronautical Society in 1983 and the"Order of Friendship" from President Yeltsin of theRussian Federation in 1995. The following year UlfMerbold was awarded an honorary doctorate in engin-eering (Dr.-Ing. h.c.) by the Rheinisch-WestfalischeTechnische Hochschule.

ExperienceAfter university, Ulf Merbold joined the Max-Planck-Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart, first on thebasis of a scholarship of the Max Planck Society and lateras a staff member, where he studied state and low temp-erature physics, in particular experimental investigationsof lattice defects in body-centered cubic metals. In 1977,Ulf Merbold was pre-selected by the European SpaceAgency (ESA) as a Payload Specialist for the first flight ofthe European-built Spacelab laboratory on the US SpaceShuttle (Spacelab 1). A year later he was nominated asone of the three Payload Specialists for the mission and in1982 was selected for flight by the ESA Director General,following a recommendation of the Principal Investigators(the scientists involved in the mission). Ulf Merboldbecame the first non-American to fly on the Space Shuttleduring the STS-9 mission (28 November to 8 December1983).In 1984 he was involved in the Space ShuttleSpacelab German D-1 mission, as both back-up PayloadSpecialist and Crew Interface Coordinator (CIC).

Ulf Merbold transferred to the European Space Researchand Technology Center (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, TheNetherlands, in 1986 to support ESA in the planning ofColumbus, the European laboratory for the InternationalSpace Station. He was appointed Head of the DLR(German Aerospace Research Establishment) AstronautOffice in 1987 and, on the basis of a secondment toDLR, led the German astronauts and supported thepreparation of the D2 mission. In December 1988 hewas nominated as ESA Payload Specialist candidate forthe International Microgravity Laboratory mission (IML-

1) on the Space Shuttle. The IML-1 (STS-42) trainingprogramme started in April 1989 and the followingJanuary he was selected to fly as Payload Specialist onthe mission which took place between 22 and 31January 1992. During the second German D2 missionfrom April 26 to May 6, 1993, Ulf Merbold was ScienceCoordinator at the Mission Control Center in Germany.In August 1993, after preparatory courses at theEuropean Astronaut Center (EAC), he started training atTsPK (Cosmonauts Training Center) in Star City nearMoscow. He was selected for flight (Crew 1) for ESA'sEuromir 94 mission and became the first ESA astronautto fly on the Russian space station Mir, performing a 32-day mission between 3 October and 4 November, 1994.Merbold holds a commercial pilots license (CPL2) withInstrument Rating, as well as an Acrobatic license, andhas logged more than 3000 hours as Pilot in Command.

Spaceflight ExperienceDr. Merbold flew on STS-9 (28 November to 8 December1983) and became the first non-American to fly on aSpace Shuttle mission. The primary objective of this mis-sion was the verification of Spacelab in orbit and theexecution of 72 highly sophisticated scientific experi-ments. He was ESA's Payload Specialist on STS-42(January 22-January 31, 1992), the InternationalMicrogravity Laboratory mission (IML-1) on the SpaceShuttle. As a member of the payload crew he was pri-marily responsible for the 55 scientific experiments onthe flight. Merbold was selected to fly with ESA'sEuromir 94 mission (October 3-November 4, 1994) tothe Russian Space Station MIR. He was the first ESAastronaut to fly on a Russian mission and performed a32-day mission as Research Cosmonaut. He was respon-sible for the execution of 28 European experiments.

Current AssignmentDr. Merbold is responsible for the Utilization PromotionManagement in the Microgravity Promotion Division ofthe ESA Directorate of Manned Spaceflight andMicrogravity , at ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands.And is the European Space Agency’s co-ordinator of theInternational Space Station.

Nikolai PLATÉ

Professor Nikolai Platé was born in Moscow, Russia (USSR) on4 November 1934. He is Secretary General for Science at the RussianAcademy of Sciences and Director of the A.V. Topchiev Institute ofPetrochemical Synthesis and, Professor at the M.V. Lomonosov MoscowState University.

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After a secondary school in Moscow, Nikolai Platégraduated from the MV Lomonosov Moscow StateUniversity in 1956. He obtained his Ph. D. in 1960 andbecame a full Professor at the Moscow State Universityin 1967.

In the 1960’s Nikolai Platé was one of the first polymerscientists to describe the properties of block and graft-copolymers made from incompatible copolymers. Hedeveloped a structural approach explaining the relation-ship between physical structure and chemical reactivityof polymeric species in processes of chemical modific-ations of polymers.

From 1966-1985, he was Director of the ChemistryDepartment at Moscow State University. Together withhis students, Nikolai Platé developed a quantative theoryfor the reactivity of functional groups of macromoleculeswhich permits the prediction and description of thekinetics of polymer analogous reactions, unit sequencedistribution and composition heterogenelty, on the basisof the ratio of the rate constants of neighbouring groupsand contributions from conformational effects. He is oneof the recognized leading researchers in the theory ofmacromolecular reactions.

Nikolai Platé was the first to describe in detail the pro-perties and structure of vinyl and acrylic polymers withaliphatic side chains in every monomeric unit, and tosynthesize comb-shaped polymeric liquid crystals. Thisled to the rapid expansion of a new field of thermo-tropic liquid crystalline polymers, which nowadays arean internationally recognized important family of poly-meric materials.

Since 1985, Nikolai Platé has been Director of the A.V.Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis of theRussian Academy of Sciences. He was electedCorresponding Member of the USSR Academy ofSciences (now the Russians Academy of Sciences) in1974, and became a full Member (an Academician) ofthe Academy of Sciences in 1987.

His professional research interests encompass suchfields of chemical science as polymeric liquid crystalsand mesophazes; polymeric membranes; polymers forbiomedical applications; modifications of polymers;theory of macromolecular reactions; petrochemistry andchemical disarmament.

