Three BGU researchers win ERC Consolidator Grants
Profs. Klim Efremenko, Anat Milo and Benjamin Palmer were awarded the prestigious grants
Three Ben-Gurion University of the Negev faculty members were awarded European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator grants, the ERC announced this week.
They are Prof. Klim Efremenko, Prof. Anat Milo, and Prof. Benjamin Palmer.
The ERC received 3,121 applications, a 35 percent increase compared with the previous round, of which 349 were awarded grants.
Prof. Klim Efremenko, Institute for the Theory of Computing, Stein Faculty of Computer and Information Science
Project name: InterCoding
Error Correcting Codes (ECCs) address a fundamental question: How can we ensure reliable data transmission over unreliable channels? Since Shannon’s pioneering 1948 work, seven decades of research have created a rich theoretical framework with practical impacts across diverse fields.
Today, communication systems are no longer just about transmitting information. Instead, they often involve interactive processes requiring multiple exchanges between participants, as seen in cloud computing, cryptographic protocols, and distributed systems.
This proposal focuses on crafting interactive error-correcting codes and uncovering their fundamental limits.
Prof. Anat Milo, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences
Project name: CATACOM
The Milo research group combines experiments and computations to develop molecular catalysts—a pressing need as emerging diseases and climate-driven pressures on agriculture demand faster adaptation of catalytic systems for new reactions. Insights from enzymes, which reveal remarkable efficiency across diverse reactions, highlight how subtle changes can dramatically reshape function.
This ERC project brings those lessons to organocatalysis by integrating deep learning, structural representations and targeted experiments to map and engineer catalytic microenvironments. Applying these insights to challenging reactions may not only expand the scope, efficiency and selectivity of molecular catalysts, but also redefine how scientists design delicate interaction networks in chemical systems.
Prof. Benjamin Palmer, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences
Project name: CRYST_ALGAE
During his ERC Starting Grant (CRYSTALEYES), Prof. Palmer discovered how animals exquisitely control the properties of highly reflective crystals to manipulate light in coloration and visual systems. This led to a series of high-profile articles on the topic of ‘organic biomineralization’ and was recognized by the 2025 Blavatnik Award. Palmer’s ERC Consolidator Grant will explore a new frontier in this field – the functions of crystals in photosynthetic microalgae. Recently, molecular crystals, like those investigated in animals, were found to be widespread in superabundant and ecologically important microalgae. However, rather than performing optical functions, in these organisms, the nitrogen-dense crystals function as nitrogen-storage reservoirs, enabling cells to circumvent periods of nutrient starvation. Palmer will explore the functions of nitrogen-storage crystals in microalgae as well as the biotechnological and biogeochemical implications of this behavior.
The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four core grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants. With its additional Proof of Concept Grant scheme, the ERC helps grantees to bridge the gap between their pioneering research and early phases of its commercialisation. The overall ERC budget from 2021 to 2027 is more than €16 billion, as part of the Horizon Europe programme.
