The debate over Neanderthal subsistence patterns and behavioural aspects is source of many discussions and scieThe debate over Neanderthal subsistence patterns and behavioural aspects is source of many discussions and scientific contributions. Research over the last ten years has produced new data on mobility, economic strategies and life-aspects of Neanderthals, that have changed and enriched the comprehension of the material record of these ancestors. The project entitled “Attesting Neanderthal Dwelling Space Use: effects of human occupations in the Middle Palaeolithic record of Fumane cave” (ANDSU) will address the identification of changes in Neanderthal subsistence patterns across the analysis of the late mousterian sequence of Fumane cave (44-47.6 ka cal BP) (Verona, Italy). ANDSU will overcome the traditional limits of scientific research through specific objectives: identify Neanderthal spatial patterns, site function, temporality (or not) of activity areas and hearths and lengths and number of occupation(s)/event(s). An integrated multidisciplinary research methodology that has never been proposed until today, will be useful to address the aforementioned objectives and enhance the state-of the-art. Based on bone refits, Spatial Archaeology, multivariate Statistic techniques and 3D modeling reconstruction the project emerge for its combined high-innovative methodologies. The experimentation of 3D scan of bones will provide an important step for the attempt to automatically, or semi-automatically refit of faunal assemblages. , would radically transform zooarchaeological research methods. On the base of these premises, ANDSU focuses on the crucial need to extend our knowledge about Middle Palaeolithic record and to understand the range of Neanderthal variability. Also, it is expected to open up new perspectives to know the life-ways of Fumane inhabitants and to understand their cultural relationships, compared with Neanderthal groups of other European regions.

The ARCADIA project will focus on building artificial photosynthetic devices (or photoelectrochemical cells), with the aim of producing alternative fuels exploiting renewable energy sources (namely sunlight). The key strategy will involve the development of photoelectrodes able to perform the water oxidation (at the anode) and the carbon dioxide reduction (at the cathode), and their further assembly in a standalone set-up (i.e. requiring no other energy source, but sunlight). Thus, ARCADIA will contribute to the abatement of the atmospheric anthropogenic emissions of the greenhouse gas CO2 by its exploitation as a renewable carbon feedstock to obtain clean fuels and value-added chemicals as the target products.

The energy refurbishment of heritage, field of the HeLLo proposal, is a priority of the EU policies to reduce fuel consumption. Historic buildings constitute a great amount of the EU existing stock, whose richness, coupled with a social and cultural value, especially in the Italian context, justifies the fellowship location. However, the lack of specific tools for the intervention on this kind of buildings and the scarcity of data about their energy state-of-the-art, make them mostly excluded from core strategic plans of the Member States, losing a great chance towards a net zero-energy future. OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL HeLLo aims at spreading awareness about the most common energy retrofit solutions and increase knowledge of their application in historic buildings, hoping to contribute in the EU refurbishments strategies issues related to the historic heritage. There are two specific objectives: to check the compatibility of technologies already certified and applied to new buildings on historic constructions and, to create a structured dissemination programme that opens the doors of laboratory life to the outside of the academic boundaries. HOW THE OBJECTIVE WILL BE ACHIEVED Results will be achieved through a twofold strategy:1) the creation of a true experimental laboratory in which to test such technologies and quantifying their real performance; 2) a project of ‘dissemination laboratories’ that offers an ‘experimental experience’ that makes known the world of investigation by the practice of the living lab. RELEVANCE TO THE WORK PROGRAMME The achievements of the research are directed to overcome the criticalities related to energy retrofit of historic buildings towards a deep enhancement of EU heritage performance, and to ensure that the EU reaches the objectives stated in the H2020 work programme. HeLLo is an important step in my career to fulfil the ambition to become an independent technology and energy expert and getting a tenure track position within EU.

The research goal of this proposal revolves around a widely debated topic in archaeology, anthropology and population genetics: the dynamics of the spread of farming into Europe, or Neolithic transition. For a long time, this key event that was to define modern Europeans has fuelled a dichotomic research debate. In short, did the Neolithic spread into Europe as the result of cultural or demographic diffusion? While many approaches can be attempted, in the last few years, ancient DNA (aDNA) studies have strongly contributed to shedding light on this topic, through the recovery and analysis of an increasing number of mitochondrial and nuclear genomes from prehistorical human samples. Far from closing the debate, these palaeogenomes are revealing a more complicated scenario, where the times, paths and genetic legacy of the Neolithic diffusion seem to have been different in different geographic areas. Furthermore, as the genomic data increase, the aDNA field is soon facing the challenge of evolving from a research area largely based on technical development for the recovery of short DNA fragments, to the analysis of larger datasets (ultimately, whole genome data) in the context of human population genetics. I therefore propose an interdisciplinary project aimed to increase our knowledge on the Neolithic transition by generating, for the first time, genome data from ancient human remains from the Iberian Peninsula at the times of the Neolithic transition. Having been the last region of Europe reached by the Neolithic diffusion, the IP is a crucial area for understanding the relative role of migration and cultural changes. By combining modern technologies for the recovery of ancient genomes, with state-of-the-art statistical data analyses in the context of human population genetics, this project will contribute to the development of practical and theoretical approaches to make the most of aDNA as a powerful research tool in the fields of archaeology and antropology.