In the 1970's and 1980's, Nikolai Platé demonstratedthat many natural physiologically active substances canbe converted into macromonomers without the loss oftheir biological properties.Based upon this research, a family of polymeric hydro-gels can be synthesized that can be used as coatings,prosthetic devices, affinity absorbents and detoxifingagents in medicine and applied biochemistry. He isconsidered one of the leading experts in the field of bio-logical response and the interaction between host andpolymer materials.

Nikolai Platé pioneered synthesis of organo-germaniumand organo-tin polymeric compounds and described themechanism for their formation via ionic-coordinatedpolymerization. In the 1980's and 1990's, ProfessorPlaté organized and led a team of scientists in the dis-covery and development of new polymeric membranesfor gas and liquid separation based on modified organo-silicon polymers.

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Anna C. ROOSEVELT

Professor Anna C. Roosevelt is Curator of Archaeologyat the Field Museum in Chicago and is Professor ofAnthropology at the University of Illinois.

Anna Roosevelt was born in Glen Cove, NY. Shegraduated with distinction with a B.A. in History fromStanford University in 1968 and a Ph.D. in Anthropologyfrom Colombia University in 1977. Her dissertation,chaired by Marvin Harris, looked at changing humansubsistence over 3,000 years of human adaptation inthe Orinoco Basin in Venezuela. In the 24 years sincethen, Anna Roosevelt has carried out numerous seasonsof research in South America and Africa investigatinggeoarchaeology and long-term human-environmentinteraction with funding from the National ScienceFoundation, the Fulbright Commission, the NationalEndowment for the Humanities, and other foundations.Her and her colleagues’ findings about human ecologyand evolution in the tropics are changing understandingof human history, human nature, and the relationship ofcultural and biological diversity. Currently, she directsthe Lower Amazon Project in Brazil and the CongoBasin Project in the Central African Republic, looking atthe co-evolution of humans and the tropical forests.

Author or editor of six books including AmazonianIndians from Prehistory to the Present, Moundbuildersof the Amazon, and Ancient Lakes, Cultural andBiological Diversity, she has written 70 articles for thejournals Science, Nature, Man, l’Homme, and otherpublications. A Fellow of the American Academy of Artsand Sciences, Professor Roosevelt was awarded theMacArthur Fellowship, the Explorers Medal, the GoldMedal of the Society of Woman Geographers, theBrazilian Order of Rio Branco and Bettendorf Medal forher work. She has served her discipline as a chair of theAnthropology Section of the New York Academy ofSciences and the Columbia University Seminar inEcological Systems and Evolution, a Phi Beta KappaVisting Lecturer, and a member of the Board ofDirectors and nominations committee of the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement of Science, thepublisher of Science, and a trustee of Science Service,publisher of Science News.

A “leading archaeologist” according to a New YorkTimes profile, director of “a series of remarkableexcavations” (New York Review of Books), ProfessorAnna Roosevelt is described as “sage, brave, and hard”(Chicago Tribune).

Margarita SALAS

Professor Margarita Salas was born in 1938 in Canero, Spain. She graduated in Chemistry in 1960 and obtained her Ph.D. inBiochemistry in 1963. She carried out postdoctoral work with the NobelLaureate, Professor Seveo Ochoa at New York University from 1964 to 1967.She is the President of the Instituto de Espana (Union of the Academies ofSpain).

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argarita Salas has been Professor of Molecular Genetics(1968-1992) at Madrid Complutense University, andsince 1974 she is Professor of Research at the Centrode Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (SpanishResearch Council-Madrid Autonomous University), thatshe directed in 1992-1993.

The main research fields of Margarita Salas are DNAreplication and control of gene expression using abacterial virus as a model system. She has publishedover 250 articles in international journals, lecturedabout 200 Conferences both in Spain and abroad, andsupervised 26 Ph.D. Thesis.

In 1988 Margarita Salas became member of the SpanishAcademy of Sciences. She is also a member of EMBO,Academia Europaea, Academia Scientiarum et ArtiumEuropaea and American Academy of Microbiology.Margarita Salas has obtained many prizes and distinc-tions, among others, Severo Ochoa Prize of Research(1986), Carlos J. Finlay of UNESCO (1991), Rey Jaime Iof Research (1994), Doctor Honoris Causa OviedoUniversity (1996), Mexico Prize of Science andTechnology (1998), L'Oréal-UNESCO Prize "Women inScience" (1999), Doctor Honoris Causa MadridPolitechnic University (2000), National Prize of ResearchSantiago Ramón y Cajal (2000).

At present Professor Margarita Salas is President of theInstitute of Spain (since 1995), President of FundaciónSevero Ochoa (since 1997) and President of the SocialCouncil of Oviedo University (since 1999).

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Rudi THOMAES

Lister Rudolf J. Thomaes, born in 1952 in Belgium, isChief Executive Officer and President of Alcatel Bell s.a.

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Studied law at the UIA Antwerp University. He started hiscareer with ITT, Bell Telephone, in Antwerp in 1976, asexport Finance Co-ordinator, in charge of the set-up ofexport credits and the management of financial riskslinked to overseas exports.

From 1979 to 1981, he was responsible for social, legaland fiscal affairs with ITT Industries Belgium. Back withBell in 1981, he assumed several responsibilities:contract-lawyer, entrusted with the negotiation ofinternational agreements, including Bell’s joint ventureand license contract with the People’s Republic ofChina; assistant Director, Head of the Export Treasuryand International Contracts Department. In 1986, hebecame Area Manager Europe, Africa & Middle East,responsible for the commercialisation of digitalswitching networks.

From 1988-1998, he was Secretary General (GeneralCounsel), responsible for the legal department and therelations with European institutions. In this capacity henegotiated with the EU officials the legal terms of thefifth framework program for the European ITC Industry.

In addition to this, he was made responsible officer forAlcatel Bell’s strategic change plan, and earned areputation in that domain, both within and outside thecompany.

