Brussels – University of Bologna is the Italian university with the highest participation in the latest ERC Synergy Grant call: there are four projects featuring a major role for the Alma Mater, with three professors serving as Principal Investigators, one as coordinator, and another as scientific partner. Nationally, eleven other research institutions are involved: one with two projects and others with one each. The University of Bologna scholars participat­ing are: Marc Brightman and Vanessa Grotti from the Department of Cultural Heritage, for the project PLANETARY EEL; Franco Vazza from the Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”, for COSMOMAG; Marco Garavelli of the Department of Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari”, for CONCERT; and Michele Ennio Maria Moresco also from the Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”, for RedH0T. The four projects total approximately €43 million, of which just under €11 million is allocated to University of Bologna participants—a success confirming the university’s role among Europe’s frontier research actors. ERC Synergy Grants are awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) for group projects: from two to four top-level scientists from around the world join forces to tackle intricate scientific challenges. The four projects span humanities, physical, chemical and natural sciences with the objective of addressing global challenges: from human-animal coexistence on a fragile planet (PLANETARY EEL) to reconstructing the first microseconds after the Big Bang (COSMOMAG); from ultrafast processes during photo­chemical reactions fundamental to photosynthesis (CONCERT) to unresolved questions about the universe’s expansion speed (RedH0T). With four successful grants, the University of Bologna positions itself among the leading European institutions in cutting-edge research.