Dr Gerardo Adesso, Associate Professor
We are extremely pleased to announce that Dr Gerardo Adesso's application to the European Research Council (ERC) for a Starting Grant has been successful. This grant, worth €1.35 million, supports the project GQCOP (Genuine quantumness in cooperative phenomena) which aims to explore and challenge the frontiers of the quantum world.
It has been known for a century that at very small scales, where the laws of quantum mechanics apply, the world behaves very differently from our ordinary classical experience. While originally considered paradoxical features, quantum effects such as coherence and entanglement are now hecticly harnessed as resources for breakthrough technologies, like quantum computers.
With this ERC Starting Grant, Gerardo will investigate how to identify and exploit useful quantum resources in unexpected conditions, e.g. in noisy, complex and possible even living and social systems, and the role they may play for the optimal function of these systems. The long-term impact of this research can be to bring quantum-enhanced devices out of the lab and into the real world.
Gerardo explains that "the ERC funding allows me to pursue a more blue-sky type research compared to what currently funded by most national agencies. The recently launched EPSRC National Programme on quantum technologies is aimed at direct translation of existing research into commercial products, e.g. more precise sensors and more secure communication networks. My project is, at its heart, fundamentally motivated by the scientific curiosity of understanding the ultimate limits of applicability of quantum mechanics. Along the way to satisfying such curiosity, my research plans to deliver effective blueprints for a new generation of robust quantum technologies, inspired by natural phenomena. The €1.35 million ERC funding will allow me to assemble a team of international researchers, expanding my current group to advance such intriguing endeavours".
"I am very grateful to the University of Nottingham and the School of Mathematical Sciences in particular for all the support I received so far, and for believing in me since my initial appointment 6 years ago".
An account of Gerardo's recent research and future plans can be found in a feature article which appeared on the cover of New Scientist in September.
Well done Gerardo!
Posted on Thursday 26th February 2015