Noise control is an integral part of acoustics engineering and a concern for modern society. For example, the EU Action Plan: 'Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water, and Soil' aims to reduce the share of people chronically disturbed by transport noise by 30%. However, wave control is normally constrained by the physical and geometrical properties of the materials. The recent concept of active metasurfaces made from acoustic metamaterials is opening new horizons for sound control applications, as the properties of these metasurfaces can be modified to achieve the desired acoustic behaviour and can be tailored to specific applications. A metasurface that could adapt itself both in space and time, i.e., spatiotemporal modulation, based on the wavefield could open new possibilities for controlling sound in real time. However, implementing this type of metasurface still presents significant challenges due to experimental difficulties and control algorithm limitations. This project addresses these challenges by proposing an acoustic metasurface composed of individual electroacoustic absorbers that can be controlled with a pressure-current-based control system. Therefore, INTSURFACE research aims to develop a real-time adaptive metasurface with spatiotemporal modulation capabilities. During this project, the theoretical and numerical frameworks to evaluate metasurfaces will be expanded to include space-time dependent properties and allow for the prediction of their acoustic behaviour in practical scenarios. Then, to control the metasurface, the research will develop a machine learning control framework that can adapt the individual elements of the metasurface to implement a desired spatiotemporal configuration. Finally, a proof-of-concept acoustic metasurface will be built and tested in several practical applications, including non-reciprocal multiple frequency propagation, multi-rainbow trapping, and cloaking by sound cancelation.

The main goal of this proposal, to propose self-adaptive thermal regulation systems that are smart, green, aesthetically pleasing and engineering applicable, is in line with the RePowerEU plan that efforts in saving energy and decarbonising heat. In this project, new thermal metamaterials are designed that integrates smart radiative cooling, high solar reflectance and customized colour, a multi-function design not previously available. Utilizing the metal-insulator transition of phase changing materials, the thermal metamaterial adapts its thermal emissivity smartly to different ambient temperatures, thus intelligently switching between on cooling mode in hot times and off cooling mode in cold times, which benefits creating comfortable household conditions and contributing to energy saving from an all-season perspective. Besdies, the thermal metamaterial can present vivid colours to satisfy aesthetic needs. Considering that thermally induced deformation can lead to structural failure of designed thermal metamaterials and affect their working life, mechanical robustness is also considered for scalable production and for real-world applications. A new inverse method is developed to accurately predict the structural deformation by eigenstrain reconstruction. On basis of this, mechanical stability strategy is proposed to eliminate the deformation, which pushes the smart regulation system closer to real-world application. The proposed design is estimated to save at least 134 /year for a single family in Besanon, Franche-Comt, France. The resulted energy savings not only bring economic benefits but also contribute to environmental preservation and climate change suppression by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This project can create significant impact in household energy saving and industrial heat management sectors.

How do we translate information from sensory inputs and memory stores into goal-directed actions? In the last 40 years, the fields of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience have focused on the decision-making stage, and very few attempts have been made to understand the complete process. The aim of the present scientific proposal is to elaborate an integrated computational theory of deciding and acting in humans, which explains conflicting measurements from these traditionally separate fields of research, and provides joint, precise quantitative predictions about them. The core hypothesis of the theory is that motor execution is determined by the same evidence accumulation variable that drives decision-making. This hypothesis strongly departs from current models of decision-making that represent motor execution as a residual parameter, under the assumption that motor execution captures effects that are not cognitively interesting. The theory will be tested through a series of experiments that combine cognitive modeling, behavioral and electrophysiological measurements (electromyography of response-relevant muscles and electroencephalography). Specifically, the experiments aim at (i) testing and characterizing the hypothetical dependency of motor execution to the evolving decision variable, (ii) generalizing the theory to a wide range of choice laboratory tasks and different response effectors, (iii) identifying potential boundary conditions of application, and (iv) elucidating the relationship between decision-making, motor execution, and confidence judgments. In a final part of the project, the theory will be applied to developmental data, in order to provide new theoretical insight into the development of decision-making and motor execution across the lifespan. If successful, this work should provide new perspectives into a broader range of research problems, from perception-action coupling to movement disorders that appear to have a cognitive basis.

The intertidal zone (seashore) is a critical environment at the interface of marine and terrestrial habitats, where inter-linked environmental and anthropogenic stressors occur. In polar regions, especially in the Southern Ocean, biological communities living in the intertidal zone remain largely underexplored. Understanding the diversity and biogeographic relationships existing among intertidal communities would prove central for deciphering their origin and evolution. It is also crucial to assess their vulnerability to global changes as the Southern Ocean is currently facing fast pace environmental changes. BioRISC aims to evaluate the biodiversity, biogeography, and resilience of intertidal communities at an unprecedented spatial scale across the Antarctic and the sub-Antarctic. By using an integrative, community-based approach, the project will address fundamental ecological questions involving the assessment of biogeographic regions, the importance of environmental heterogeneities and the evaluation of community resilience to climate change scenarios. The work will combine standardized in situ protocol with thorough taxonomic identification, and genetic methods (DNA barcoding and metabarcoding of several genes) to produce an unprecedented dataset for community structure analyses. In addition, BioRISC has a strong conservation component, including the monitoring of non-native species. The results will fit the needs of nature managers at both the regional (Crozet, Falkland, Kerguelen Islands) and global scales (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources - CCAMLR). Altogether, BioRISC will therefore provide a critical assessment of the uniqueness of these communities and test how their composition and distribution are likely to shift in the future based on IPCC-derived scenarios of climate change.

The heritage of ancient Greece is commonly acclaimed as a pillar of common European culture and identity. The complex historical processes of cultural reception and appropriation that shaped this notion are, however, still hardly understood. The project Greek Heritage in European Culture and Identity (GrECI) explores a key phase in this process: the reception and appropriation of ancient Greek culture in early modern Europe (15th-17th century), from the so-called rediscovery of Greek language and literature to their full incorporation in the European cultural landscape. It aims at creating the interdisciplinary and international framework required to address this complex historical subject and its implications for present-day ideas of European identity. To achieve this, three Twinning Partners from Cyprus (University of Cyprus), Norway (University of Oslo), and France (University of Franche-Comt) join forces in a unique combination of scholarly strengths and academic potential. Together they unite several vibrant disciplines that are pivotal to understanding early modern Hellenism but are seldom joined to shed light on the subject: the history of the book and material heritage studies, language and literature studies, and intellectual history (Reformation studies) with a shared emphasis on the reception and appropriation of Greek heritage in early modern Europe. By a carefully designed research and excellence programme, GrECI will both cement UCYs international profile in the field of early modern history and make UCY, together with its partners, leading research milieus in the emerging but still fragmented field of early modern Hellenism.