On the first of January 1999, Rudolf Thomaes wasappointed Chief Operating Officer Alcatel Bell, and 10months later, Chief Executive Officer and President of theAlcatel Bell Management Committee. Alcatel Bellachieved sales of 1.2 B¤ in 2000, 81% of which was inexport. 24% of sales is invested in Research andDevelopment, proving that Alcatel Bell is a world-wideengineering ‘hotshop’. Rudolf Thomaes also holds severalboard positions; he is a.o. Board member of RealSoftware.

Sc ience and soc ie t y i n the European Research Area andthe new Framework Programme (2002-2006)

Linking science and society in the European ResearchArea is a key element to achieve the transition towardsa knowledge-based society and to promote competitive-ness and social cohesion. Science and technology arekey as never before.

Europeans, as the recent Eurobarometer survey hasshown, are not against science or against technologicalprogress. But Europeans are against blindly believing inprogress and rightly question scientific and techno-logical achievements and their applications.

Responsible governance and policy-making has to beresponsive to these concerns. Society, if I may beallowed to use such a generalising term, is notnecessarily ready to accept everything scientificallypossible as being necessary for our progress or indeedour future welfare. Culture, beliefs, abstract values playan important role as well. But how are these limits bedetermined and which rules shall be applied to futurescientific progress is still unclear.

The European Commission is alert to these require-ments and wishes to make the interface of science andsociety an integral part of its research policy. It believesfirmly in greater transparency in its decision makingprocess and its actions being taken on the basis ofsound scientific advice.

Already the current 5th RTD Framework Programme hasbeen designed to take socio-economic aspects on boardand the social sciences are integral areas for futureresearch funding, but it has only been recently that theinclusion of civil society has become an integral part ofthe Commissions own research policy.This policy has been highlighted by the initiative ofCommissioner Busquin to strive for a EuropeanResearch Area, complementing the single Europeanmarket and the forthcoming single European currency.The initiative was explicitly approved at the EuropeanSummit in Lisbon in June 2000, which launched thechallenge to make the European Union the mostdynamic and prosperous area of the world on the basisof its knowledge-based society.

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In order to stimulate the discussion on science andsociety, the Commission services issued in November2000 a paper entitled “Science, Society and theEuropean Citizens”. The aim of the paper was toprovide a few elements for the debate and to give someguidelines along which a discussion could take place. Inorder to allow a broad participation in this discussionthe paper was issued as a matter for public debate onthe Internet earlier this year.

Now in direct response to the “Science, Society and theEuropean Citizens” discussion paper, the ResearchCouncil of 26 June 2001 adopted a resolution askingthe Commission to prepare an action plan on scienceand society by the end of this year.

The “Science and Society” action plan establishes aseries of concrete actions for stimulating discussionbetween science and society. It provides a suitableplatform for exchange of experience on how to take intoaccount public concerns and to take decisions based onsound scientific advice.

I commend it for your attention.

Rainer GeroldDirector Science and Society

The European Sc ience and Techno logy Week

Each year, under the European Science and TechnologyWeek, the Commission funds a number of activitiesaimed at increasing public awareness of science andtechnology. The activities could be contests, videos,debates, and exhibitions in fact anything that reachesout and connects with the public.

Any area of science can be covered, and this year’s acti-vities, which are taking place as this catalogue goes intoprint, cover areas as diverse as science drama, renew-able energy, biotechnology, life in the universe andmicrosystems. Full details of these activities and pre-vious science weeks can be found on the science weekwebsite (www.cordis.lu/scienceweek).

The projects accepted for financial support have all beenselected following calls for proposals. But because ingeneral the projects need careful planning they areselected about one year before the science week itself –to give ample time for preparation. The next call for pro-posals is scheduled for January 2002 and will be for thescience week in 2003.

However, is it of course possible to participate in thescience weeks without receiving funding. Posters,explanatory leaflets and lapel badges are freelyavailable (www.cordis.lu/scienceweek) and activities canbe sign posted on the site, and if they are particularlyinteresting they could also feature in our publicity andpromotion material.

Stephen.parker@cec.eu.int

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Physics on stage: European Commissioner for Research

Philippe Busquin tries to catch thePhysics on Stage balloon

The Arch imedes Pr i ze

The Archimedes Prize is the European Commission's topprize for undergraduate students. Each year severalscientific themes or challenges are set for the prize.

The monetary awards consist of a right for the prize-winner(s) to draw funds, to enhance and develop theirfuture scientific careers, and amounts to an indicativeamount of €50,000, per project.

The 2000-2001 Archimedes Prize covered four themes:“Concepts to aid disabled people”, “Desertification anddrought”, “Mathematical modelling for social andeconomic sciences”, and “New medicines from naturalsources”.

For 2002 the six scientific themes and challenges set forthe prize are:

• Structure and function in macromolecules • Energy devices • Water resources modelling and management • Societal and economic implications of demographic

change in the EU • Acquaculture • Implications of tourism on natural and human

ecosystems.

How can you participate

The Archimedes Prize is awarded to students who arenationals of an EU Member or Associated State, or theyhave been residing in the European Union for at leastthe last five years, e.g. an Australian who has beenresiding in Spain for at least the last five years.

Applicants for the prize are undergraduates who areregistered at a university or equivalent higher educationinstitution and are currently attending a degree.Applications can be made by teams of students, as wellas by individual students.

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How can you take part

It's simple! First of all you need to either download orrequest a paper copy of the following information:

• The Call for Proposals, which was published in the ele-ven languages of the European Union in the OfficialJournal on 4 September 2001. It provides backgroundinformation on how to get involved

• The Guide for Proposers and Entry Form is availableon the web site in 11 languages and in printed formin English.

Next, you have to complete the forms, providing a des-cription of the research project that you have carried outin a maximum of 10 pages and a summary report. Inaddition, applicants will need to give the name andaddress of the university/institution where they arestudying, as well as proof of registration.

Once forms are completed they should be sent togetherwith any accompanying information to the addressgiven in the call, so that they arrive at the EuropeanCommission by 15 March 2002.

