A researcher at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA) has secured one of 421 European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants, with a project that aims to explore how chemical discoveries emerge and what “discovery” means in science.
Vanessa Seifert will lead the project “DiscoChem – Discovery in Chemistry”, the only project hosted by a Greek institution to receive funding in the latest round.
The ERC has awarded a total of €705 million to 421 researchers from more than 50 nationalities working at universities and research centres across 25 EU member states and associated countries.
Exploring the nature of chemical discovery
Through DiscoChem, Seifert will examine a broad range of chemical discoveries, from those based on chemical analysis and nuclear physics to contemporary approaches involving quantum chemistry and artificial intelligence.
The project will investigate the factors that drive chemical discoveries and seek to understand how a scientific discovery actually emerges.
“The project will highlight the different methods, tools and ideas that have led to important discoveries and will shed light on the complex and often unpredictable process behind them,” Seifert told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.
She said the project aims to “open a new path in the philosophy of Chemistry” while also contributing to a broader question within the philosophy of science: what does discovery mean in science?
€705 million for 421 researchers
The ERC Starting Grants will allow researchers to develop ambitious ideas and establish their own research teams.
The selected projects cover a wide range of disciplines, from life sciences and engineering to the social sciences and humanities.
The latest call attracted a record 4,807 applications, 22% more than the 3,928 proposals submitted in the previous round. The ERC funded 8.8% of the applications.
The programme will also encourage researchers to return to Europe. Twenty researchers currently based in the United States will move to Europe to continue their work.
Greek-origin researchers among successful applicants
Several other researchers of Greek origin also secured grants in the latest round.
They include Angelos Karla from Munich’s Helios Hospital, Petros Tsagaropoulos from Complutense University of Madrid, Vicky Kalogeitona from École Polytechnique, Giannis Kabourakis from Erasmus University Rotterdam and Eleni Karageorgiou from Lund University.
The results highlight the continued presence of researchers of Greek origin in leading European research institutions.
Next ERC Starting Grant call open
Researchers interested in applying for the next round of ERC Starting Grants can submit applications until October 14, 2026.
For Seifert and EKPA, the latest award represents an opportunity to examine chemistry from an unusual perspective—combining the history and practice of chemical research with fundamental questions about how science discovers, explains and creates new knowledge.
