Posted: 5th September 2024

Associate Professor Christian Coester has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant, which will support his research advancing the reliability of online algorithms. He is one of six researchers from across the University to benefit from the coveted grants, which are awarded to outstanding early-career researchers to help launch their projects, form their own teams and pursue their most promising ideas. 

Associate Professor Coester’s research entitled Challenges in Competitive Online Optimisation (CCOO) addresses questions at the forefront of theoretical computer science, both in classical algorithm paradigms as well as how machine learning can be leveraged to improve algorithms. Using the ERC Starting Grant, he will explore how to develop more effective strategies for handling the associated uncertainty of online algorithms – algorithms which receive their input over time and have to make decisions before future parts of the input are revealed. One strategy is to design learning-augmented algorithms that can take advantage of predictions when these are good, while simultaneously avoiding being misled if these predictions prove to be erroneous.

I’m excited about receiving this support for my research, which will help me build a research group, strengthen international collaborations and dedicate more time to my research agenda. I’m grateful to my mentors and collaborators, without whom receiving this grant would not have been possible. Associate Professor Christian Coester 

ERC announced the awarding of 494 Starting Grants to scientists and scholars across Europe at the beginning of their careers. Nearly €780 million in funding will support cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physics to social sciences and humanities, as part of the Horizon Europe programme. Coester’s successful application followed a highly competitive process, where fewer than 15% of applications were successful, with each five-year grant worth up to €1.5 million. 

Other recipients at the University include Dr Federica Gigante, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Dr Georgia Isom, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Dr Clémence Ligneul, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Associate Professor Berta Verd, Department of Biology, and Dr Antoni Wrobel, Department of Biochemistry. 

Full details about the 2024 ERC Starting Grants can be found on the ERC website.