Applications may be submitted by the student/s whowere involved in the project or by a third party notinvolved in the project

13th EU Contest for Young Sc ient i s tsBergen , Norway 18 -21 September 2001

13th EuropeanUnion Contestfor Young Scient is tsNorway 18-21 September

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Director-GeneralAchilleas Mitsos, awarded three first prizes of € 5 000to four students from Austria, Germany and the UnitedKingdom at the 13th EU Contest for Young Scientists.The top three projects selected dealt with a treatment ofskin diseases, cloud observations and drug resistance inyeast. The research achievements of a further 28 stud-ents were also recognised by an international jury whojudged the 65 high quality projects presented by 95young people coming from 35 European countries.

The award ceremony took place in the historicvenue of King Haakon's Hall in the presence ofNobel Laureates Giaever, 't Hooft, Kroto andMottelson. In addition to the first prizes, threesecond prizes of € 3 000 and three thirdprizes of € 1 500 were also awarded. The Juryalso designated prize winners to represent theEU at several international events and to joinestablished research teams for short periods ofscientific training. Furthermore, three formerEU Contest Prize winners awarded threeAlumni Prizes worth in total € 1 200.

In awarding the prizes, Dr Mitsos noted that:"The projects competing this year have onceagain shown that Europe.has a great reservoirof young scientists and therefore hugeresources. The main difficulty today is probablyto.encourage young people to take up the chal-lenge of a career in science and technology."

Said Professor Pauline Slosse, President of the Jury:"It is always a great pleasure to meet so many giftedand enthusiastic young people, and to discover the orig-inality of their projects and the breadth of their science.This year more than ever before the quality of theprojects was such that we had a very difficult task. I amsure they will remember for a long time this fantasticexperience which has allowed them to meet andestablish contacts with young scientists.from all overEurope and beyond."

The EU Contest for Young Scientists is now unanimouslyconsidered as the annual showcase of the best scientificachievements of European students. Only projects thathave won a top prize in a national young scientistcompetition can compete at the EU Contest.

Thus, the Contest represents the ultimate goal for morethan 30,000 young science students aged 15-20 whoparticipate annually in the national contests.

The Contest is one of the EU's activities aimed at com-bating the current decline of young people's interest forscience studies and careers.

The 14th EU Contest for Young Scientists will take placein Vienna, Austria, in September 2002 and the 15th Contest will be held in Budapest, Hungary in 2003.

For additional information please contact:Graham Blythe, Science and SocietyTel: +32 2 295 58 22, Fax: +32 2 296 32 70 E-mail: graham.blythe@cec.eu.int.

logo designed by Red Creative forThessaloniki 1999

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FIRST PRIZES (€ 5 000 per project)

AUSTRIA (AT1) Thomas AUMEYR (19)Thomas MOROCUTTI (19)Field: Medical science

CURE – Controlled Ultraviolet Radiation EquipmentThe aim of the project was to develop a controllable device for treatment of skin diseases by locallyapplied and selectively dosed radiation. Up to now, present devices continue to damage healthy skin. Theproposed system consists of a digital camera and a radiation device connected to a computer whichallows the surgeon to mark off the exact area of skin that needs to be irradiated. This information is sentto the radiation device to enable it to focus only on the diseased part of the skin. The jury was.impressedby the idea as well as by the skills and thoroughness of the two boys in designing and.carrying out theproject.

GERMANY (DE1) Sebastian ABEL (18)Field: Earth Science

CloudSebastian retrieved satellites images of the Earth's atmosphere taken by a US meteorological satellite. atseveral different wavelengths. As clouds are good indicators of meteorological phenomena, he.wanted tocatalogue clouds taken from different pictures mixing in ground, sea, and other features. Using.originalways of combining observations of the same terrain taken at different wavelengths, he was able to find acombination that separated clouds from snow on ground. Furthermore, he used the shadows cast by theclouds to determine the upper and lower boundaries of the cloud. The jury found the project to be a cleversolution to an image processing problem, that has potential to become an actual application used byprofessional meteorologists. Sebastian´s presentation as well as his great enthusiasm enchanted the jury.

UNITED KINGDOM (UK 2) James Lee MITCHELL (18)Field: Biological Science

Characteristics of Azole Drug Resistance in Candida tropicalisCandida tropicalis is a common cause of invasive fungal infection, particularly in patients who havepoor.immune systems. James examined three aspects of the problem of drug resistance in this organism:the influence.of different culture conditions on the evolution of resistance; the degree of cross resistancewith other related.drugs and lastly, the biochemical mechanism for this resistance. The jury wasparticularly impressed by the.innovative, mature and well-focused piece of laboratory work as well as bythe depth of understanding conveyed under difficult questioning.

Other prizes were awarded to allow winners the chance to attend the 100th Nobel Prize Ceremonies aspart of the activities organized under the auspices of the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminarand the London International Youth Science Forum. To take part work assignments and training place-ments with the Donana Biological Field Station in Southern Spain; the European Patent Office inMunich; the European Northern Observatories in the Canary Islands; the European Space Agency inNoordwijk, the Netherlands; the Shoals of Capricorn Projects in the Seychelles, the Norwegian PolarInstitute in Svalbard and at the Andoya Space Camp in Northern Norway.

HRH Crown PrinceHaakon of Norway andDirector-General Mitsos atthe award ceremony of the13th EU Contest.

