The winner of the biggest European Union-sponsored research competition to date has been named, the European Commission announced on January 28. The "Human Brain Model" project, led by Swiss scientist Henri Markram, and the "Ultra-thin graphene" project, led by Swedish scientist Gary Kenaret, each won the European Union's 1 billion euro funding prize.

The European Union announced the launch of the research competition in 2009, called the "flagship project of the emerging technologies of the future", and received 23 project proposals. A panel of scientific experts from the European Commission then shortlisted six projects in 2011, based on a brief overview of all the proposals submitted. In the final selection process, the European Commission established a panel of 25 experts, including scientists, technologists, industrialists and a Nobel Prize winner, which finally selected the two research projects representing the cutting-edge technologies of the future.

The Human Brain Model project is an attempt to use supercomputers to simulate everything scientists know about the human brain. These include questions about brain cell activity, the chemistry of parts of the brain and how they connect to each other. The research will help diagnose diseases, conduct drug tests, and even develop supercomputers based on human brain models. Markram, himself a neuroscientist at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland, will lead the coordination of 87 research institutions, including the Institut Pasteur in France, IBM in the United States and SAP in Germany, to simulate the brain models.

UK Lancaster University physics department of condensed matter physics doctoral student Chen Xi told this reporter, graphene is the thinnest known material, only a layer of atoms so thin; Its electrical conductivity is far better than copper; Extremely high thermal conductivity, hundreds of times the mechanical strength of steel, and unique optical properties. Ryan Heath, a spokesman for European Commission information technology Commissioner Nellie Kroes, told this reporter that graphene may replace silicon and other materials in the future, and be used in computers, displays, batteries and sensors and other devices. In 2004, European scientists found a way to effectively separate graphene from graphite, and won the 2010 Nobel Prize for it. Just as plastics were a major discovery in the 20th century, graphene is now being recognized as the "material of the future" of the 21st century, pioneering a revolutionary unique carbon-based material that will replace silicon-based components in information and communications technology. It is almost completely transparent, and as a single substance, it can transfer electrons faster at room temperature than any known conductor.

Ryan Heath told this reporter that the above two flagship projects of future emerging technologies are models of healthy competition in the field of scientific and technological innovation, and can effectively promote the rapid development of science and technology. The two research funding funds are mainly from the European Union's "Horizon 2020" project. Announced in November 2011, the programme is the first in the history of the European Union to include major EU-level research projects. It is expected to cost around 80 billion euros over a seven-year period.

Different from the short-term government funding for science and technology projects of only 2-3 years in the past, the EU "Future Emerging Technology Flagship Project" is a long-term research support project, which is an important part of the policy of supporting science and technology development issued by the EU. The purpose of the project is very strong, that is, to promote scientific and technological innovation, promote economic growth and increase employment. New applicants from the EU and beyond are encouraged to participate, providing more opportunities for young scientists or first-time applicants; It supports non-mainstream ideas and provides outstanding researchers and inventors with a full range of services from ideas, research and development to the market, focusing on scientific and technological innovation that is close to the market and can promote economic growth.

Ryan Heath told this reporter that the EU has great respect for the scientific and technological development of China and other emerging market countries. For the EU, the competition situation in the field of science and technology is very serious, China attaches great importance to the investment in scientific and technological innovation, the EU must realize that scientific and technological innovation is a face to face contest, if you do not increase the investment in science and technology, the EU is likely to lose the advantages of science and technology in the future.

(This newspaper Brussels, January 28)

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