The IAC obtains an ERC grant to apply artificial intelligence to the study of substellar objects
The IAC obtains an ERC grant to apply artificial intelligence to the study of substellar objects
Publish Date: 2026-06-30 06:03:00
Source Domain: www.iac.es
- Grant Award: The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has secured its first ERC Proof of Concept Grant of €150,000.
- Project: The funding is allocated to the SubstellarLLM project, led by Eduardo L. Martín Guerrero de Escalante, IAC researcher.
- Objective: The goal of SubstellarLLM is to develop a multimodal AI platform for enhancing the study of substellar objects like brown dwarfs, exoplanets, and free-floating planets.
- Collaboration and Expertise: The project involves significant collaboration with Ramarao Tata from Ohio University, further leveraging advanced AI tools.
- Substellar Research: The grant complements the SUBSTELLAR ERC Advanced Grant worth €2.5 million, which focuses on studying substellar objects using data from the Euclid space telescope.
- Lead Scientist: Eduardo L. Martín Guerrero de Escalante is a renowned expert in substellar objects, known for his foundational contributions to the field.
- Research Impact: The project aims to transform frontier research into practical solutions beneficial to the global scientific community.
- Regional Impact: Spain has secured a notable 13 grants in the first 2026 ERC Proof of Concept call, demonstrating strong European Research Council funding.