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Contact deta i l s o f the pro jec t par tners

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:PROF. MASSIMO OLIVUCCI,Università di Siena (Italy)olivucci@unisi.it

PARTNERS:PROF. MICHAEL A. ROBBKing’s College Londonmike.robb@kcl.ac.uk

PROF. FERNANDO BERNARDIUniversità di BolognaFAX: +39 051 2099456

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:DR. M. NORTH,King’s College, Strand, Londonmichael.north@kcl.ac.uk

PARTNERS:PROF. Y.N. BELOKON,Nesmayanov Institute, Moscowyubel@ineos.ac.ruDR. J.M. BROWN,University of Oxford, Oxfordjohn.brown@dyson-perrins.oxford.ac.ukPROF. H. KAGAN,Université Paris-Sud, Pariskagan@icmo.u-psud.frDR. A. BÖRNER,Universität Rostock, Rostock ABOERN@chemie1.Uni-Rostock.DE

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:DR. JOSÉ DEL R. MILLÁNJoint Research Centre of theEuropean Commission – Isprajose.millan@jrc.it

PARTNERS:MR. FABIO TOPANIFase Sistemi – RomaSrlfabio.topani@fasesistemi.com

PROF. MARIA GRAZIA MARCIANIFondazione Santa Lucia – Romamarciani@med.uniroma2.it

AC. PROF. KIMMO KASKIHelsinki University of Technologykimmo.kaski@hut.fi

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:ANTÓNIO VACAS DE CARVALHO Bombardier Transportation Portugalvacas.carvalho@pt.transport.bombardier.com

PARTNERS:GEORGE BARBUThe European Rail Research Institutegbarbu@erri.nlCHRISTIAN BONEILLAlstom, Valencienneschristian.boneill@transport.alstom.comMAREK CZARNECKICNTK (former PKP)mt@cntk.plJOANA FREITASBombardier Transportation Portugaljfreitas@altrantec.ptROGER HARDY Cranfield Impact Center (CIC)r.n.hardy@cranfield.ac.ukPIERRE HUSS Alstom, de Dietrichpierre.huss@transport.alstom.comREGIS LECUSSAN SNCFregis.lecussan@sncf.frJOHN LEWISAEA Technology Plc/BRRjohn.lewis@aeat.co.ukCHRISTOPHE MOREAU Alstom, Valencienneschristophe.moreau@transport.alstom.comTHOMAS NEUFERT Technische Universität, Dresdenneufert@vksystec.vkw.tu-dresden.deMANUEL S. PEREIRA Institut Superior Técnico (IST)mpereira@dem.ist.utl.ptNIGEL RANDALL Cranfield Impact Center (CIC)n.k.randell@cranfield.ac.uk FRANCISCO REBELO Faculdade Motricidade Humana(FMH)frebelo@fmh.utl.pt STEFFEN SCHARF Bombardier Transportation, Berlinsscharf@transport.bombardier.com GERHARD SCHMIDT Duewag (of Siemens)Gerhard.Krf.Schmidt@vt.siemens.de PETER SCHMIEDECK

Deutsche Bahn (DB)peter.schmiedeck@bku.db.de PATRICK SICOT Alstom, de Dietrichpatrick.sicot@transport.alstom.com HARALD WALDECK Duewag (of Siemens)harald.waldeck@vt.siemens.de ERIC WEYENBERGH University of Valenciennes andHainaut Cambresis (UVHC)eric.weyenbergh@univ-valenciennes.fr HUMBERTO CUNHA HUMBERTOBombardier Transportation, PortugalCunha@pt.transport.bombardier.comDIDIER LEVEQUE SNCFdidier.leveque@sncf.fr KELLO DA SILVA Faculdade Motricidade Humana(FMH)ksilva@fmh.utl.pt WILFRIED WOLTER Deutsche Bahn (DB)wilfried.wolter@bku.db.deLOUIS-MARIE CLEON SNCFlouis-marie.cleon@sncf.fr

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:PROF. JOHN LAWTON

CONTACT PERSON:Dr. Andy HECTORImperial College, Ascota.hector01@ic.ac.uk

PARTNERS:PROF. KERSTIN HUSS-DANELLProf. Peter HÖGBERGPeter.Hogberg@sek.slu.seSLU, UmeåPROF. PAUL GILLERUniversity of CorkP.Giller@ucc.iePROF. CHRISTIAN KÖRNERUniversity of Baselbschmid@uwinst.unizh.chPROF. MICHEL LOREAUENS, Parisloreau@ens.frPROF. JOAO PEREIRAUniversity of Lisbonjspereira@ip.pt

PROF. DAVID READPROF. IAN WOODWARDF.I.Woodward@sheffield.ac.ukUniversity of SheffieldPROF. BERNHARD SCHMIDUniversity of Zürichbschmid@uwinst.unizh.chPROF. ERNST-DETLEF SCHULZEMax Planck Institute ofBiogeochgemistry, Jenadschulze@bgc-jena.mpg.dePROF. ANDREAS TROUMBISUniversity of the Aegeanatro@env.aegean.gr

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:PROF. JAN BALZARINIRega Institute, Leuvenjan.balzarini@rega.kuleuven.ac.be

PARTNERS:DR. ANTONIN HOLYAcademy of Sciences-Czech Republicuochb@uochb.cas.czDR. MARIA-JOSÉ CAMARASAInstituto de Química Médica, Madridmariajose@pinarl.csic.esPROF. CHRIS MCGUIGANUniversity of Wales, Cardiffmcguigan@cardiff.ac.ukPROF. CARLO-FEDERICO PERNOUniversity of Rome, Rome cf.perno@microelettra.itPROF. ANNA KARLSSONKarolinska InstituteHuddinge/Swedenanna.karlsson@mbb.ki.se

PROJECT TEAM LEADER:PROF. ROBIN CARRELLUniversity of Cambridgerwc1000@cam.ac.uk

PARTNERS:PROF. DAVID LOMASdal16@cam.ac.ukDR JAMES HUNTINGTONjah52@cam.ac.ukPROF. RANDY READrjr27@cam.ac.ukPROF. JAN ABRAHAMSUniversity of Leidenabrahams@chem.leidenuniv.nDR MAURICE MANNESSEUniversity of Leiden

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Descar tes Pr i ze Nat iona l Contact Po in ts

