Three FOM-Projectruimte Grants for Leiden Physics
The Leiden Institute of Physics has been awarded three out of twelve available grants from the FOM Projectruimte. Principal Investigators Milan Allan, Stefan Semrau and Carlo Beenakker all receive around 400,000 euro for their research.
Superconductivity
Milan Allan receives the FOM grant for his research on ‘Visualizing the emergence of high-temperature superconductivity using the spin Hall effect’ . With his research group he wants to map the so-called spin character of materials that are superconductive at relatively high temperatures. He tries to do this with a new atomic probe. In his lab, Allan manipulates materials by adding chemical doping, in order to transform them from insulator to conductor, and possibly a superconductor. With his research on spin character, he aims to understand the influence of chemical doping.
Tumor
Stefan Semrau wrote a successful proposal on ‘Understanding cancer through physics: is tumor initiation a phase transition?’ He will use the grant to research a new theory on the transition from normal cellular growth to cancer cell growth. For this, he studies lab models of tumors. To conduct his research, he has to first develop a new imaging technique.
Quantum transport
Carlo Beenakker receives subsidy for ‘Quantum transport in Weyl semimetals’. Weyl semimetals have only been discovered recently. They are the three-dimensional counterpart of graphene, with massless electrons inside. Beenakker and his research team will theoretically explore the electrical transport properties of Weyl semimetals.