MERLION MAJULAB
CNRS-UNS-NUS-NTU International Joint Research Unit
UMI 3654
Chronology (the Long March)
ChM at
NUS
PICS
INP-CQT
Project
Start Date
2005
2007
2008
MoU
2009
LIA
2010
UMI
2014
Pre-UMI project with CQT
Quantum gases, disorder and strongly correlated systems (FermiCold)
3 NUS-based researchers : Grémaud Benoît, David Wilkowski and ChM.
Theory and experiments. INP and UNS.
Quantum computing
Miklos Santha (INS2I). Theory.
Total theory budget allocated by CQT in 2009 = S$ 2,873,000
Total experimental budget allocated by CQT in 2011 = S$2,687,000
Achievements 2008-2014:
-
Quantum gases theory group (ChM, BG): 8 people.
-
Experimental group on quantum gases and nano-materials (DW): 8 people.
-
Quantum Computing theory group (MS): 20 people.
- Teaching at NUS/NTU (BG, DW and ChM)
-
61 papers in peer-reviewed journals:
FermiCold Theory = 41 papers
FermiCold Experiment = 7 papers
Quantum Computing = 13 papers (more?)
-
Supervision of 10 PhD students:
FermiCold Theory = 7 PhD
FermiCold Experiment = 2 PhD
Quantum Computing = 1 PhD
-
Supervision of more than 28 post-doctoral/research fellows and interns:
FermiCold Theory = 10
FermiCold Experiment = 9
Quantum Computing = 9
-
4 Merlion Projects, 3 Merlion-PhD, 2 Merlion-workshop fundings
-
Organization of two schools of physics in Singapore : one summer session
of the Les Houches School in 2009 (the first ever, and only to date, session
organized abroad by Les Houches), and a Singapore School of Science
session in 2012
-
Organization of a MoU agreement between IPS (Singapore) and the French
Physical Society (SFP) to organize joint workshops every two years.
-
The Collège de France lectures in Singapore (2012 Physics Nobel Laureate
Serge Haroche)
-
Regular visits of high-level French scientists to CQT
UMI Personel (t=0)
17 Singapore PIs
Director: ChM
Deputy Director: Englert
PAP/SPMS/NTU
- Claus-Dieter Ohl
CQT/NUS
4 French PIs
- Berthold-Georg Englert
- Leong Chuan Kwek
- Christian Miniatura (CNRS)
- Björn Hessmo
- Benoît Grémaud (CNRS)
- Hui Khoon Ng
- David Wilkowski (UNS)
-
Manas Mukherjee
- Miklos Santha (CNRS)
-
Rahul Jain
GRC/NUS
Planned: 10 visitors /year
- Antonio Castro Neto
- Barbaros Oezyilmas
- Gagik Gurzadyan
- Ivan Shelykh
-
Sun Handong
-
Tomasz Paterek
-
Pinaki Sengupta
-
Troy Lee
-
Hartmut Klauck
SUTD
Dario Poletti
Scientific Topics and Program (t=0)
Main Topics
- Quantum physics (CQT, GRC and PAP)
- Quantum information (CQT and PAP)
- Quantum computing (CQT)
- 2D Materials and soft condensed matter (GRC
and PAP)
- Nanoscale physics (PAP)
- Laser physics (PAP)
Scientific program with CQT:
Strongly correlated systems and cold atoms
Already in operation
and working well
- Magnetic microtraps and integrated optics (experiment).
- Cold atomic gases (theory), comprising low-dimensional systems, artificial gauge fields, quantum
phase transitions, coherent transport in disordered potentials, graphene-type systems, quantum
simulators, quantum information, and quantum optics.
Computer Science
- Quantum algorithms, comprising quantum walks and learning graphs.
- Quantum communication, comprising communication complexity, direct product results, quantum nonlocality, and quantum game theory.
- Quantum cryptography, comprising cryptographic primitives and zero-knowledge proofs.
Scientific program with GRC:
To be developed
- Sample fabrication of 2D materials (CVD, second-generation exfoliation techniques, MBE).
- Device fabrication (electron-beam lithography, plasma and reactive ion etching).
- Electronic contacting and electronic transport measurements (mesoscopic transport from zero
to high frequency).
- Surface spectroscopy (infrared and optical spectroscopy, ARPES, STS and STM, Raman
spectroscopy, EELS, AFM, ...)
- Theory of 2D materials (modeling, simulation, ab-initio calculations, phenomenology).
Scientific program with PAP:
Partially in operation (pre-existing
French collaborations)
- ALD-enabled nanostructures for solar energy conversion (experiment)
- Photophysics and Photobiology (experiment), comprising Plasmon-based lasers and ultrafast
spectroscopy and Spectroscopic studies of light-induced nanoparticles-biomolecules interactions.
- Complex soft matter: liquid transport in micro and nanostructures (experiment).
- Characterisation and detection of quantum entanglement (theory).
- Emergent quantum states of matter in layered materials and heterostructures (theory).
- Quantum microcavities (theory).
- Polymer droplets microcavities (experiment)
- Ultracold strontium gas (experiment), comprising artificial non-Abelian gauge potentials, out-ofequilibrium spin gas and spin transport, phase transitions with long-range forces, and interaction of light
with cold atoms.
Funding of Research:
Through competitive calls released by the relevant research agencies.
Through partner labs (CQT)
French side: mainly ANR, ERC.
Singapore side: mainly NRF, MoE.
A nagging worry : Although Singaporean PIs affiliated to the UMI are fully
eligible to French funding (what about Europe?), French PIs affiliated to the UMI
ARE NOT eligible to Singaporean funding!
Lab space and working conditions:
Because of its diverse collaborations, Merlion MajuLab has no walls.
Partner labs host the French researchers (office space, experimental
rooms, research facilities, access to PhD funding, etc).
Coming-soon actions:
-
Setting up the structure (webpage, etc)
-
Kick-off workshop (Jan 2015)
-
Applying to research funding calls (ANR, NRF-ANR, MoE).
Valuable interdisciplinary aspects:
- Quantum physics and computer science (LIA) would be now be accompanied by
optical, material, chemistry and engineering sciences.
-
Potential to bridge different research
components from NUS and NTU
and to develop new collaborations
between France and Singapore in
new research areas, e.g. with CDPT
at NTU.
Courtesy Luc Le Calvez
- Potential to develop links with the French-Singapore UMIs in Singapore,
notably CINTRA (NTU) and BMC2 (NUS).
Université Nice Sophia
Université Grenoble I
LPM2C
University Pierre et
Marie Curie
Université Paris Sud
INLN
Merlion MajuLab
LKB
Campus Saclay
LPS
LIAFA
LCFIO
PCQC
Ecole Normale Supérieure
Université Paris
Diderot