NanoFront assistant professors Andrea Caviglia and Simon Gröblacher both have received an ERC starting grant. They will receive 1.5 million euros each for a new five year research program.

The title of Andrea Caviglia's project is: “Designer Quantum Materials Out of Equilibrium”. In this project he will use short bursts of light to manipulate the electronic properties of materials on very fast time scales. By using innovative techniques to generate intense light pulses, Andrea and his team will investigate metal-insulator and magnetic transitions in artificial materials as they unfold in time. Visit the Caviglia Lab webpage for more information.

Simon Gröblacher received the ERC starting grant for his proposal “Strong single-photon radiation-pressure coupling for Quantum Optomechanics”. Simon will use a novel approach based on multi-element optomechanics to reach the single-photon strong coupling regime, in order to ultimately achieve full quantum control of a massive mechanical object. More on Simon Gröblacher can be found here.