Licia Verde, awarded with an ERC Consolidator Grant

ERC Consolidator Grants, which are part of the program Horizon 2020, have been designed to back up talented researchers who want to establish their research teams and continue developing a successful career in Europe. The awarded candidates must have an excellent scientific track record showing scientific talent and an excellent research proposal for the next 5 years.
 

Licia Verde, one of the most highly cited authors according to the Highly Cited Researchers list published by Thompson Reuters in 2015, has been an ICREA researcher at ICCUB since 2010, and leads the Cosmology and Large Structure group. Among other recognitions, she was awarded the Gruber Prize of Cosmology 2012 and an ERC Starting Grant in 2009. Her expertise ranges from  fields such as theoretical cosmology, cosmic microwave background, to large scale structure, galaxy clusters, statistical applications and data analysis. Through her career, Verde has worked in the main cosmological surveys of the last decade: the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS), Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).

The aim of the awarded project is to develop a framework to deal with systematic errors in forthcoming cosmological surveys.  Over the past 20 years cosmology has made the transition to a precision science: the Standard Cosmological Model has been established and its parameters are now measured with unprecedented precision. However, while there is a well-defined and developed framework for treating statistical errors, there is no established approach for systematic errors. The scientific community is currently coordinating crucial large surveys to map the cosmos. In order to go beyond precision cosmology and reap the benefits of the forthcoming observational program, an approach to deal with systematic errorsis essential.

Link to ERC article