The European Commission today appointed Professor Mauro Ferrari as the next President of the European Research Council (ERC), taking office on 1 January 2020. On this occasion, the ERC Scientific Council stated: “As members of the ERC Scientific Council, we congratulate Professor Mauro Ferrari on his appointment as the next ERC President. We look forward to working together on the continued success of the ERC as Europe’s leading funding mechanism for excellent frontier research.”

The appointment of Professor Ferrari is the outcome of a rigorous selection process in which an independent Search Committee made a thorough study of all applications received and, on that basis, prepared a short list of candidates for the position. The list was submitted to the ERC Scientific Council, which channelled its comments to Commissioner Carlos Moedas, who made the final decision.

We support the outcome of the process wholeheartedly and welcome Professor Ferrari as the next leader of our unique organisation. Returning to Europe after a career as an accomplished scientist and leader in the USA, and with a rich and diverse background in the field of research and its applications, he is set to bring a fresh outlook to the organisation.

His strong leadership will be essential in ensuring that frontier research continues to play a central role in the future Horizon Europe framework programme and that the ERC makes good use of its autonomy guaranteed by the legislative texts. Strict adherence to the bottom-up principle, leaving full initiative to researchers when submitting their projects, and using scientific quality aiming for excellence as the only criterion for the selection of proposals will remain the cornerstones of the ERC action.

We are confident that Professor Mauro Ferrari will provide the leadership needed when he takes office on 1 January 2020, and we are looking forward to very fruitful exchanges with him in the run up to this.