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Outline of ERC Panel Structure

The Scientific Council (ScC) of the European Research Council (ERC) has published a new strategy note outlining the ERC peer review panel structure to be used for the starting grants.
The ScC has proposed 20 panels. The panels have been divided into three broad categories; the social sciences and humanities (five panels); the physical sciences and engineering (eight panels) and the life science panels (seven panels). The ScC has stressed that panels should be viewed in a ‘flexible and inclusive manner, and allowing for cross-panel and interdisciplinary proposals. Panels will also be adapted to take account of experiences during the evaluation process.

The twenty panels are as follows:

SH1 Individuals and organisations: Economics, management, demography, geography, urban and environmental studies.

SH2 Institutions, behaviour, values and beliefs: Anthropology, law, communication, social studies of science and technology.

SH3 The human mind and its complexity: Cognition, linguistics, psychology and philosophy.

SH4 Cultures and cultural diversity: Literature, visual and performing arts, music and cultural studies.

SH5 The study of the past and of cultural artefacts: Memory, history and archaeology.

PE1 Mathematical foundations: Pure and applied mathematics, theoretical computer science and mathematical physics.

PE2 Fundamental constituents of matter: High energy, particle, nuclear, plasma, atomic, molecular, gas and optical physics.

PE3 Structures and reactions: Condensed matter (structure, electronic properties, fluids, statistical physics, nanosciences, reactions.

PE4 Material sciences and methods: Material sciences, molecular architecture, analytical chemistry, synthesis (both inorganic and organic) and theory, physical and environmental chemistry, method development.

PE5 Information and communication: Informatics and information systems, communication technology, computer science, intelligent systems.

PE6 Engineering sciences: Electronics, product design, process design & control,
construction methods, fluid and solid mechanics, energy systems, bio-engineering.

PE7 Universe sciences: Astro-physics/chemistry/biology/geology; solar system; stellar, galactic and extragalactic astronomy; cosmology; space sciences, instrumentation.

PE8 Earth system science: Physical geography, geology, geophysics, oceanography, climatology, ecology, global change, biogeochemical cycles, natural resources.

LS1 Molecular, cellular and developmental biology: Biochemistry, molecular biology, metabolism, cell biology, signal transduction, embryology, structural biology.

LS2 Genetics, genomics, bioinformatics and systems biology: Molecular genetics, cell genetics, genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, computational biology, biostatistics, biological modelling.

LS3 Organismic physiology, including infection and immunity: Organogenesis, organ physiology, endocrinology, ageing, toxicology, parasitology, microbiology, virology, immunology.

LS4 Neurosciences: Neurobiology, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurochemistry, neuropharmacology, systems neuroscience, neuroimaging.

LS5 Evolutionary, population and environmental biology: Evolution, adaptation, population biology, biodiversity, ecotoxicology, marine biology, radiation biology, environmental risks, environmental medicine.

LS6 Applied medical and health sciences: Clinical medicine, public health, psychiatry, surgery, epidemiology, biomedical engineering, veterinary medicine, pharmacology, medical ethics.

LS7 Applied biology and bioengineering, including agricultural sciences and biotechnology: Genetic engineering, GMOs, synthetic biology, plant biology, fisheries, forestry, environmental biotechnology, industrial biotechnology, biomaterials, biohazards.

Further information

Strategy Note on the ERC peer review panel structure (.pdf)
ERC Scientific Council press release (.pdf)

The ERC website can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/erc/index_en.cfm