Seeds enclosed in maternal tissue are an important evolutionary plant development as they protect the embryo in many different environments. The protecting coverings are very heterogeneous in structure and origin due to different seed dispersal strategies and environments designed for. The ones having hard outer coverings are commonly called nuts and their shells have recently become of interest for biomimetic research as they represent hard and tough lightweight structures with biological and environmental resistance. Biological materials are optimized at numerous length scales. To unravel the design principles on the micro- and nano scale and their assembly are a big challenge in biomimetic research. Thus the objectives of this project are threefold: 1) develop in-situ methods for in-depth characterization at the micro- and nano level, 2) reveal the heterogeneity and common design principles by investigating different species and 3) follow development (soft), maturation (hard) and germination (open). By measuring the inelastic scattering of laser light (RAMAN microscopy), tapping with a tip (Atomic force microscopy AFM, pulsed force mode) and combining both (Scanning near field optical microscopy-SNOM, Tip enhanced Raman spectroscopy-TERS) sophisticated applications for imaging natural packaging structures will be developed. This will enable us to gain new insights into micro- and nanochemistry as well as nanomechanics in the context of tissue and cell organization. Furthermore in-depth knowledge on the developmental processes of cell assembly, maturation and germination will be obtained. This will lead to a better understanding of the underlying design principles, which is important in order to extract structure-function relationships and identify features that contribute e.g. to the high strength and cracking resistance and longevity. Such information is important for biology (agriculture) and will give new input in intelligent biomimetic material design.

Composite polymer materials are a rapidly growing market. These materials are also strongly driving device and product innovation by allowing creation of multifunctional, light-weight and moldable components for various products from airplanes to electronics and textiles. We have invented new methods for scalable production of inorganic nanomaterials that allow us to control their distribution and properties in polymer materials. In short, we can mask functional nano- or microparticles by a thin surface coating such that it assumes the properties of the polymer (or environment) in which it should be processed. Thereby, they can be controllably mixed and organized into the polymer, which is essential to give the polymer material better or additional e.g. mechanical and optical properties. Our methods are nearly universal and cost effective; they incorporate an innovation that allows us to modify the surface of quantum dots and other nanoparticles with very precise optic, electric and magnetic properties without deleterious effect on those properties. Industrial partners from the polymer materials industry have shown great interest in these developments. In NanoComSol we will develop industrially relevant application demonstrators that show how these innovations can further be used to create composite materials that have qualitatively new properties produced at industrial scale. Successful such demonstrations will lead to manufacturing of polymer composite materials as active instead of only passive optical, electrical and magnetic components, while reducing costs, environmental impact and materials use in production. NanoComSol thus applies ERC-funded innovations in nanomaterial synthesis to develop industrial scale production of advanced functional materials.

The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) has successfully used the ERASMUS+ KA 107 project to facilitate student and staff mobility. BOKU has been able to send and receive students, teaching staff and staff for educational and training purposes alongside its Partner institutions in Partner Countries. This project complies with BOKU’s Internationalisation strategy and BOKU’s European Policy Statement 2020, which aims, among others, are to promote, increase and improve incoming and outgoing student and staff mobility (https://short.boku.ac.at/omdw2d and https://boku.ac.at/fileadmin/data/H05000/H12000/Baum_2012/G-_Internationale_Kooperation/C-_Strategie/European_Policy_Statement__EPS_2020.pdf). In total, 47 mobilities were carried out with 12 partner universities (see section 3 for details):Staff Mobility for Teaching Incoming: 4Staff Mobility for Training Incoming: 15Student Mobility Incoming: 12Staff Mobility for Teaching Outgoing: 13Staff Mobility for Training Outgoing: 2Student Mobility Outgoing: 1These mobilities have enabled BOKU to enhance its cooperation with Higher Education Institutions in Partner Countries, which serves to promote further applications withinthe Erasmus+ programme, e.g. Erasmus+ Capacity Building projects. The project results may be circulated among BOKU’s Partner Universities, networks and stakeholders(including industry and the general public).Some of the immediate and longer-term benefits of the project that the mobile participants receive include the following:• Improved personal and academic competences, such as enhanced employability prospects, language skills, intercultural skills and networking skills• Strengthened relations and contact between students and staff of BOKU and the Partner universities, setting a precedent for future joint application projectsBOKU and the involved Partner universities benefitted from:• Improving relations between existing and future Erasmus+ Partner institutions, via outgoing teaching staff, training staff and students• Host Universities being able to offer English language courses at their institutions, signifying increased “internationalization@home” (e.g. University of Sarajevo

Climate change is a concern for states both at home and abroad. However, disparities often exist between the picture painted by climate diplomacy and domestic policy measures, be it in the level of priority afforded to climate action, or the integration of climate concerns across policy silos. A key area of work for climate diplomacy is human mobility in the context of climate change, which brings into stark relief the cross-border reach of climate change impacts and is billed as one of the biggest societal challenges of climate change. Much of the focus until now has been on the vulnerabilities and resilience of individuals, communities, and states in the Global South most likely to be affected. However, little is known about the political sphere and the climate diplomatic practices of states in the Global North in relation to climate change and human mobility, and in turn how these diplomatic efforts tally with domestic climate action. This project therefore asks the following question: How are nation-states developing practices of international climate diplomacy in relation to climate change and human mobility and to what extent do these align or discord with their practices at the state level? This question will be answered with a comparative case study of five European nation-states. In the first work package, the international climate diplomacy practices of these states will be examined, with the second work package concentrating on domestic policymaking. In the third and fourth work packages within-case and cross-case comparisons will be undertaken respectively, to ascertain whether practices at the international level align or discord with practices at the state level and to compare these findings across cases. The fifth work package will conduct a critical analysis of the findings to feed into conceptual and political debates on climate change and human mobility.