Quantum Technologies Interview with (1925 -2018) ICFO’S 7Th Spin-Off Foster a New Initiative Tommaso Calarco P.4 P.6 P.7 P.12 38 Community News Winter 2019
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HAPPENINGS HAPPENINGS COLLABORATION THE LAST WORD Roy J. Glauber DROPLITE becomes Quantum Technologies Interview with (1925 -2018) ICFO’s 7th Spin-off foster a new initiative Tommaso Calarco p.4 p.6 p.7 p.12 38 Community News Winter 2019 Quantum Technologies Flagship to drive European leadership in 2nd Quantum Revolution 2 ICFONIANS WINTER 18 EDITOR’S CORNER COVER Brook The Quantum Flagship, Hardwick launched in October 2018, Coordinating is a €1b pan-European Editor initiative that brings together With a little help research institutions, academia, industry, enter- prises, and policy makers from my Friends to consolidate and expand Europe’s scientific African Proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. leadership and excellence in the field. It aims to trans- If you want to go far, go together.” fer quantum physics research from the lab to the market by means of commercial applications, and position the region as a global knowledge-based industry and technological leader in disruptive technologies. INDEX The important events in and around our insti- ICFO Day was a manifestation of the collaborative spirit EDITOR’S CORNER 2 tute over the past months are a reflection of many that has been behind ICFO’s success through the years. strong collaborations and friendships. The Festive Dinner that was the culmination of the day- HAPPENINGS 3 long event allowed us to celebrate the friendships that To begin, the long anticipated launch of the FET Flagship have formed through all of these productive interac- ICFO NEWCOMERS 3 on Quantum Technologies in October represented a tions, making our work more satisfying and fruitful. coming together of a diverse community that clearly ICFO NEWS 4 saw the need to combine forces to achieve something As the year drew to a close, we were on a high, tak- big and paradigm changing through the harnessing of ing stock of all that we had achieved together in LATEST ADVANCES 5 quantum mechanics. Many of us signed the Quantum 2018 and looking forward to the exciting challenges Manifesto back in 2016 which was a blueprint for what of 2019. Onward and upward! BUSINESS NEWS 6 today has become an ambitious new €1b European And then came the sad news of the loss of our program. ICFO is proud and excited to coordinate two friend, Roy Glauber (Nobel Laureate 2005). Roy be- of the twenty projects that received funding in this COLLABORATION 7 came a Distinguished Invited Professor at ICFO in ramp-up stage and to participate as a partner in five 2009, and we considered him “one of us”- an ICFO- EU FLAGSHIP 7 additional pan-European Flagship projects (see pgs nian. We were honored to benefit from his advice, 7-8). We will work together with some old and new RESEARCH 8 collaboration and friendship for many years, and friends towards meaningful advances that will trans- were always pleased when he and his wife Atholie form what Einstein referred to as “spooky action at a COMMUNITY 9 visited ICFO. Upon learning of his death at the end of distance” into knowledge and applications. December, Lluis Torner reminisced, “We will always ICFO AWARDS 9 ICFO Day on December 14th (pg 9) highlighted collab- remember Roy’s insightful remarks on many matters, orations and friendships cultivated and cemented right as well as his contagious laughter.” TRAINING 10 here at our institute. The achievements that we cele- While we ended the year on a sad note, it was also a brate at ICFO are examples of how we “get by with a moment to reflect on what can be accomplished when little help from (our) friends.” Scientific advancements PEOPLE 10 we work together- especially when collaborators be- and landmark publications by ICFOnians are joint efforts come trusted partners and friends. As the African BEYOND ICFO 10 within and beyond individual research groups. ICFO’s proverb goes “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you management units provide crucial support that makes GO & FLY 11 want to go far, go together.” Working together, we the labs run, the computers compute, and the resourc- have reason to be optimistic about all we can achieve. es needed to conduct and disseminate research flow. MYSTERY ICFONIAN 11 THE LAST WORD 12 Mystery ICFOnian Laurent Ladepeche Science Quiz 1. B 2. A HIGH PROFILE 12 Solution Ed #37 Postdoctoral Researcher, SLN- Team Loza Answers from p.12 3. D SCIENCE QUIZ 12 Coordinating Editor Contributors Pictures By Brook Hardwick Tomás Charles © ICFO Trustees: Corporate Communications Visual Communication Ramon Josa Head Brook Hardwick Quantum Flagship Corp. Communications Head Forschungszentrum Jülich Editorial Committee Alina Hirschmann, Greg Stewart Silvia Carrasco Communications SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Knowledge & Technology Morgan Mitchell Lachina Creative Transfer Director ICREA Group Leader at ICFO Lauren V. Robinson Brook Hardwick Tommaso Calarco © Springer Nature Corp. Communications Head PGI, Forschungszentrum Alina Hirschmann Layout Supported by: Member of: Jülich Communications Comuniza Albert Ros Dolors Mateu Mineral Gràfics Alumni, Communications ICFO Manager Rob Sewell Laia Miralles Academic Programs HR and Education Head Coordinator Morgan Mitchell D.L.: B-54464-2008 ICREA Group Leader at ICFO Icfonians® is a registered trademark Albert Ros Alumni, Communications Rob Sewell This newsletter is printed on 100% Academic Programs This content is licensed under the Creative Commons post-consumer-waste recycled, chlorine-free, Coordinator Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivs 3.0 Unported License. Except pictures that are copyrighted by ICFO. and EU eco-labeled paper. ICFONIANS WINTER 18 3 BUSINESS NEWS DROPLITE becomes ICFO’s 7th Spin-off HAPPENINGS p.6 ICFO NEWCOMERS Welcome to ICFO Umberto Matera Kasra Amini Ignacio De Miguel Biswajit Kundu Many of us joined Student Postdoctoral Researcher Research Engineer Postdoctoral Researcher ICFO or took a new position at the Domenico De Fazio Christina Graham Alexia Stollmann Paolo Abiuso institute between Postdoctoral Researcher PhD Student PhD Student PhD Student October and December Korbinian Kottman Samuele Grandi Arturo Villegas Olaf Zimmermann PhD Student Postdoctoral Researcher PhD Student PhD Student Nick Moore Laura Moreno David Jacobs Mohit Lal Bera Cesar Cabrera Florian Churchod Shanmukh Naidu Maji Postdoctoral Researcher Student Student PhD Student Postdoctoral Researcher Postdoctoral Researcher PhD Student Moniruzzaman Shaikh Mariela Baron Ignasi Burgués Wei Du Ainoa Guinart Sofia Martinez Blanca Belsa Postdoctoral Researcher Research Engineer Postdoctoral Researcher Visiting PhD Student Student Student Student Neus Sanfeliu Jacopo Surace Isabel Penon Bosom Ricard Ravell Aniello Lampo Kavitha Kalavoor Roland Terborg Research Engineer Visiting PhD Student Financial Accountant Student Postdoctoral Researcher Postdoctoral Researcher Postdoctoral Researcher José García Guirado Ion Hancu Nikos Fayard Daniel Rivas Sven Bodenstedt Florian Haberstroh Nicolau Molina Bom Postdoctoral Researcher PhD Student Postdoctoral Researcher Visiting Scientist PhD Student PhD Student Postdoctoral Researcher Ivan Company Frederic Català Sergi Del Castillo Luke Maidment Anna Dawid Michael Tayler Albert Albesa Student Research Engineer Procurement Specialist Postdoctoral Researcher Visiting PhD Student Postdoctoral Researcher Student Emmanuel Amuah Adam Teixidó Bonfill Daniel Urrego Enok Skjolstrup Maxime Durand-Gasselin Antonios Oikonomou Robert Bettles PhD Student Student PhD Student Visiting PhD Student PhD Student Business Developer Postdoctoral Researcher Cuauhtemoc Araujo Alvaro Cuevas Krystian Nowakowski Sandra Ortonobes Marc Botifoll Jia Kong Visiting Scientist Postdoctoral Researcher PhD Student Communications Student Visiting Scientist 4 ICFONIANS WINTER 18 HAPPENINGS ICFO NEWS ICFO Welcomes the Roy J. Glauber (1925-2018) UPC Thesis Awards 2018 Minister of Enterprise and Knowledge of Catalonia The Extraordinary PhD Awards, The Hble Àngels Chacón, Minister given annually by the Technical of Enterprise and Knowledge University of Catalonia (UPC), aim of the Government of Catalonia to recognize the best doctoral theses and Chair of the ICFO Board of which have obtained "cum laude" in Trustees, visited ICFO on October their final PhD defense evaluation. 23 accompanied by Dr. Joan Gómez This year, the UPC announced the Pallarès, General Director of Research. list of 9 awardees, which include the The Minister was eager to learn first- theses of ICFO PhD graduates Dr. hand about the research conducted Roy J. Glauber, Nobel Laureate and Distinguished Invited Professor at Domink Kufer and Dr. Martí Perarnau at ICFO, to meet members of ICFO’s ICFO since 2009, passed away on December 26th at the age of 93. Known among the list of extraordinary management unit who help to provide for his prize winning work that advanced the understanding of light by doctoral works for the academic the structure that makes research describing the behavior of light particles, his advances have had a profound period 2015/2016. at the highest level possible, and to impact on the field of quantum optics and on the many activities carried out learn about the accomplishments at our institute and by scientists around the world today. ICFO as a whole and challenges that the institutes had the exceptional honor of benefitting from his advice, collaboration and faces. In addition to touring ICFO’s friendship for many years and will miss him. facilities, the Minister addressed the Management unit with words of encouragement and commendation for a job well done. New ICONS Three ICFO Highly Cited