AUSTRIA Mr. Manfred HORVAT Socio-economic Key ActionBIT – Bureau forInternational Research &Technology CooperationWiedner Hauptstrasse 76A-1040 WienTel: +43 1 58 11 616 114Fax: +43 1 58 11 616 16horvat@bit.ac.atMs. Angelica LATALBIT – Bureau forInternational Research &Technology CooperationWiedner Hauptstrasse 76A-1040 WienTel: +43 1 58 11 616 204Fax: +43 1 58 11 616 16latal@bit.ac.at

BELGIUMMs. Marie-Christine LENAINMinistère de laCommunauté Française deBelgiqueDGENORSDirection de la RecherchescientifiqueRue Royale 204,CAE – Bloc D – Arcades –B6546B-1010 BruxellesTel: +32 2 210 58 14Fax: + 32 2 210 59 92marie-christine.lenain@cfwb.be

Ms. Veronique FEYSDWTC / SSTCRue de la Science 8B-1000 BruxellesTel: +32 2 238 34 86Fax: +32 2 230 59 12feys@belspo.be

Mr. Koen VERLAECKTMinisterie van de VlaamseGemeenschapAfdeling WetenschappenBoudewijnlaan 30B-1000 BrusselTel: +32 2 553 58 65Fax: +32 2 553 55 98koen.verlaeckt@wim.vlaan-deren.be

BULGARIAMr. Ivan SCHOPOVInstitute of PolymersBulgarian Academy ofScienceAcad. G. Bonchev str., B1. 103ABG-1113 SofiaTel: +359 2 707 377Fax: +359 2 707 523schopov@polymer.bas.bg

Ms. Maria GERGANOVAMinistry of Education andScience2A Dondukov bvd.BG-100 SofiaTel: +359 2 981 36 75Tel: +359 2 981 2182Fax: +359 2 981 3675m.gerganova@minedu.govrn.bg

CYPRUSMs. Kalypso SEPOUResearach PromotionFoundationP.O.Box 23422CY-1683 NicosiaTel: +357 660 292Fax: +357 666 117kalypso@research.org.cyhttp://www.research.org.cy

CZECH REPUBLIKMs. Jana ZICHOVATechnology Centre AS CR,FEMIRC,Rozvojová 135,CZ-165 02 Prague 6Tel: +420 2 203 90 711Fax: +420 2 209 22 698zichova@tc.cas.cz

DENMARKMs. Lisbeth MORTENSENFIRSTDanish Research AgencyRandersgade 60DK-2100 KobenhavnTel: +45 35 44 63 60Fax: +45 35 44 62 01lm@forsk.dk http://www.first.dk/ orhttp://www.forsk.dk/

Ms. Marjon BOELSKOVDanish Agency Trade &IndustryEuroCenterErhvervsfremmestyrelsenRadhuspladsen 14DK-1550 Kobenhavn VTel: +45 33 76 58 42Fax: +45 33 32 74 78mab@schultz.dkhttp://www.eurocenter.schultz.dk/

ESTONIAMs. Kristina KALLASInnovation CentreArchimedes FoundationKompanii 2EE-51007 TartuTel: +372 7 300 329Fax: +372 7 300 336ihp@irc.ee

FINLANDMs. Riitta LAUNONENSocio-economic Key ActionAcademy of FinlandP.O. Box 99FIN-00501 HelsinkiTel: +358 9 7748 8229Fax: +358 9 7748 8388riita.launonen@aka.fihttp://www.aka.fi

Ms. Eeva IKONENTraining & MobilityAcademy of FinlandP.O. Box 99FIN -00501 HelsinkiTel: +358 9 77488233Fax: +358 9 77488393eeva.ikonen@aka.fihttp://www.aka.fi/

FRANCEMs. Perla COHEN-THIAMPôle Universitaire Européende Toulouse39, allée Jules GuesdeF-31000 ToulouseTel: +33 5 61 14 80 28Fax: +33 5 61 14 93 44pcohen@pole-tlse.frhttp://www.pole-tlse.fr/pcn

GERMANYMr A. SCHLOCHTERMEIERCoordination /InfrastructuresEU-Querschnittskontakt-stelleDLR-PT (Bonn)Koenigswinterer Str. 522-524D-53227 BonnTel: +49 228 44 7631Fax: +49 228 44 7649andre.schlochtermeier@dlr.de

Ms. Barbara LIEDER Marie Curie ResearchTraining GrantsEU-QuerschnittskontaktstelleDLR-PTKoenigswinterer Str. 522-524D-53227 Bonn Tel: +49 228-447-632Fax: +49 228-447-649barbara.lieder@dlr.de

Ms. Kathrin STRATMANNTraining Networks / Awards /Awareness MeasuresEU-QuerschnittskontaktstelleDLR PTKoenigswinterer Str. 522-524D-53227 BonnTel: +49 228 447634Fax: +49 228 447649kathrin.stratmann@drl.dehttp://www.dlr.de/querko

Listed below are the names and addresses ofthe contact persons in your country whoshould be able to assist you with furtherinformation about the Descartes Prize in yourown language.

The Descartes Prize is open to researchersbased in any country in the world. As long asthe work has been conducted in partnershipwith researchers from at least two different

European countries and that the project wasled by a European team from either an EU orassociated European state.

The Descartes Prize recognises only finishedscientific or technological projects that havebeen accomplished as result of European/inter-national collaborative research regardless whe-ther the work was funded by the EuropeanCommission or by another party.

