BRIDGE Discovery: from wind turbines to neuropsychological tests
Investing 10.2 million francs, the SNSF and Innosuisse are funding ten excellent research projects that show economic and societal potential.
BRIDGE Discovery is a funding scheme for experienced researchers. In the context of the third call, 79 proposals were evaluated by a panel composed of experts in applied research and research implementation. The panel also enlisted the expertise of external experts. 25 researchers were selected for the second stage of the evaluation, consisting of a project presentation and an interview. At the end of the evaluation process, the SNSF and Innosuisse selected 10 excellent projects with an overall budget of 10.2 million francs. This corresponds to a success rate of 12.7 per cent.
Women achieve higher success rate
"The participation and success rate of applicants from universities of applied sciences remains high. That's good news," says Chris Boesch, president of the evaluation panel for BRIDGE Discovery. "We also welcome the fact that women continue to achieve a high success rate. In fact, their rate is higher than the success rate of men."
One successful researcher is Sarah Barber (Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil). In collaboration with Eleni Chatzi and Michele Magno (ETH Zurich), she will develop a measuring system for cost-efficient monitoring of wind turbines. Intelligent analysis of the collected data is expected to contribute to more sustainable generation of wind energy.
Data analysis also plays a role in the project of neuropsychologist Nicolas Langer (University of Zurich). He is working with computer scientist Ce Zhang (ETH Zurich) to develop a system that can automatically evaluate neuropsychological tests. Such tests are used, for example, if someone has suffered brain damage. The idea is for health institutions to be able to evaluate such tests digitally to make the process more objective and more efficient.
Fourth call for proposals open
The fourth call for proposals for BRIDGE Discovery was launched in December 2019. Until 24 February 2020, researchers can submit a letter of intent. Project proposals can be submitted until 27 April 2020. Letters of intent are a precondition of submitting proposals.