ERC Starting Grants for Van der Wal and Van Oijen
FOM-workgroupleader Prof.dr. Antoine van Oijen and former FOM PhD student prof.ir. Caspar van der Wal have both received an ERC Starting Grant (both staff members of the University of Groningen). ERC grants are intended to establish or strengthen excellent research teams.
DNA replication
Van Oijen has received a ERC grant for his research into DNA replication, the copying of DNA just before cell division takes place. In his interdisciplinary research proposal entitled 'Single-molecule studies of the DNA replication machinery', Van Oijen describes the development of new physics techniques that make it possible to manipulate a single DNA molecule and to visualise the behaviour of single copying proteins on that one molecule. With these single-molecule techniques he aims to discover how DNA is copied and how errors in this process can contribute to disease pathways.
Antoine van Oijen received a Vici grant from NWO in February 2011.
Interactions between spins and quantum optical pulses
Van der Wal will use the ERC grant for a research project that studies quantum optics with spins in semiconductor devices. Spins of electrons and nuclei in semiconductors behave quantum mechanically. This means that –in principle- spins in two different semiconductor pieces at different locations can be in a single quantum state. The behavior of the spins is then linked in a manner that is impossible with classical physics. However, with semiconductors this has never been observed because interactions with the material disturb the quantum mechanical behavior. The research of Van der Wal will use interactions between spins and quantum optical pulses. This can be used for preparing very pure spin states and tests of quantum behavior at an unprecedented level. These research investigations may find application in communication for which eavesdropping is impossible. If one uses a network with spins and quantum light eavesdropping can be made impossible since information is then protected by the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZgd9ZEAX40 (Dutch spoken)