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Ms. Angela SCHINDLER-DANIELSSocio-economic Key ActionEU-QuerschnittskontaktstelleDLR-PTKoenigswinterer Str. 522-524D-53227 BonnTel: +49 228 447641Fax: +49 228 447649angela.schindler-daniels@dlr.dehttp://www.dlr.de/querko

Ms. Monika SCHULERConferencesEU-QuerschnittskontaktstelleDLR-PTKoenigswinterer Str. 522-524D-53227 BonnTel: +49 228 447633Fax: +49 228 447649monika.schuler@dlr.dehttp://www.dlr.de/querko

GREECEMs. Evangelia SOFOULIGeneral Secretariat ofResearch & TechnologyTechnological ApplicationsDirectorateMessogion 14-18GR-11510 AthinaTel: +30 1 771 34 74Fax: +30 1 771 38 10esof@gsrt.gr

Ms. Paraskevi AFENTAKIGeneral Secretariat ofResearch & TechnologyInternational Scientific &Technological CooperationDirectorateMessogion 14-18GR-11510 AthinaTel: +30 1 771 42 40Fax: +30 1 771 41 53pafe@gsrt.gr

Mr. Nicholas CONSTANTOPOULOSGeneral Secretariat ofResearch & TechnologyInternational Scientific &Technological CooperationDirectoratePlanning DirectorateSocio-economic Key ActionMessogion 14-18GR-11510 AthinaTel: +30 1 771 14 87Fax: +30 1 771 14 27nkon@gsrt.gr

HUNGARYMs. Szonja CSUZDIMinistry of Education,Research and DevelopmentDivisionSzervita ter 8H-1052 BudapestTel: +36 1 318 4232Fax: +36 1 266 2055szonja.csuzdi@om.huhttp://www.om.hu

ICELANDMs Hjordis HENDRIKSDOTTIRThe Icelandic ResearchCouncilLaugavegi 13IS-101 ReykjavikTel: +354 515 5800Fax: +354 552 9814hjordis@rannis.is

Ms. Asta Sif ERLINGSDOTTIRResearch Liaison OfficerUniversity of IcelandDunhagi 5IS-107 ReykjavikTel: +354 525 4900Fax: +354 552 8801astasif@rthj.hi.is

IRELANDMr. Conor O'CARROLLScience Technology &InnovationForfasWilton Park House Wilton PlaceDublin 2Tel: +353 1 607 3262Fax: +353 1 607 3260conor.ocarroll@forfas.ie

ISRAELMs. Anat HERINGISERDIndustry House29 Hamered St.P.O. Box 50436ISL-61500 Tel Aviv Tel: +972 3 5118122Fax: +972 3 5170020anat@iserd.org.ilhttp://www.iserd.org.il

ITALYMs. Daphne VAN DE SANDEAPRE – Agency for thePromotion of EuropeanResearchGrattacielo ItaliaP.zza G. Marconi, 25I-00144 RomaTel: +39 06 5911817Fax: +39 06 5911908vandesande@apre.ithttp://www.apre.it

Ms. Nicoletta PALAZZOMURSTP.le J.F. Kennedy, 20I-00144 RomaTel: +39 06 59 91 2872 Fax: +39 06 59 91 2368nicoletta.palazzo@murst.ithttp://www.miur.it/

LATVIAMs. Ligita LIEPINAInstitute of Biology ofUniversity of LatviaLaboratory of BioindicationMiera lela 3LV-2169 SalaspilsTel: +371 2 945 431Fax: +371 9 345 412ligita@lubi.edu.lv

LIECHTENSTEINMr Hermine HAUGOffice of National EconomyGerberweg, 5FL-9490 VaduzTel: +423 236 68 71Fax: +423 236 68 89hermine.haug@avw.llv.li

LITHUANIAMs. Ausra JAKAITIENELithuanian Innovation CentreT. Sevcenkos 13LI-2600 VilniusTel: +370 2 232 780Fax: +370 2 232 781kava@ktl.mii.lt

LUXEMBOURGMs. Josiane ENTRINGERSupport For Higher Educationand Public ResearchMinistère de la Culture, del'Enseignement Supérieur etde la Recherche20, Montée de la PétrusseL-2912 LuxembourgTel: +352 478 5217Fax: +352 460 927josiane.entringer@mcesr.lu

Ms. Brigitte DE HAECKSupport for EnterprisesLuxinnovation G.I.E.National Agency forInnovation and Research31, Bvd Konrad AdenauerL-1115 LuxembourgTel: +352 436 2631Fax: +352 438 120luxinnovation@luxinnovation.lu

MALTAMr. Richard MUSCATDepartment of Physiology &BiochemistryUniversity of MaltaMsida MSD 06Tel: +356 32902053Fax: +356 310577rmus@biotech.um.edu.mt

THE NETHERLANDSMs. Alie KWINTTraining and MobilitySenter / EG LiaisonGrote Marktstraat 43P.O. Box 30732NL-2500 GS The HagueTel: +31 70 361 0250Fax: +31 70 356 2811a.kwint@egl.nlhttp://www.egl.nlMs. Trudy MILLENAAR Socio-economic Key ActionSenter / EG LiaisonPostbus 30732NL-2500 GS Den HaagTel: +31 70 36 10 250Fax: +31 70 35 62 811t.millenaar@egl.nlhttp://www.egl.nl

NORWAYMr. Simen ENSBYThe Research Council ofNorwayP.O.Box 2700 – St.HansaugenN-0131 OsloTel: +47 2 203 7407Fax: +47 2 203 7001sen@forskningsradet.nohttp://www.forskningsra-det.no/fag/eu/

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The Descartes Team, from left to right:Marie Cocquyt, Joao Pereira de Faria, Liliana Mungioli, Melanie Kitchener, Daniela Montes Martin, Gregorio Medrano and Graham Blythe.

