Research
Fernando Peruani in Nature Physics
on November 22, 2022
Research
Research news
Published on November 22, 2022– Updated on August 31, 2023
Jacopo de Nardis among the 2021 ERC Starting Grant winners
The ERC (European Research Council) Starting Grants, created in 2007, reward talented researchers of all nationalities with 2-7 years of experience since completion of PhD. These grants are part of the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. In January 2022, Jacopo de Nardis, a researcher at the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics and Modelling (LPTM) of CY Cergy Paris University, was awarded an ERC Starting Grant alongside 396 other early-career researchers. Jacopo de Nardis won this grant with his project entitled "Hydrodynamics and entropy production in lowdimensional quantum systems".
Interview of Jacopo de Nardis
- What is your background? How did your interest in physics start?
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I studied physics and then theoretical physics at the University of Pisa, in Italy, where I come from. My interest in physics goes back to my early years, mainly due to discussions with my older brother who also studied physics, and a popular TV show in Italy called "Super Quark", carrying popular science content. We spent many evenings discussing the universe, which made my fascination for science grow over time.
- Can you summarize the research project for which you were awarded an ERC Starting Grant? What are the objectives of this project?
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The project aims to understand how complexity emerges from simple rules of quantum mechanics. The reality we see every day is indeed the result of the interaction of an incredibly large number of particles (such as molecules in the air), which follow the laws of quantum mechanics. In particular, these particles are entangled. However, on a large scale, we mainly see classical physics. In current experiments, we can directly observe clouds of very cold atoms moving from objects of pure quantum mechanics to sorts of generalized fluids, such as rivers or seas. Understanding the emergent dynamics of these fluids is one of my passions and interests.
- What does this funding change for your research project?
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This project will allow me to hire PhD students, postdocs and interns so that we can conduct research in different directions and with different methods. It will also allow me to invite many international researchers here in Cergy for limited periods to exchange with our group.
- How is the research team constituted?
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At the moment, we have two PhD students (one from Mauritius and one from Russia), an intern (from Portugal) and two postdocs, one of whom has just arrived from Canada. In the future, there will be two more postdocs and students.
