Blusson QMI researchers have been awarded funding under the recent round of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) Discovery Research program to enhance our understanding of quantum materials. Announced today, the NSERC Discovery grants aim to support researchers venturing into uncharted territory to find solutions to pressing issues.
“Canada’s science and research sector is solving some of the world’s greatest challenges, all while driving innovation, growth, and productivity. Research programs like Discovery give researchers the flexibility to explore the most promising avenues of research as they emerge to ensure Canada remains a world leader in science and new technologies,” said Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry the Hon. François-Philippe Champagne. “Congratulations to all the exceptional researchers receiving support. We look forward to learning of your successes.”
A project dubbed It Takes Two: Probing Electron-Pair Dynamical Correlations in Quantum Materials led by Blusson QMI Scientific Director Andrea Damascelli has received $700,000 to explore the complex correlations between electrons for applications in next-generation technologies.
“Quantum materials exhibit exotic effects that hold great promise for transformative technologies in areas as diverse as clean energy, transportation, medicine, computation, and communications. However, elucidating and fully understanding such effects is a formidable task,” said Damascelli.
“At UBC’s Quantum Matter Institute, we are developing a novel approach that uniquely combines coincidence electron-pair detection with high momentum, energy, and dynamic time-resolution, providing unprecedented insights into the physics and application of quantum materials.”
From sensors in bioimaging to superconducting and topological qubits pursued in large-scale quantum computing initiatives, quantum materials are poised to drive significant technological progress.
“With the approaches we have pioneered at UBC QMI’s Quantum Materials Lab, and now thanks to this investment, we will be able to gain control over quantum phases of matter to evoke special properties useful for advanced devices with requirements for new materials and new ways to control them,” Damascelli said.
Blusson QMI Investigator Douglas Bonn has been awarded $375,000 to investigate multi-mode spectroscopy of high-mobility metals and superconductors. Bonn and his group are experts in probing the electronic properties of unconventional superconductors, including cuprates, pnictides, and heavy fermion systems, all of which have unanswered questions associated with their basic physics. Finding answers to these fundamental questions is essential for opening the possibility of using superconductors to our greater advantage.
Media: Shahrzad (Zad) Abbasi | 604.360.6761 | shahrzad.abbasi@ubc.ca