Mr Per Magnus KOMMANDANTVOLDThe Norwegian EU R&DInformation CentreThe Research Council ofNorwayP.O. Box 2700 – St.HanshaugenN-0131 OsloTel: +47 2 203 7459Fax: +47 2 203 7001pmk@forskningsradet.no

Ms. Ingrid Anne MUNZDivision of S&TThe Research Council ofNorwayP.O. Box 2700St. HanshaugenN-0131 OsloTel: +47 2203 7340Fax: +47 2203 7001iam@forskningsradet.no

Mr. Trygve A. LANDEThe Research Council ofNorwayP.O. Box 2700St. HanshaugenN-0131 OsloTel: +47 2203 7417Fax: +47 2203 7001tl@forskningsradet.no

Ms. Siri RELLINGNorwegian EU R&D CentreThe Research Council ofNorwayP.O. Box 2700 – St.HanshaugenN-0131 OsloTel: +47 2 203 7092Fax.+47 2 203 7001sr@forskningsradet.no

PORTUGALMs. Ana Paula CRUZICCTI – Institute forInternational S&T CooperationRua Castilho, 5P-1250-066 LisboaTel: +351 21 358 53 10Fax: +351 21 315 40 65apcruz@mail.telepac.pthttp://www.iccti.mct.pt

Ms. Fatima PARADAInstitute for InternationalS&T Cooperation (ICCTI)Ministry for Science andTechnologyRua Castilho, 5P-1250-066 LisboaTel: +351 21 358 53 29Fax: +351 21 315 40 65fatima.parada@iccti.mct.pthttp://www.iccti.mct.pt

POLANDMr. Wieslaw STUDENCKIIPPT PANSwietokrzyska 21PL-00049 WarsawTel: + 48 22 828 7481Fax: +48 22 828 5370ph3@npk.gov.plhttp://www.npk.gov.pl

Ms. Anna WISNIEWSKAIPPT PANSwietokrzyska 21PL-00-049 WarsawTel: + 48 22 828 7481Fax: +48 22 828 5370ph3@npk.gov.plhttp://www.npk.gov.pl

ROMANIAMs. Virginia ENACHEMinistry for Education andResearchGeneral Division forEuropean Integration andInternational Relations21-25 Mendeleev Str.RO-70168 Bucharest 3Tel: +40 1 210 9275Fax: +40 1 210 9275venache@mct.roSLOVAK REPUBLICMs. Viera JOZSOVASARCStare grunty 52SK-842 44 BratislavaTel: +42 17 654 20 308Fax: +42 17 654 20 308jozsova@sarc.sk

SLOVENIAMs. Radojka VERCKOMinistry of Education,Science & SportTrg OF 13SL-1000 LjubljanaTel: +386 1 4784 683Fax: +386 1 4784 719radojka.vercko@mszs.si

Mr. Andrej UMEKUniversity of MariborFaculty of Civil EngineeringSmetanova 17SL-2000 MariborTel: +386 2 229 43 00Fax: +386 2 224 179umek@uni-mb.si

Ms. Hedvika USENIKSocio-economic Key ActionInstitute for EconomicResearchScientific partKardeljeva ploscad 17SL-1000 LjubljanaTel: +386 1 5303 856Fax: +386 1 5303 874hedvikas@ier.si

SPAINMr. Jesus BURGOSOTRIInstituto de Astrofisica deCanarias (IAC)E-38200 La Laguna(Tenerife)Tel: +34 922 60 53 36Fax: +34 922 60 51 92jburgos@ll.iac.eshttp://www.cicyt.es

Mr. Fernando GOMEZ PEREZSocio-economic Key Actionand STRATAFacultad de DerechoUniversidad Pomepu FabraPasio de Circunvalacion, 8E-08003 BarcelonaTel: +34 93 542 16 47Fax: +34 93 542 17 19fernando.gomez@dret.upf.es

SWEDENMs. Stina BISHOPThe Swedish EU – R&DCouncilP.O. Box 7091S-10387 StockholmTel: +46 8 454 64 56Fax: + 46 8 454 64 51stina@eufou.sehttp://www.eufou.se

Ms. Britt-Marie TYGARDThe Swedish EU – R&DCouncilP.O. Box 7091S-103 87 StockholmTel: +46 8 454 64 53Fax: +46 8 454 64 51britt-marie@eufou.se

SWITZERLANDMs Susanne FORSTERFonds National Suisse de laRecherche ScientifiqueWildhainweg 20Case Postale 8232CH-3001 BerneTel: +41 31 308 22 22Fax: +41 31 305 29 72sforster@snf.ch

UNITED KINGDOMIHP HelpUKRO (UK Research Office)Rue de la Loi 83, BP 10B-1040 BrusselsTel: +32 2 230 0318Fax: +32 2 230 4803IHPhelp@bbsrc.ac.uk orcarole.mckinlay@bbsrc.ac.ukhttp://www.ukro.ac.uk/

FUTURE WINNERS CHECKLIST

• OPEN to entries from all fields of scientific and technological endeavour

• OPEN to entries be they lodged by the applicants themselves or by third parties

• OPEN to only finished scientific or technological projects that have been accomplished asresult of European/international collaborative research regardless whether the work wasfunded by the European Commission or by another party

• OPEN to projects that have been conducted by researchers that come from at least twodifferent European countries

• OPEN to researchers based in any country in the world. As long as the work wasconducted in partnership with researchers from at least two different Europeancountries and that the project was led by one of the European teams (from an EU orassociated European state)

The Descartes Prize is not a financial tool to support research project proposals.

The Descartes Prize is the ultimate in European scientific distinction.

The Descartes Prize honours the very pinnacle of European scientific achievement that has been attained

through European collaborative research.

The Descartes Prize 2002Should you either wish to enter or should you care tonominate a piece of outstanding scientific work that hasbeen conducted by others for the Descartes Prize, younow have your opportunity.

Full details concerning the 2001 Descartes Prize will bemade available from 3 December 2001.

For full entry details please consult:http://www.cordis.lu/descartes

Entries for the 2001-2002 Descartes Prize need to be received in Brussels by:

6 April 2002

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European CommissionDESCARTES Prize 2001Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities2001 — 52 pp. — 21 x 29.7 cmISBN 92-828-6717-X

For further information about the Descartes Prize, please contact:GRAHAM BLYTHE – DG Research (SDME 3/52)EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 200 Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200, B-1049 Brusselse-mail: graham.blythe@cec.int.eu – Fax +32 2 296 7024

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OFFICE FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIESL-2985 Luxembourg